Photo/Illutration A third-year student at Shizuoka Prefectural High School of Science and Technology, right, gives a speech representing other graduating students on a school address system as school officials observe in Shizuoka’s Aoi Ward on March 2. (Etsuko Akuzawa)

Last spring, The Asahi Shimbun's "Koe" (Letters to the Editor) section ran a letter from a junior high school pupil recalling the words of the music teacher at the primary school they had attended.

The children were rehearsing a song they would sing at the school's graduation ceremony. When the rehearsal ended quite well, the music teacher congratulated the youngsters, saying, "You are all really good. I am happy to be teaching you."

And the teacher encouraged them further: "But I know you'll keep getting even better. Music has no answer. It has no end. That's why it's not easy to understand. But that's why it's such fun."

All over Japan, I am sure there were schoolchildren who eagerly looked forward to performing on graduation day and practiced hard for it.

But this year, the novel coronavirus outbreak has denied them their chance to make memories this month.

Graduation ceremonies are being scaled-down or streamed online.

Schools shut down in many regions on March 2, robbing students of the already limited time they had left to spend with their classmates before going their separate ways.

Working parents of younger schoolchildren, who cannot be left at home without adult supervision, are finding themselves in a real bind.

After-school day care centers are the primary hope of such parents. However, a recent Asahi Shimbun Tokyo evening edition quoted one worried person as saying, "I just hope the overcrowding at those facilities won't cause further infections."

In the current state of confusion and uncertainty, nobody really knows how best to proceed.

It was Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who abruptly requested all schools to shut down. Had he explained the urgency of the situation in clear terms, most people would have accepted his decision, even if reluctantly.

But Abe himself admitted that the decision was his own, not based on any expert's advice.

This certainly couldn't have been what people wanted to hear. Are we supposed to believe that there is only a very fine line between a political judgment and a layperson's judgment?

This coronavirus outbreak will pass.

But song rehearsals and preparations for their graduation ceremonies will live on in students' memories as scenes from their school days.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 3

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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