Why I am not closing my bar.

Today Osaka prefecture issued an official request to suspend operation of businesses.
Of course, this was done as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The bar I am running is an obvious subject of this request, which urged bars and other such establishments to limit the sale of alcoholic beverages until 7 PM, and set the closing time to 8 PM.
Hereby I would like to express my clear intent to disobey this request.

“Right now, various loans and subsidies by the state have been mostly decided upon.
In regards to this business suspension request, Osaka prefectural government is considering the possibility of additional subsidies”.
Wait a second. If they are still only “considering”, how can they make such a request then?
Shouldn’t the order of action be the other way around?

Moreover, these loans and subsidies are easier to qualify for if you have a company, and chances for such a pocket-sized excuse of a drinking place like my bar to luck out are low.
Even in an unlikely event of scoring some benefits, those are going to be but some chicken feed.
So, in the absence of any realistic plan of action, I judge that there is no obligation to obey this request. Therefore, we will not be implementing any self-restriction on our business hours, or close the bar.

That’s all I have to say for the “general audience”.

For those who are not into kind of intense (a little difficult?) topics, and I am not expecting everyone to be able to accept this stuff, please feel free to stop reading around here.

So, furthermore, even if there was a satisfactory compensation, there is an ideological reason for me to still try and keep the bar open and running.
In Japan, unlike in some other countries, it is not legally possible to implement the state of lockdown through penal regulations and imprisonment.
What does this mean?
After the WW2, this country has been experiencing aversive reaction towards exercising state power, to the point that you can call it a sort of allergy.

Of course, this is due to the painful regret and reflection upon the pre-war years, as well as how self-consciousness of Japan was constructed in the framework of US-Japan relations and a chain of other complicated factors of the post-war years.
If you look at the situation from this perspective, no matter how many times you declare “State of Emergency”, the state does not have the power to suddenly put restrictions on the daily life of the citizens, even it wants to – hence it is always only going to be a “request”.

It is not obligatory, so you are free to do whatever you want – to go to your jobs or to go to the supermarkets that do not even carry the daily necessities anymore. The freedom is yours.

At this stage, we are experiencing a subversion of values that makes me sick.

Liberals and so-called leftists are viciously attacking the utterly insufficient policies of the state, and conservatives are tooting the horn of “but look, we are still doing better than other countries!”.
Hold on, haven’t the former always been getting purple with rage about exercises of state power? And aren’t the latter supposed to be busy plotting the ways to exercise more of this power? Oh the deceit of post-war democracy, intensified!!!

…… Well, I’m drifting off the topic here.

One might say I’ve got my priorities wrong, but I truly do not care about neither the ruling party, nor the elections or so-called democracy.
I am but a person cheerfully watching the whole thing going up in flames.
That being said, why would I not obey the requests to suspend business, even in case of a decent subsidy being guaranteed?
The answer is the strong sense of resistance towards such concepts as “atmosphere” and “reading the room”.

Even if there is no punishment, even if there is no guarantee, we are still going to do as we are told.
If the case is such that there is some financial damage in continuing the operation of businesses due to the lack of customers, this is in accord with the logic of capitalism, and although I hate this logic, I do understand.
However, if this is not the case, why would you self-isolate, and why would you limit your action and thought just because there was a “request”?
This is something I cannot comprehend.

Sometimes even if you live in a sterile room and wrap yourself up in protective gear, you can’t escape all kinds of viruses and bacteria – not only the coronavirus.
I am also afraid of dying, just like everyone else.
I do understand the fear of possibly giving the virus to others, and the feeling of regard for others.
However, are we sure this “regard for others” is not used as a pretext to stop thinking for ourselves?

These concepts of “reading the room”, or “atmosphere”, “silent consensus” are a terrifying thing.
Concepts like this previously enabled the massacre of Jewish people across Europe, or massacre of Koreans and anti-establishment social activists after the Great Kanto Earthquake.
If it weren’t for this enabling “atmosphere”, such grotesque tragedies would not have occurred.
There is always a basis for things to escalate up to that point.
If you’re not wearing a mask you get eye-rolled; if you are still running your shop – you’re basically committing a treason!

Forcing measures with no scientific or immunological basis (merely lowering the possibilities but not preventing principally) upon the customers, like disinfection with alcohol or social distancing, is being done here and there.
We just have to do something, right? Look, I am doing it all correctly, so if there is ever a problem, I can stand in the pose of “I have done my best about this, alas”.
How prevalent this pose of “well, I have done >something<” in this country! And don’t you think this is related to the fact that the officials of this country are only being able to come up with good-for-nothing policies?

In regards to all of this, all I have is feelings of uneasiness and disdain.

It’s not like I want the virus to spread.
But, sticking to the principles even if it is a question of life and death, is something I recognize as “dignity”, and “aesthetic consciousness”. I am not trying to attack or criticize those who self-isolate and self-restrict out of the regard for the well-being of others.
However, with the above being stated, I do despise those who stick to this “well, it’s kinda scary, so it’s best to simply follow, let’s self-isolate lol” attitude.
The age of these fuckers is unmistakably coming to its end.
Those who think for themselves, who sort out their information sources, standing firm on their principles even though they might be wrong logically and ethically – only those I am willing to call “human”.

So, there’s no way I am going to self-isolate! Eat shit with your requests!