Why the media is not criticizing Ryo Ishikawa’s “breaking voluntary quarantine after returning home”?

On November 9, professional golfer Ryo Ishikawa announced that he would withdraw from the Sumitomo Mitsui VISA Pacific Masters (opening on November 11). He also announced his intention to resign from the positions of vice president of the JGTO (Japan Golf Tour Organization) and vice president and director of the Japan Golf Tour Players Association.

Ishikawa returned to Japan from the U.S. on October 24 and stayed at a golf course in Chiba Prefecture that had been declared as a standby location, ignoring the 14-day voluntary quarantine period set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. FLASH reported that he used the entrance, which was open to the general public, and spent many evenings drinking with his friends.

Ishikawa issued an apology in response.

When I returned to Japan, I underwent daily health checks at the golf course where I was registered for quarantine at the airport, and I was quarantined for 14 days.

I apologize again for some of my mistakes. However, the public still had a lot to say.

What does it mean that the waiting place is a golf course where ordinary customers are also present? Athlete’s privilege?
“It’s not “partly inadequate. It’s a complete violation of the rules.

This is a complete violation of the rules.

“If he had really chosen the golf course as his waiting place, it could be taken as “not having the intention to wait. The original purpose of the golf course was to isolate the employees in a hotel to prevent them from coming into contact with others. If you think that he was playing golf and drinking with his friends and was “partially unresponsive,” then your sense of reality is too different from the average person.

Since he was originally an Ishikawa feverish boy, sponsors and advertising agencies surrounded him as “Team RYO” and cheered him up. I hope he hasn’t become a ‘naked king’ as an adult…” (sports writer)

On the other hand, Takafumi Horie quoted reports on Twitter about Ishikawa’s resignation.

And this is what happens when you beat people up for no reason.

In the meantime, some people seem to be defending him, such as Takafumi Horie, who cited reports of Ishikawa’s resignation on Twitter and complained about the weekly magazines that reported on his behavior during the quarantine period.

It is true that in Japan, the number of people infected with the new corona has been decreasing dramatically. Ishikawa may have loosened up because he was also conducting tests, but he was in the position of vice president of the JGTO, which has to promote measures against corona infection. However, he was in the position of vice president of the JGTO, which must promote measures against coronary infection.

By the way, I am curious about the way this case was reported.

“Athletes and TV stations have a very close relationship. In addition, Ishikawa has an advertising agency attached to him, so a bad report might damage the relationship in the future. The same is true for the national newspapers and sports papers. In other words, they can’t do much in the way of critical reporting. Even if they do, the best they can do is to report the news of his resignation in a straightforward manner…” (Wide show insider)

In the past, there have been celebrities who were thoroughly beaten up for breaking their self-restraint, but it seems that the way the major media reports on them changes depending on the influence that the person has…