Japan: Mythical mermaid monster 'revived' amid coronavirus pandemic

A new character also known as mythical mermaid monster has unlikely become popular in Japan which people believe could end the coronavirus pandemic. As per reports, it is named as Amabie- a beak-nosed, long-locked mythical mermaid monster said to repel plagues. In recent weeks, the mash-up monster has become the unlikely mascot of hopes and started trending on Twitter. 

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19th-century Japanese spirit

Such superstitious beliefs are now influencing Japanese folks to find a solution to the ongoing global health crisis. As people in the country hope for the end of COVID-19, a mythical mermaid monster from Japanese folklore has made a resurgence in popular culture. As per reports, Amabie is a 19th-century Japanese spirit who is said to ward off plagues. The spirit is believed to be longhaired and has a birdlike appearance. 

But interestingly, it has inspired many things and activities happening in Japan in recent weeks Social media pictures show that the mythical creature's face has been featured on noodle packs, cakes, hand sanitisers, and face maks. 
According to the reports, Amabie returned to popular culture in March after Kyoto University tweeted a drawing of the mythical spirit from 1846. The Amabie is very popular in Japan. 

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29 new cases recorded

On the other hand, nationwide Japan recorded 29 new cases. The country has reported a total of 16,258 coronavirus cases. Eight new coronavirus deaths took the country’s death toll to 744. In addition to the capital, new cases were also recorded in Hokkaido, which confirmed 8 new cases. Eight other prefectures also recorded new coronavirus cases.

According to reports, Tokyo, Osaka and six other prefectures currently remain under the state of emergency. The Japanese government will reportedly assess the situation in these regions on May 21 and decided if restrictions are to be lifted. As of May 18, the Cabinet Office of Japan reported a 3.4 per cent drop in the gross domestic product, or GDP for the January-March period, indicating that country’s economic growth plunged into recession in the first quarter. This comes as the novel coronavirus pandemic halted production, exports, and spending. Therefore, the exports dived 21.8 per cent, private residential investments slumped by nearly 17 per cent, and household consumption declined at 3.1 per cent, shrinking the world's third-largest economy by 0.9 per cent from the prior quarter, as per reports.

READ: Japan's Economy Enters Recession And It Likely To Get More Worse Amid Pandemic

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