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 The ad, appearing in three national newspapers on Tuesday morning
and paid for by a publisher known for taking stances on social and
political issues, shows an illustration of the coronavirus overlaid
on a black and white World War Two era photo of Japanese children
training to fight with sticks.
"No vaccine, no medication. Are we supposed to fight with bamboo
spears? If things continue as they are, politics are going to kill
us," the ad says, noting that the public has endured a year of
restrictions while the virus has continued to spread.
The full-page ad by magazine publisher Takarajimasha was a rare
rebuke of the country's pandemic response by a private company. The
Tokyo-based company said in a news release it was necessary to raise
an alarm over the public's frustration with virus restrictions and
the slow pace of vaccinations.
"We have been tricked. What was the past year for?" the ad asks.
The head of global communications at the prime minister's office did
not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the
advertisement.
The public should express more outrage about the toll of the
coronavirus on individuals, businesses and medical workers,
Takarajimasha said in its news release.
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 The publisher has previously
run ad campaigns on social and political issues,
most recently one that highlighted how the
Japanese public was diligently following virus
measures.
Photos of the ad campaign were shared widely on
Twitter, with posters noting it captured the
public's frustration with the slow vaccine
roll-out and the government's insistence that
the Tokyo Olympics were going ahead as planned.
Japan on Friday extended a state of emergency to
May 31 for much of the country to try to contain
a fresh wave of the pandemic. The declaration
covers Tokyo, Osaka and four other prefectures.
Japan still lags most wealthy countries in its
vaccination roll-out. Just 2.6% of its
population has been inoculated, according to a
Reuters tracker, and there are reports that
people are finding it difficult to book shots.
(Reporting by Ami Miyazaki, Mari Saito and
Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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