Tokyo reported another 134 new cases of the coronavirus today. Governor Koike made an earnest appeal to all people to not travel during the upcoming Golden Week holidays. She specifically appealed to people to stay at home between April 25th till May 6th in order to further strengthen the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. She’s calling it the “Stay Home Week to Save Lives”. There is no doubt that the state of emergency is not giving the expected results and there is a consistent increase in the number of cases across Japan. This is an extremely worrying sign as an extension of the emergency would mean a more prolonged fight is required to bring the crisis under control. At this stage, no peak is in sight, which is an indication of the massive challenge that lies ahead in a country where the laws of the land do not permit a legal “lockdown” like the ones seen in many other countries. The fact is that unless people themselves take this crisis seriously and make some hard choices, the crisis will continue for much longer and will cause even greater hardship in the country. Is anyone listening though?