Many businesses and sole proprietors all over Japan are struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially, industries such as restaurants, bars, travels, transportation, events, sports are heavily affected by the pandemic. This is because the government has requested people to stay home.
The Japanese government tries to support these industries. But, unfortunately, many Japanese people are dissatisfied with financial support which they think is not enough. It seems that many businesses might go bankrupt, and many people might lose their employment if this situation continues.
Compared with what I have heard from my international friends, Japan is not such a complicated condition. They think the financial support of the Japanese government is generous. For example, one of my friends lives in Senegal. There, restaurants are subject to closure requests, but the Senegalese government doesn’t provide any financial support to them. So, many demonstrations where people protest against the policies imposed by the government have been occurring in that part of the world.
In contrast, in Japan, businesses can receive a max two million yen as a COVID-19 subsidy, and sole proprietors are entitled to receive one million yen. Additionally, the central Japanese government and local government offices have also offered other benefits and subsidies. These policies are not quite as bad as other countries’.
