Earlier this month the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government squabbled over which businesses should be requested to shutter under the state of emergency declared to control the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic. One subject of compromise was izakaya dining bars and restaurant opening hours. They were to cease serving alcohol at 7 p.m., and to close at 8 p.m.

I was incredulous when I read this. Why were they not requested to shut down? Crowded venues in which people share food and drink alcohol are hot spots for infection spread, I thought. What were the authorities thinking — that the economy mattered more than human life?

I realize now that my judgement was unfair. That decision by prefectural government authorities reflected a trade-off between protecting public health in a pandemic crisis, and protecting the incomes of many small businesses and of the people they employ. We can argue about the wisdom of the trade-off in this case, but sympathetic understanding of its different stakes is needed for thoughtful participation in such argument.