The state of emergency has been extended through the end of May. Will Universe’s closure also be extended as a result? I can see on the members’ page that online dates are steadily increasing, but what about the number of new members announced each month—will April’s figures not be released? I only became a member this year, so I’m worried.

I’m Seattle, a male member. The peak has already passed, and I don’t think continuing to refrain from normal activities will accomplish anything—it will only worsen the recession. If 420,000 people had died in Japan, Professor Hiroshi Nishiura’s prediction would have caused serious harm by encouraging excessive restrictions. In reality, only 500 people have died, yet we’ve ended up facing an unbelievably severe recession.

I’m male member Date◎Yume. I’m not the person you were asking to answer, but I wanted to add a brief comment. In my case, I only see one partner, and we check in on each other’s health about a week before we’re due to meet. I’ve told her that if either of us develops a fever, loss of taste, or anything else out of the ordinary, we’ll switch to a short meeting while keeping the allowance the same as usual. That way, we can both help prevent infection, and support can still be provided even if one of us isn’t feeling well. If either of us has health issues, I think of the allowance as a necessary expense. This seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement that allows us to maintain peace of mind and safety.

I’m Paper Airplane, a male member. These days, if you go to a love hotel, they’re charging special Golden Week rates—and they’re still nearly as full as usual. It really reminded me how resilient this industry is, even at times like this. I think the same applies to dating clubs. It’s something people need even more than restaurants and other food services.

Universe representative Kida answering. Will Universe’s closure period be extended as well? → No. We’re already tired of refraining from activity. Actually, “tired” isn’t quite the right word—we’re fed up with it. Even if there are currently 100 cases in Japan, and that number falls to 10 by the end of May, what exactly does that accomplish? Once we return to our normal lives, it’ll go from 10 back to 100 in no time, and we’ll just keep repeating that cycle until treatments or a vaccine are developed a year from now, right? That means there must be a period during which we have to coexist with the novel coronavirus to some extent. It’s like how cars can’t operate unless we accept the 4,000 people who die in traffic accidents each year. We’ll continue making progress to minimize deaths, but I think we’ll have no choice but to gradually resume economic activity and social interaction. Of course, I’m not the one deciding national policy, but I don’t think we can simply reopen for business on June 1 with the enthusiasm of, “All right, beach season is open!” So, I’m planning to gradually restart operations from May 21. We can’t compile the number of new memberships for April because our employees are on leave. Could you take a look at the members’ site? I understand why you’re feeling anxious. However, with so many people still worried about infection, we’d like to resume operations on a scale that reflects our members’ feelings. (If we receive more offers, we’ll increase the number of staff available to respond.)

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here. The state of emergency was originally in effect until May 6, but the decision to extend it wasn’t made until May 4, just two days beforehand. Universe has announced that it will remain closed through May 20. I expect we’ll announce whether the closure will be extended in due course. However, if the government made its decision only two days in advance, it wouldn’t be unusual for Universe to make a similar announcement on May 18. We don’t know exactly when the announcement will be made yet, so please wait a little longer. As for announcing the number of new members, we’re currently closed and only minimal functions are operating. We’d appreciate it if you could wait until we return to normal operations. If you’ve only just joined and are worried about what will happen to Universe, please rest assured. Although the effects of COVID-19 were already being felt in March, before the state of emergency was declared, our sales were still more than 10% higher than in the same month last year. So once the state of emergency is lifted, sales may return to their previous levels—or, since our members have had to hold back until now, we may even see the highest sales in Universe’s history. This is a difficult time, but please don’t worry and wait for that time to come.