Tokyo Eijuso Hospital, where an in-hospital COVID-19 infection outbreak occurred. Unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] The Japanese broadcasting industry is deciding to suspend broadcasts one after another due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation.
On the 29th of last month, the entire Japan was shocked by the death of the national comedian Shimura Ken due to COVID-19, and news of COVID-19 positive cases of stars from various fields such as playwright Kudo Kankuro and singer-actor Komiya Rio were reported one after another.
In response, the broadcasting industry decided to suspend recordings to cope with COVID-19.
According to Sports Kyunghyang on the 1st, Japan's NHK decided to suspend recordings of the TV novel "El" and the epic drama "Kirin ga Kuru," both featuring Shimura Ken. NHK stated that they will monitor the COVID-19 situation until the 12th.
Regarding this, NHK said, "It is to consider the safety of the cast and program staff and at the same time as part of efforts to prevent infection," adding, "In the case of epic dramas and TV novels, there are many people involved, so we judged that there are limits to safety measures."
TBS also decided to postpone broadcasts such as the annual spring special show "All-Star Thanksgiving 2020 Spring" and the popular work "Hanzawa Naoki - Season 2."
TBS stated, "Due to the serious phase of the COVID-19 infection explosion in Tokyo, we decided to postpone the broadcasts considering various circumstances."
The drama "Hanzawa Naoki - Season 2," which was also popular domestically, was scheduled to air in April, but it is expected that the filming schedule will inevitably be disrupted due to the impact of COVID-19.
Earlier, on the 30th of last month, Shimura Ken (70) passed away due to COVID-19, shocking his fans.
Japanese media including NHK reported in the morning of that day, citing the announcement from Shimura Ken's agency, that he died from complications caused by COVID-19.
Shimura Ken first showed symptoms on the 17th of this month, and then his fever and breathing difficulties worsened. On the 20th, he was transferred to a hospital in Tokyo and was diagnosed with severe pneumonia and hospitalized. Shimura Ken died one week after being confirmed positive for COVID-19 on the 23rd.
Meanwhile, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of 9 a.m. on the 1st, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide exceeded 830,000, with over 41,000 deaths. Japan has confirmed about 1,900 COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
