COVID-19 Measures for Travelers Returning from Overseas

Thank you for your prompt question. I’m Kida, representative of the Universe Group, and I’ll answer it. First, I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been inconvenienced or concerned by our sudden and forceful response and the information we provided. For those who travel overseas frequently, these new rules are extremely strict. In practice, anyone who travels abroad once a month would be unable to go on dates. We will consider either refunding the setting fees for the period during which dates are prohibited or extending the membership period. Compared with the anxiety surrounding dates and the risk of potentially having an infected person among our members, extending the period would not be a major issue for the club. However, one concern is where to draw the line—for example, someone might ask, “Then what happens if my date is canceled because of a typhoon?” I believe that, not only for dating clubs but for membership-based organizations in general, there is an aspect of “deciding our own rules.” For example, “Joining requires recommendations from at least two current members,” or “The chairperson is elected from among the members.” Therefore, the best approach might be to determine the average level of restrictions our members are looking for and establish strict rules based on that overall sentiment. However, this time, we were in a situation where someone could become infected while we were still taking a vote, so I took it upon myself to introduce strict rules. The thinking behind this decision was that “there is no point unless our rules are stricter than those of the Japanese government.” A rule requiring every person in Japan to refrain from going to work for 14 days after returning from overseas would be extremely difficult to implement in reality. However, I believe it is feasible to require all club members to refrain from going on dates for 14 days after returning to Japan. That said, I’m sure there are more meaningful rules we could put in place, so we would greatly appreciate your suggestions, such as “It would be better to do things this way.” If you already had a date confirmed before this information was announced and now need to postpone it because of these rules, please notify your coordinator. If the date had already been confirmed, we will allow it to go ahead as long as the other person agrees. Going forward, we would also like to allow confirmed dates whenever the other person agrees. However, since it may be difficult for them to refuse, these exceptions will apply only to dates that had been confirmed as of yesterday.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office will also respond. For example, the University of Tokyo’s Health Service Center under the Division for Health and Safety Promotion states: “Please refrain from traveling to China’s Hubei and Zhejiang provinces. For travel to regions outside these areas, please carefully consider whether it is necessary.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Overseas Safety website states: “Please urgently consider postponing travel to China.” I assume the question is: both of these statements basically concern China alone, so why is Universe taking the same measures for other countries as well? Universe is not operated by the government. Therefore, we have to manage risks ourselves, and our response may extend further than the government’s measures. (The government will not provide assistance even if the risk materializes.) For that reason, this time we are taking measures from the standpoint of reducing risks as much as possible. Of course, if we were to take the strictest possible approach, we would also have had to consider suspending operations until the coronavirus outbreak was over. (Some small businesses have in fact suspended operations.) I believe the reasons we did not go that far have already been explained. “CP+” was an event attended by more than 60,000 people every year, but it was canceled this year. The exhibiting companies presumably had a difficult time, especially since there was no guarantee that their fees would be refunded and no one seemed to be compensating them. The public appearance at the Imperial Palace scheduled for the Emperor’s Birthday on February 23 was also canceled. Apparently, 82,850 people attended the most recent Emperor’s Birthday event. The winter national tournament of Special Olympics Nippon, a sports event for people with intellectual disabilities, was also canceled. The public sumo practice session scheduled to be held for the first time at Grand Front Osaka, a commercial complex in Osaka, was also canceled. It was also announced that events organized by Bushiroad would either be canceled or postponed. Approximately 38,000 people were scheduled to participate in the Tokyo Marathon, but it was decided that general participants would not be allowed to take part—and there would be no refunds. This applied regardless of whether they had traveled overseas or not. The decision not to refund the ¥16,200 entry fee is quite extraordinary as well. You may feel that these measures are excessive, but this is a difficult time. Things may be inconvenient in various ways until the coronavirus outbreak subsides, but we ask for your understanding and cooperation.

I’m Saito, a columnist ♪ Before worrying about compensation and all that, it’s about manners and consideration.

I’m Marika, a female member. Sorry—I’m not a staff member. As for compensation… Do you mean a pro-rated refund from the annual membership fee for the 14 days when offers can’t be made? That would be ¥6,000 for Black members and around ¥700 for Standard members, lol. They haven’t even managed the infection risk properly, and now they’re being ridiculously stingy about compensation. I wish the male members had a little more leeway in these situations.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. For people who normally accept dates, seeing people returning from Hawaii or cruise ships become infected or develop symptoms would probably make them reluctant to go on dates with anyone who’s just come back from overseas, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it be normal for those people to refrain from going on dates themselves as well? I’m having a hard time understanding the claim that this is stricter than the Japanese government’s guidelines… I assume this response is meant with all the members’ best interests in mind, so what’s the deal with compensation and all that?