TOKYO -- It was a sunny March afternoon in Tokyo and the atmosphere inside the Kotoen nursing care center seemed just as bright. Nearly 40 seniors were playing indoor games after finishing their lunches and baths. But Keiko Sugi, who runs the facility in the city's easternmost ward of Edogawa, said some regulars were staying away out of fear of COVID-19.
"Many seniors are holed up in their homes and become frail and mentally depressed," she said. Sugi has assured them that they will be able to socialize again as soon as they get vaccinated. The wait, though, is starting to feel interminable.
