Chantal Fouad 

DUBAI: Japan’s smartphone COVID-19 contact- confirming application (COCOA) soon to shut down as life begins to go back to normal in Japan, said KONO Taro, the Japanese minister of digital affairs.

COCOA was launched in Japan in June of 2020, when COVID-19 was at its peak levels of widespread.

The mechanism of this application is that it is downloaded on users’ smartphones; it then creates a list of all people who had been in close contact for more than 15 minutes.

COCOA would then send out an alert notification to that chain of people if someone reports contracting COVID-19.

Kono; however, asked people not to delete the application as surveys on its effectiveness and efficiency will be sent out to be answered by the people.

He also stated that COCOA needs to be modified and upgraded to be highly functioning at its full potential in case another pandemic breaks through.

The shut down of the application is a good indicator of the loosening of COVID restrictions.

Japan will be re-opening its doors to international tourism after two years of heavy touristic constraints; this will in turn refresh Japan’s economy and flourish its fiscal growth.