[ad_1]
TOKYO: With the world’s oldest population and one of the planet’s most populous megacities as its capital, Japan should have provided a fertile breeding ground for the deadly COVID-19.
Images of crowded employees of Tokyo suburban trains fueled warnings that the capital of Japan could become the “next New York City” if the virus took hold.
Ad
However, the country’s 126 million has registered 16,024 cases and 668 deaths, according to the health ministry, rates so lower than in comparable countries that many have been scratching their heads and others suspect that the authorities are not giving the full picture. .
Wearing masks, taking off shoes, bending over without shaking hands, low levels of obesity, and even consuming certain foods have been presented as possible cultural reasons for the disconcertingly slow spread.
And with new cases reported falling sharply in recent weeks, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to be late Thursday (May 14) to lift a state of emergency for most of the country.
READ: Japan hopes to end state of emergency for most regions; Tokyo to remain vigilant: reports
Ad
But in this context of apparent success, critics say the true extent of the crisis in Japan is unknown given the relatively low test rates.
As of May 11, the health ministry said 218,204 tests had been performed, the lowest per capita rate in the G7, according to Worldometers.
Even the government’s own coronavirus expert, Shigeru Omi, has admitted that “no one knows” whether the true number of coronavirus cases “could be 10 times, 12 times, or 20 times more than what was reported.”
Ryuji Koike, deputy director of the Hospital of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of Tokyo, told AFP that, although Japan had lower rates of mortality and infection than many countries, “this does not mean that we are doing well.”
He added: “I don’t think (the decrease in the number of infections) is due to government policies. I think it seems that Japan is doing well thanks to things that are not measurable, such as daily habits and Japanese behavior,” such as good hygiene and not shaking hands.
READ: Over 90% of Tokyo Hospital Beds for COVID-19 Patients Full
However, Kazuto Suzuki, a professor of public policy at Hokkaido University, said Japan’s strategy of tracking groups and only evaluating people with acute symptoms had proven to be sufficient for the relatively low number of cases.
“Test, test, test is not the Japanese strategy,” he told reporters.
With a positive case-to-test ratio of about 7.5 percent, “the test is enough,” he said.
Japan has defended its policy of limiting coronavirus testing, saying that widespread testing would not be helpful AFP / Philip FONG
But he warned: “If there is an exponential outbreak again, we need more evidence.”
Suzuki attributed Japan’s success to an almost universal mask and a culture of hygiene and hand washing.
“PUZZLE JAPON”
Japan was exposed to the start of the coronavirus pandemic with a first case in January and the arrival a month after the Diamond Princess cruise near Tokyo, at the time the largest group outside the epicenter in China.
After what was largely seen as a failed response to the ship, Abe recommended closing schools in late February, even with fewer than 200 cases a day across the country.
As the number of infected increased, reaching a daily record of 700 on April 11, it was feared that the virus would increase and put pressure on Japan’s health system.
So Abe declared a state of emergency on April 7, giving regional leaders the power to urge people to stay indoors, a much gentler form of confinement than seen elsewhere, without punishment for violators. .
Japan is under a state of emergency nationwide, but appears to have prevented the large-scale coronavirus outbreaks seen in parts of the world. AFP / Charly TRIBALLEAU
To ease the pain in the world’s third-largest economy, Abe also pledged 100,000 yen ($ 930) for every citizen as part of an emergency stimulus package worth around $ 1 trillion.
But the flyers were the result of an embarrassing U-turn and he has also been mocked for the random distribution of two cloth masks per household, a program called “Abe-no-masks.”
A recent Kyodo News poll showed 57.5 percent were unhappy with the Abe government’s response to the pandemic, with only 34.1 percent approving.
Abe’s performance has been “uneven,” Tobias Harris, a Japanese policy expert at consulting firm Teneo, told AFP.
“I think he has struggled to stay ahead of events from the beginning, has not communicated effectively and has been served poorly by his lieutenants,” Harris added.
While policies like school closings likely helped curb the disease, Harris cited high hygiene standards, a generally healthy population, and masks as the most likely reasons behind Japan’s low death rate.
However, any speculation should come with a pinch of salt as the disease is still unknown, the analyst warned.
“It may take more knowledge to answer the Japan puzzle.”
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
