The government announced Tuesday the withdrawal of its request to liquor distributors not to do business with restaurants and bars that do not comply with the government's call to stop serving alcohol as a measure against the novel coronavirus. The move came in response to growing criticism from the industry and the ruling parties.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of economic revitalization, has already been forced to withdraw a plan to ask financial institutions to ensure restaurants and bars follow the government request. The succession of blunders has dealt a blow to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Suga met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of junior coalition partner Komeito, at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday and said, "I apologize for the concern," over the series of statements made by Nishimura regarding the suspension of serving alcohol.
Earlier in the day, Nishimura himself apologized to Yamaguchi by phone, saying he was sorry.
After the meeting with the prime minister, Yamaguchi told reporters, "It is important to make efforts to seek voluntary cooperation [from restaurants]."
The request, which the government withdrew, was made on July 8 to liquor distributors, asking them to suspend business with eateries that do not respond to the government's call to stop serving alcohol. The Cabinet Secretariat and the National Tax Agency jointly issued the request, but the industry strongly opposed it.
The All Japan Liquor Merchants Association said that the request "could trigger damage to the relationship of trust with customers" in its statement issued on Friday.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Nishimura said, "It was not mandatory, but my intention was to ask for cooperation as much as possible."
Conscious of the upcoming House of Representatives election, criticism from within the Liberal Democratic Party was focused on the government's response. At a meeting of the party's General Council on Tuesday, LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai demanded that Nishimura "consult with the party beforehand and be very careful about what he says, so that there will be no misunderstanding."
Hiroshige Seko, LDP secretary general in the House of Councillors, said at a press conference, "I think the voices of the people on the ground, especially in the restaurant industry, are not being heard." A group of lawmakers from the LDP also called for the withdrawal of the request.
Initially, the government defended the request, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato saying, "it was a general request," but after the ruling parties voiced opposition, the government changed its policy, highlighting the administration's lack of foresight.
On July 8, Nishimura said that he would "ask financial institutions to approach stores that do not comply" with calls for the suspension of serving alcohol, but he retracted his statement the next day in the face of criticism.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Nishimura expressed his regret, saying, "My comments caused confusion and caused anxiety to the people in the restaurant industry."
Tetsuro Fukuyama, secretary general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said at a press conference on the same day: "It's like telling a restaurant in a difficult situation to go out of business, and I'm just tired of it. It's interfering with their business."
--Suga apologizes
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologized on Wednesday about a series of blunders, including the government's request to liquor distributors asking them to suspend business with restaurants that continue serving alcohol. "We have caused a great deal of trouble for many people. I would like to apologize," he told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office. Asked if he had known about the request before it was issued, he said, "I didn't discuss the specific content of the request."
Nishimura reiterated his apology on Wednesday at a session of the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee and stressed that he would fulfill his responsibility by doing his utmost to control the coronavirus infection. As for how the request was made, he explained, "Various proposals and adjustments were made in the hope of somehow controlling the spread of the infection."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
