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Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

straitstimes.com

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Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#71

Post by slg »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #44
rangibaby wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japan’s preferred date in October would be much more pleasant for athletes, spectators, and tourists, but there was a lot of pressure from US broadcasters to schedule it for July.

Why is July for them so important? Football season?

July is after the NBA and NHL finals. It is before the NFL preseason. MLB is at the midpoint of their long season when it is late enough that the excitement of the new year has warn off and it is too early for the playoff race to reinvigorate fans. July is generally the slowest sports month in the US.

Meanwhile in October, the NBA and NHL both start their seasons. The NFL and college football are both going strong. MLB is in the middle of their playoffs. It is one of the busier sports months.

This is also just the sports calendar. Other aspects like the school schedule and traditional TV calendars also point to July as an ideal month.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#72

Post by monkeywork »

tomp wrote: post #63
paranoidrobot wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is repeated a lot, however just like most things - there's more nuance to it than just "wear masks". In most places, there's simply not enough masks to protect those most at risk (eg: healthcare workers who are constantly in contact with infected patients) AND to have everyone in the community using them. Improper use of masks is at best pointless, at worst can actually make things worse. The vast majority of pe…

Can you explain how improper use of masks can make things worse?

false sense of security - gives the person the impression they are protected and allows them to lower their guard in other area's that they might now if they weren't wearing it.

edit

To put it in tech terms ... someone poorly implementing a security / encryption method may be more dangerous than someone who didn't because the person who didn't may take additional steps that the person who falsely thinks they are protected wouldn't.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#73

Post by mratsim »

mhh__ wrote: post #21

Had to happen: If they tried to have it, there would have been no crowd and all the athletes would get it like wildfire (The Olympic Village has a lot of Tinder activity, at least). That doesn't even account for the sad reality that some athletes can't go due to the virus (already). At least three of the South Korean Fencing team (Very likely medal contenders) are confirmed positive, for example.

And they can't even train in their country

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#74

Post by mratsim »

NikolaeVarius wrote: post #60
cltsang wrote: post #18

We need to let Japan know that this is not their fault. It's ingrained in Japanese culture that they often put too much pressure on themselves. They might think if they had put extra 120% effort, the Olympics would have gone as scheduled. But this is not on them. Although it's only speculation, we wouldn't want another case of heartbreaking suicide[0] because of a Japanese blaming himself/herself too much. [0] https:…

Infantilizing an entire country. This is an interesting take on the state of things.

That's not infantilizing.

Asian countries have a very ingrained sense of "face" and honor. Face in China and honor in Japan are very very important.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#75

Post by claudiawerner »

NikolaeVarius wrote: post #60
cltsang wrote: post #18

We need to let Japan know that this is not their fault. It's ingrained in Japanese culture that they often put too much pressure on themselves. They might think if they had put extra 120% effort, the Olympics would have gone as scheduled. But this is not on them. Although it's only speculation, we wouldn't want another case of heartbreaking suicide[0] because of a Japanese blaming himself/herself too much. [0] https:…

Infantilizing an entire country. This is an interesting take on the state of things.

It seems to be the final degeneration in Orientalism[0] not only to say that the Japanese aren't aware of their responsibility, but to say they need to be given a pat on the back and reassured, like you would a child.

[0] Orientalist thinking is not necessarily racist; I'm saying this now before someone accuses me of accusing GP of being a racist.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#76

Post by claudiawerner »

mratsim wrote: post #74
NikolaeVarius wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Infantilizing an entire country. This is an interesting take on the state of things.

That's not infantilizing. Asian countries have a very ingrained sense of "face" and honor. Face in China and honor in Japan are very very important.

It is infantilizing when we say that the concept of saving face prevents them from seeing the results of their actions, and that they need to be "reassured" by the global community that things aren't as bad as they think - "if only they could see past saving face".

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#77

Post by Hamuko »

libria wrote: post #70
thieving_magpie wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's sad but what does "let Japan know that this is not their fault" even mean?

Use Twitter; Japan's PM has an account. > @AbeShinzo, it ain't yer fault bro #tokyo2021 - @thieving_magpie

@AbeShinzoニキ、お前のせいじゃねぇぞ

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#78

Post by Hamuko »

jakeinspace wrote: post #31
minitoar wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a global community we should come to and express the (IMO) correct conclusion that Japan did an amazing (perhaps the best) job of containing this, and it was still the right thing for them to postpone the 2020 olympics.

My understanding is that Japan didn't do the best job, although definitely better than the US. Taiwan probably has had the best Coronavirus response.

Doesn't Japan have a much higher case fatality rate than the US?

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#80

Post by jariel »

qiqitori wrote: post #42
jariel wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's interesting is that none of the answers seem definitive. 1) 'Mask wearing' - we know even cloth masks will help reduce spread, but not by what factor overall. We don't know the real vectors here. 2) Someone mentioned 'hygiene' - do the Japanese really wash their hands every time they enter the house? Or do they 'rinse their food' i.e. maybe package handling is a big vector. 3) 'Early border closing' - it only…

There are too many things that may or may not have some kind of effect. Adding to the brainstorming list: taking your shoes off at home, showering in the evening vs. in the morning. BTW I don't think people wash their hands more in Japan, but who knows. There definitely are places within Japan that have more cases despite having a lower population density. Okinawa (south) has very few cases, while Hokkaido (north) ha…

Yes, literally showing at night might make a difference.

So many things: maybe they regularly clean the handles on doors. Maybe the restaurants always use a disinfectant wipe. Maybe people 'stay at home' more regularly if they are sick.

There's a really powerful EpiCurve calculator someone at OpenAI published - and the most interesting thing is how sensitive everything is to R0. R0 1.8 v. 2.2 is just a huge difference.

If 'social distancing' brings it down some, but then 'showing at night' nudges it a little bit lower, voila, noticeably less spread.

It's going to take a very keen measure of variables, in fact, it's going to take a keen observation of culture to even figure out what those variables are.

Sadly, I don't have faith we'll ever get there.

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