Журнал. World association for medical law. The COVID-19 pandemic. Volume 39 2

243 Medicine and Law when there is a risk that the medical supply system will fall into the danger of collapse and, even if it is not issued, the prefectural governor can implement measures based on the action plan 5 set in advance. The government’s action plan 6 stipulates that, if basic human rights are respected and restrictions are placed on the rights and freedoms of the people, these restrictions shall be the least possible. The government says it has made a request to avoid restraining private rights, such as basic human rights, as much as is possible. It can be said that the government wanted to lower the level of salary compensation, due to absence from work, requesting instead of decreeing it. The choice between a compulsion with penalties, compulsion without it or just a request will depend on the people’s acceptance and cooperation with requests 7 . Whether anything is going to be stipulated by law and trust in the government will both be relevant. In the case of a request, the ethical standards are to be asked of each citizen. it is appreciated that Japan’s request policy was reasonable. It is necessary to be vigilant and take measures against the second and third waves in the future. Each citizen will be asked whether (s)he will obey the restraint of going outside because of the law or will (s)he accept same autonomously as an ethical decision, respecting a consideration of others and society. 3. Medical Treatment-Suppression of PCR Test In the early days of the outbreak of COVID-19, immigration control policy, from infected areas, was taken at the waterfront when entering Japan, such as for airplanes and ships entering from overseas. Afterwards, small-scale clusters began to occur and the government’s task force was changed to address cluster measures on February 25. The PCR test was to be performed only when it was deemed necessary by the doctor and the tests’ analysis would include private laboratories, such as the regional health research institutes and quarantine stations. The PCR test, in public institutions, could not keep up with the demand, due to lack of staff and the government’s approach to increasing staff and utilizing private inspection institutions was weak. The number of people tested by PCR, from February 6 to May 31, was 244,824 8 , which was about 2110 people per day: 16,650 people were positive 9 and the positive rate was 6.8 %. The use of PCR tests in Japan was low, compared to other OECD countries.