A question for the male members

This is Kobayashi from the Tokyo branch. I don’t believe that either the men or the women should be left entirely to their own devices. Those who find that it affects their work refrain from participating, so I don’t think there’s much to worry about. That said, you’re a very kind-hearted person, aren’t you?

I’m だて◎ゆめ, a male member. I’m not in a position where I’d be featured in the media or anything, but as you asked, an infection could affect my work and other responsibilities, so prevention is a serious matter for me. Whenever we meet, we take every possible precaution and cooperate with each other. There’s not much we can do about community transmission, so aside from avoiding unnecessary outings and wearing masks, we haven’t taken any excessive measures. So far, we’ve both been careful and haven’t gotten infected. We’re doing well and still sneak around town together, both wearing masks. To some people, we might look like “an old, white-haired man and an obviously young woman—what’s going on there?” But we keep our faces covered and couldn’t care less, thinking, “Jealous?” (笑)

Maezawa from the CEO’s office will answer as well. Thank you for your question. If everyone were forbidden from going outside and anyone who violated the rule received a severe punishment, such as the death penalty, I think the number of infections would decrease. However, some people might also argue that never leaving the house—is that really a human life? Isn’t it more like the life of livestock? Simply being alive is not the same as living as a human being. There’s also the question of how people would survive if we brought all economic activity to zero. That’s why, even when a state of emergency is declared, going outside is not completely prohibited. In other words, the current situation allows people to go about their lives to some extent while taking precautions and measures to reduce infections. At that point, whether meeting someone you want to see counts as “nonessential and nonurgent” depends on the individual. Given that, I think more people will choose to meet others while still taking infection-prevention measures. We’ve been told not to eat out in large groups, but that doesn’t mean even two people are prohibited from doing so.

I’m Kazu, a male member. Since no one really knows who will get infected or what might trigger it, I think of it as a game of Old Maid. You might catch it while shopping for groceries at the supermarket, when accepting a delivery, or on your commute. Honestly, you never know where or when you picked it up, right? Fortunately, no one at my company has tested positive, but several employees have already had to isolate after being identified as close contacts. We ask whether the close contact occurred during work hours, but we don’t pry beyond that. Anything outside of work is private. Since around March last year, we’ve been setting things up so that even if someone—including me—ends up having to isolate, it won’t cause a major disruption.

I’m Tetsu, a male member. Even after the state of emergency was declared, I’ve continued going out both during the day and at night. Since restaurants and bars are scaling back their operations at night, I go out less often than I used to. It may sound cold, but preventing infection is each person’s own responsibility. I don’t think there’s any need to worry about other people. If you’re afraid, you can simply refrain from participating. And asking someone else, “What will you do if you get infected?” is pointless. If you’re worried about that, wouldn’t avoiding meeting people like that be the best way to prevent infection?