The fact

Erika Inoue, 24, who works at a research group in Tokyo that consults on projects for local governments and businesses, said she was envious of friends in the United States who had received their shots.

“Among my friends’ group, I’m the only one who hasn’t gotten vaccinated,” said Ms. Inoue, who is hoping to attend a friend’s wedding in Tunisia. “I cannot wait.”

Japan, South Korea and Australia have all fallen far behind the vaccination timelines they laid out months ago.

Some wards in Tokyo began administering shots to those over 65 just this past week. In South Korea, where the authorities initially said they would be able to vaccinate about one million people a day, they have averaged closer to 27,000 in the first three months vaccinating. This month, Australian health officials dropped a goal of vaccinating the country’s entire population by the end of the year.

In Australia and Japan, the authorities have blamed supply problems from Europe for the slow rollout. Australia has said the European Union failed to deliver 3.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. A spokesman for the European Commission said that only 250,000 doses had been withheld from Australia by Italy in March, but officials in Australia say the reality is that the rest of the doses, blocked or not, simply have not arrived.

Australia has faced further complications as it has advised against giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 50 after reports of very rare blood clots.

In Japan, Taro Kono, the cabinet minister overseeing the vaccination program, has complained that the European Union grants approval on a shipment-by-shipment basis rather than approving multiple shipments at once. “We could get our vaccines stopped by the E.U.,” he said, citing the withheld doses to Australia.

The European Union has authorized shipments of more than 39 million doses to Japan, Patricia Flor, the union’s ambassador to Japan, said in an interview. “I would totally and absolutely reject any statement which would say that the way the vaccination campaign in Japan is going is related in any way to delays or problems in deliveries from the E.U.,” she said.

Supply issues or not, other factors have also led to delays. Japan requires domestic clinical trials of new vaccines, and in both Japan and South Korea, officials have proceeded carefully to persuade people who say they are reluctant to get vaccinated right away.

Kim Minho, 27, a researcher at the Institute of Engineering Research in Seoul, said the government had depended too heavily on measures like social distancing to curb infection rates. “Korea was late to the vaccine party,” he said.

A similar dynamic is true in Japan. Experts said the country might simply have failed to negotiate contracts requiring early deliveries of vaccines doses. In a statement, Pfizer said it would deliver on its commitment of 144 million doses to Japan by the end of 2021. Japan has yet to give regulatory approval to the Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines, although it has contracted with both companies to buy millions of doses.

Health ministry officials “are professionals about public health,” said Dr. Hiroyuki Moriuchi, a professor of global health at Nagasaki University. “But when it comes to business or contract writing, they are not professionals or experts in this area.”

“If Japan had a firm consciousness that this is a sense of crisis,” he added, “they would not have relied only on health ministry officials” to negotiate such contracts.

Mr. Kono, the cabinet minister overseeing the vaccine campaign, projects that the country will distribute enough doses for the country’s 36 million older people by the end of June. In a news briefing, he gave no projections for when the rest of the population might be inoculated.

Although overseas spectators have been barred from the Olympics, the Games’ organizers have said they will not require athletes, Olympic officials or foreign journalists to be vaccinated in order to enter Japan. On Friday, Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo organizing committee, said that unlike other nations, Japan did not plan to prioritize its athletes for vaccination.

Organizers of the Tokyo Summer Olympics are proceeding with the event despite Japan’s low vaccination rates. Credit...Issei Kato/Reuters

In public polls, more than 70 percent of Japanese respondents say the Olympics should be postponed or canceled because of the pandemic. Media surveys have found that close to three-quarters of the public is unhappy with the vaccination delays.

text by The New York Times

Get vaccinated

Millions are skipping their second dozes of Covid Vaccines.

Why?

You may have some concerns like you may fear the side effects such as flulike symptoms? You may feel that it is sufficiently protected with a single shot? Or simply they ran out of supply or didn't have the right brand in stock?

I had a second dose last week and felt that I should be open about my experiences after the second shot. So this is my story.......

April.20 

3pm:  I had a second Moderna made vaccine and waited 15 minutes to see I feel ok to leave the shot site.

7pm:  Had a good dinner (no alcohol) feeling well as usual.

11pm:  Went to bed. All normal. 

April.21

7am:  Slept well and felt wooziness little but had coffee and good amount of breakfast. Normal day starts.

10am:  Online meeting as usual with the colleagues and told them to meet in person later time. I was feeling fine.

11am:  Checked my temperature, 99.5 degrees. Slightly feeling fever like.

12pm:  Had a good amount of lunch, but wanted to go back to bed as soon as finished meal. Start feeling listless. 

1pm～6pm:  Having temperature went up and down in between 99.5 to 101 degrees. Yes, this was the moment feeling flulike symptom. 

  

6pm:  Even I was feeling wooziness, I was hungry for regular meal for dinner. My body was suffering with flulike symptom, but my mental was positive just because I guess I knew exactly why this was happening and knew this will be over within 24 to 36 hours like as many people said.

9pm  Since dinner, stayed in bed watching TV feeling woozy. Had a Tylenol and went to sleep hoping to feel much better when I wake up.

April.22

6am:  Had a great sleep and felt little weak after a high fever, but felt good.

7am:  Had a great breakfast and feeling better and better.

10am:  I was at office and read to do anything!

So to verify the time to kick in the vaccine fully, it took somewhere around 10 hours + after being vaccinated, started feeling woozy. The fever like temperatures remained for about 30 hours and feel getting back to normal afterward.

I know about 20 people who had 2nd shot of vaccine and symptom varies.

 

50% were very similar to what I went through.

40% were no fever, nothing. Lucky ones.

10% felt minor issues such as low fever for a very short time.

But what I know, it is good that I have made effort to protect myself for being less chance to advancing in severity with virus and not spreading virus to others.

Don't you think it is worth of having vaccines just for this reason?

Please get vaccinated.

Remember, you will still need to follow the rules!

It's time

 

NYC Restaurants and Bars Can Stay Open Until Midnight Starting April 19

It is time for restaurants and bars to do business with normal hours. It has taken too long to get here, but the continuing problems were created by us by not wearing mask, not washing hands,  not speaking mannerly and so many other things that we simply can be more responsible.

As long as we observe the rules, we will have much better life, rather getting back to where it was before COVID-19 and let's get it done.

Let's good bye to this invisible virus that has given everyone fear and trying to defeat all of us.

Enough is enough.

Let's have vaccine, wear mask, and to be careful to our health.

Do our part, and please stay well.

Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo Olympics: 72 percent of Japanese polled want the games canceled or postponed over slow vaccine rollout

The majority of people polled do not want the Tokyo Olympics to happen this summer

The Tokyo Olympics are only three months away now, but there is still a lot of uncertainty and concern surrounding the event, specifically among those living in Japan. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and not everyone in the country being vaccinated, many are worried the games -- which have already been postponed once -- will not be safe to hold.

On Monday, a Kyodo News poll showed that the majority of those asked in Japan are in favor of postponing or canceling the games altogether. Here are the stats from a Kyodo News poll:

"Amid lingering concern over a fourth coronavirus wave and the slow progress of vaccination, the poll found 39.2 percent believe the postponed Olympics and Paralympics should be canceled, while 32.8 percent think they should be rescheduled. Only 24.5 percent responded that the games should be held as scheduled."

According to the Wall Street Journal, only one percent of Japan's population is vaccinated against COVID-19.

As noted in the Kyodo News report, and highlighted by the Wall Street Journal information above, the concern for the Olympic events come in large part due to Japan's COVID-19 vaccine rollout which, because it is relying heavily on getting vials from other countries, is not moving as fast as desired.

According to nationwide telephone poll conducted and reported on by Kyodo News, 60 percent of people in the country are "dissatisfied" with the how the vaccine is being distributed. On Monday, Japan moved on to the phase of the rollout that includes vaccinating those who are 65 and older. Before Monday, health care workers were prioritized.

The poll also touched on the torch relay, with 13.2 percent saying it should continue, 49.3 percent saying in areas with high COVID-19 rates it should be canceled and 35.9 percent saying it should be canceled entirely. The torch relay began on March 25 in Japan. 

Nearly all polled are concerned about COVID-19 cases rising, as Kyodo News wrote that "92.6 percent said they feel anxious about a resurgence of novel coronavirus infections."

2021 Summer Olympics: Foreign visitors will not be permitted at Tokyo Games, which will go ahead as scheduled

The Summer Olympics are set to start in late July

Fans will reportedly not be allowed to travel to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics this summer, according to multiple reports. The country made the decision to ban foreign visitors from the Tokyo Olympics due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. The report came on Tuesday from the Kyodo news agency, citing Japanese government officials. The news has not yet been confirmed by the Japanese government or Olympic officials.

While the news may be disappointing to those wanting to make the trip, the country is being on the safe side. At one point, fans were unsure if there would even be a Summer Olympics, after the games were delayed from 2020 to 2021 and amidst growing worry regarding the pandemic. They still plan to have the Olympics in summer of 2021 despite the pushback from many fans, media members and Japanese citizens.

Japan has a population of over 126 million, and has reported just over 8,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to CBS News.

Even without allowing visitors from abroad, there is still concern about the spread of the virus, given how many athletes and personnel will be making the trip.

Last month, officials released a 33-page playbook detailing the health and safety protocols that will be in place. There are many guidelines in place for athletes, including tracking, tests and mask mandates. Fans will not be allowed to cheer or sing loudly, but are allowed to clap.

The officials have asked that athletes get vaccinated before participating, but say they will not require a vaccination before attending.

The Tokyo Olympics are set to start on July 23 and last until Aug. 8.

text by CBS 

STOP THE HATE

 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

STOP THE HATE

WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION TO

EACH OF US HAVE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SOCIETY BETTER PLACE

NO TIME TO BLAME ANYONE

THIS IS A TIME TO TEST YOURSELF WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO OTHERS

STOP THE HATE

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Not Dead Yet

 

We don’t think of clothing as disposable, or even particularly seasonal. We encourage people to buy only things they truly love. But sometimes you fall out of love; sometimes you outgrow a certain garment, either physically or emotionally. We know there’s no shortage of options when it’s time to move on, either by reselling stuff online or seeing what you can get from a vintage store. But we’d like to offer an alternative for used Noah items: bring or send them home.

We’ll treat them right. We made them, after all, and we have a lot of love for the things we’ve made. In return for reuniting us with our designs, we’ll give you credit towards a new Noah purchase.

What we’re really excited about is finding ways to keep our clothes in use, rather than forgotten or thrown away. This could mean a few things, depending on what you bring back and what kind of condition it’s in:

• Some items will be washed, repaired and resold by us
• Others will be donated to organizations like New York Cares, which specializes in effectively getting used clothing to people in need.
• Anything we decide isn’t wearable (or able to be repaired) will go to recycling markets to be converted into wiping rags, or shredded for low-grade fiber products, like insulation.

Used Noah items can be returned either in-person or be shipped to our Flagship store in New York at: 195 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10012. For shipped items, please include your name and email address so that your credit can be provided.

Credit for repurposed items, which can be used either at our flagship or online stores (not partner or stockist locations) will be based on the following scale:

The recycling program does not include bags, hats, beanies swimsuits, accessories or jewelry. Items eligible for credit must have a logo or composition tag intact. Noah reserves the right to refuse some items.

provided by NOAH 

Todd Snyder

 

In Conversation...

Derek: Define your style and how you carved out a niche in menswear.

Todd: I grew up in Iowa and always had an affinity for clothes. I spent a lot of time shopping and reading magazines and watching all the old greats, whether it was Calvin Klein or Ralph or Armani, and this is probably in the 90's, early 90's. Kind of fell in love with the idea of designing clothes and I knew when I had to move to New York City — I graduated college, I originally was studying architecture and switched to design. I always had an affinity for design and in general making things look better — I knew if I wanted to be any good at what I was doing, that I needed to work for the best and Ralph, for me, was it. He epitomizes American style and luxury. So that’s where I started. 

I always had this affinity for American sportswear and what that meant. I think it's changed over time and what I love about American style is it's always evolving whether its street style today that's kind of coming in sneakers. But there's always kind of like a steady thread of Americana whether it's madras or like I'm really big into sac suits right now, little oversized, but also having something that's a bit irreverent so it's not quite expected and always a little bad boy. 

That to me is what I strive to be. The best of American sportswear but always adding my spin on it. Whether it's the stuff I do with Champion or the stuff I do with Timex, I always try to make something just a bit more edgy - not quite as expected. Champion really allows me to play in the street style a lot more.

Derek: This idea of American heritage, how does it leave room to evolve AND stay timeless? I think you touched on that a little bit with street wear, so I'd like to dig a little deeper. How does street wear influence Todd Snyder? 

Todd: Any time I do a collaboration, I try to do it as authentically as possible. For me, Champion invented activewear. I mean, they started in 1919 well before Nike, Adidas, or Puma was ever a thought. I wanted to work with the originator, that was a really big reason for me. Champion has such great legacy, even in the early 70s and 80s, they were doing all the uniforms for most the NBA and a lot of colleges. They embodied that true ‘athletic department’ feel. Anything I do I try to do it from a place of authenticity because I think it makes it real and it doesn't look like I'm just trying to copy cat something - when I do my collaborations I try to bring it to a different place so I call ours "gentleman's hype". Just because there's a different lens from my customer’s point of view, my guys are not going to be waiting in line at Kith to get a pair of sneakers and aren’t going to be searching Stockx. They want to casually come in, buy things that are tasteful and current. They don't have to be super cutting edge and have the most rare item, but they want to make sure they are relevant, today. I try to do that with all of the collaborations I do because all of them are exclusive. That exclusivity allows me to play in different arenas. Whether it's doing Champion or Red Wing - which is a little more workwear-heritage - it allows me to play in multiple directions that I don't necessarily define my entire collection towards. 

I try to have something for everybody, I want us to be the one stop shop guys. So he can get something on the weekend if he's going hiking or if he's a surfer he can get a pair of Birdwell trunks or if he's wanting something that's cool that he can wear to the gym or a cool hoodie underneath his sport coat or top coat, we have that. 

The beauty of fashion is that it evolves and changes, thankfully! Otherwise we'd all be very bored and nobody really likes to look like everybody else, everyone wants to have their own identity and what I try to do is just give a small edit of what I think our guy wants to wear. You know he doesn't want to be super trendy but he also doesn't want to be super behind and it's about striking that balance.

Derek: For me and my personal style, you give men great basics that we can count on, but have a little edge thrown in there where we can set ourselves apart without being trendy.

Todd: Yeah that's well said I mean that's essentially what I try to do. I try to update every basic piece a guy should own, whether its a chino and doing it in a stretch fabric. Fit is really important to me and I know a lot about it, so I try to make the best fitting pant that’s semi universal - meaning it's going to fit a lot of people - and the same thing with a t-shirt. Give something that's slightly different whether it’s - you know we make our shirts in LA, which I love - and it's a really good quality and we do a pocket tee with a little button thrown on it that also identifies it, in a way. It’s kind of like your little badge of honor. 

"It's really hard to design things that are timeless"

Derek: So if you were to back away from apparel as the medium, just design in general, how do you define great design?

Todd: I think it's in the eye of the beholder. Everybody is different. For me, I've always been a huge follower of architecture and kind of the modern sensibility that started in the 20s with the Bauhaus. It's amazing how that stuff is still current. I look at buildings that are older than me and I'm still like “God, it looks like it was built 10 years ago!” It's still relevant. It's pretty special when you can look at something and it is timeless. It's really hard to design things that are timeless, especially in architecture because it takes years to build that stuff and they usually stay around for a very long time. But design for me kind of takes on that form, the part that I like that has somewhat of a timeless sensibility. Something that you can add to your wardrobe or even your interior or even a car, for me my favorite cars are old cars because they came around - there are beautiful cars coming out today that I find gorgeous but nothing beats an old vintage Land Cruiser, Mercedes-Benz, or Porsche. There's something about it, it was produced in such a limited way and there's a feeling you have - it's like when you walk into someone's home and it sets the tone for you. Whether its a peacefulness or this kind of serenity, or going into a hotel and you just fall in love with how it makes you feel. That to me represents great design, how it connects with you from a feeling and for me, more from like a relaxation point of view. There's something clean and simple about it that appeals to me. But it comes through in a lot of different ways, whether its interior design, art, photography, apparel, automotive design - anything that you're looking at that gives you this sense of serenity and peacefulness. 

 Derek: When you're in a rut or you have a creative block, how do you resolve it?

Todd: Travel. Travel is the easiest way because it gets me out of my day to day. It’s watching people, seeing something new. Japan always blows my mind every time I go. But anytime I go anywhere, even if I'm going to South Carolina or Kansas City I still get inspiration. Not only that, but sometimes going on vacation and putting yourself in the place of, let’s say Palm Beach this weekend visiting family. It's a different environment and everybody here is very preppy. It doesn't mean I'm all of a sudden going to start dressing super-preppy, but I'm still going to have my own sense here. So I play with my mind and figure out, okay I'm packing for a trip to wherever and I want to still look good, not look completely from left field but still look like I'm ‘dressing the part’. That, for me is always a really interesting thing to look at when I'm traveling. Traveling always kicks me into gear again.

Derek: What are you consuming right now? Books, television, podcasts, wine, products, what are you into? 

Todd: I'm super into podcasts right now. That’s my newest addition. I know I'm probably late to the game, but there are some really amazing stories out there and people are being really candid and it's pretty awesome. People are telling their whole story for you to hear and you don't have to wait for it to get on 60 Minutes now. You can actually hear it on a podcast, and you probably hear more of it, which is kind of cool. 

Derek: I know you're a collector. What are your top three pieces?

Todd: Watches for me have always been, I'd say more so an Achilles heel, but I love them. Since opening my store two years ago, I have a steady feed of new watches that come through the door and I'm always like “Ah I need that one!” So I'll either trade or purchase a new one once in a while, which is an expensive hobby, but that's definitely one of my favs. More recently I built an old vintage car with FJ Co. We rebuilt a 1978 Land Cruiser. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm definitely not an expert, but it's a fun project. And then the third is, I collect old Champion sweatshirts and T-shirts. I'm a sucker anytime I see something that's super rare, I gotta have it. We frame a few throughout the office, when we had the store we had them framed in the store but that's something, if I find something that's super rare, no matter where I am if I'm traveling in Japan, Europe, at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, or even just online I've got ta have it. I think right now I'm probably well over a thousand pieces that I've collected but it's not a good habit either cuz i'm running out of space.

Derek: So I could not be more excited to welcome you as an Autotype Design Club Member. The premise here is that I want to celebrate design. I want to create a design community where we turn people on to new things. Where we celebrate what you do and I think, most importantly, is preserve craft. I want to connect future designers, I want to give them the leg-up that you and I have been so fortunate to have. So what excites you about Autotype and why?

Todd: I see something that's missing in the industry or a brand that's kind of become dormant and I want to bring it back to its original prowess but then also it’s exciting to work and play in someone else's sandbox and play with their toys. That for me is super exciting and working with other people that are creative always help to inspire me. And if anything I always learn I get different cues and different ideas when I watch somebody else's process. It inspires me to think differently and I think that's part of being creative, is always trying to think differently. Working with like-minded individuals and working with creatives, the whole thing swells together and I think people do more when they're in a community, feeding off each other through inspiration and support. 

text & interview at Autotype Design Club