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Latest Coronavirus News From Japan
Last updated 21 October 2021, 09:00 BST
October summary
After an amazing few months of sports and spectacle, both the Olympic games and Paralympic games have come to a close. Despite a bumpy 18 months leading up to the games, they stood as a beacon of hope to a world ready to emerge from the pandemic.
Meanwhile, vaccinations are full steam ahead with well over 65% of Japan's population fully-vaccinated and latest estimates putting Japan well on track to achieve herd immunity (more than 70% of the population vaccinated) by late-October - some two months earlier than previously forecast by the government (Japan Times).
At the time of writing, Japan had recorded over 1.7 million positive cases of coronavirus during the course of the pandemic with an average of 400 cases daily. Case numbers have fallen dramatically thanks to impressive vaccination rates (Covid19Japan).
Japan's state of emergency was lifted on September 30 with case numbers and hospitalisation plummeting across the country (Nikkei Asia).
While foreign travel to Japan is currently not permitted except for special circumstances, the accelerating vaccination program means that there is a genuine prospect that travel will be possible in the near future. Government plans to shorten the quarantine period for vaccinated arrivals from 14 days to 10 days is a promising sign that the border restrictions are gradually being eased. (Japan Times)
Keep checking back to this page for more details as we receive them. Full details relating to travel to Japan can be found on the official Japanese Travel website - Japan Travel
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Are Japanese people being vaccinated?
Yes! As of October, an average of roughly one million doses of covid-19 vaccines are being administered daily with hopes this will accelerate further Japan should be commended for this effort as it is currently one of the fastest vaccination rates in the world per capita. To date, over 65% of the population have been fully vaccinated, with this number expected to rapidly rise in coming weeks. Current estimates put Japan well on track to vaccinate more than 70% of its population by late-October (Japan Times).
As of May 21st, Japan has approved the use of the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines. Those over the age of 18 will be eligible for the Moderna vaccine but the Japanese government has decided to initially pause the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine until they understand better the side effects. This is of particular importance to the government as they have put in place a law to treat for free any potential health problems coronavirus vaccines cause.
Japan has also announced a long-term plan to develop its own vaccines (NHK World).
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How were the Olympics and Paralympics?
What an Olympics! What a Paralympics! World records a-plenty, amazing first time sports like skateboarding and surfing, and very low cases of athletes testing positive. Against all the odds Japan hosted a memorable games. It is a real shame very few people were there to witness it in person, but Japan delivered and did so very impressively. Despite largely empty arenas and unimaginably complex logistics to keep athletes and the support team safe, the Olympics and Paralympics were a huge success.
This success is clearly highlighted in the dramatic uptick in public approval for the games, with 64% of the general Japanese public now saying they believed the games were positive for Japan. This represents a massive 28% increase in public approval since just prior to the games. Yomiuri Shimbun.
For more on the updates to the playbook, visit the Tokyo Olympics Playbook website.
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What are Japan's coronavirus restrictions?
Compared to the strict restrictions seen across many countries in 2020 and into 2021, Japan has gotten by with minimal restrictions on day-to-day life. The Japanese constitution prevents the government from enforcing a hard lockdown, which would be considered an infringement on personal freedoms. Until February 2021, its only recourse was to declare a “state of emergency” in regions where cases were rising. This meant that restrictions on movement and working hours could be suggested, but not be enforced. Since new laws were passed in February 2021, local governments now have the power to impose its own restrictions to localised areas. As of September 28, the state of emergency was lifted across Japan and very few restrictions on day-to-day life remain.
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What is life like in Japan at the moment?
For the most part, day-to-day life in Japan has changed little during the pandemic — though this has varied from region to region. Tokyo, for instance, has seen the highest numbers and stricter guidelines, while rural preferences such as Iwate have seen almost no cases and very few restrictions.
As in most of the world, there have also been some small but noticeable changes to daily life. The majority of establishments now have dedicated entrances and exits with alcohol sanitisers, and most will also check your temperature as you enter. Local train operators operate with open windows and plastic sheets and dividers are commonplace at restaurants and cafés. It’s rare to see anybody without a mask, whether inside or outside.
Though shrines and temples have remained open throughout the pandemic, major tourist sites have been noticeably quieter across the board. Restaurants have seen near-normal numbers of visitors (though with restrictions in certain areas). People are still commuting to work on public transport despite some efforts to normalise working from home, and businesses are generally operating normal hours.
For more on what life is like in post-pandemic Japan, check out the "On The Ground" reports from our Insiders at the bottom of the page.
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How is Japan doing compared to other countries?
Due to the huge number of variables, it is notoriously difficult to draw conclusions about different national responses to the pandemic. Different countries test, record and release data in different ways, and this can easily distort statistics — sometimes wildly. The bottom line is this: take everything you hear with a big pinch of salt.
With that said, here are the official statistics: Japan has seen over 900,000 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, and over 14,000 people have died following a positive test result.
On their own, these numbers don’t really tell us very much. A better way to put it in perspective is to look at the daily cases and deaths per million.
Another useful comparison is to look at “excess deaths”, which means the number of deaths above what would have been expected under “normal” conditions. This can be more revealing than just looking at deaths from Covid-19, since it takes a more holistic view of the effects of the pandemic on mortality.
During 2020, The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine reports that the UK had a cumulative excess mortality rate of 10.5% above the five-year average, while the USA recorded a 12.9% increase. By contrast, countries such as South Korea, Iceland, Denmark and Norway saw reductions in excess deaths of up to -4.3% over the same period. Though Japan was not included in this study, Japan Times has reported that it, too, saw a net decrease in excess deaths between January and August 2020 compared with the previous two years.
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Why has Japan fared well over the pandemic?
What is most striking from these above statistics are the all-round low numbers. Confirmed cases, deaths, active cases and numbers tested are still low in Japan compared with other hotspots around the world. So why is this?
Numerous theories have been provided so far. These range from the more reasonable — access to universal healthcare (Forbes), early and effective communication to avoid closed, crowded spaces with close contact, and cultural norms of mask-wearing (Japan Times) — to the more far-fetched. For example, some have argued that Japanese is spoken more delicately than other languages and therefore speakers emit fewer spit particles! (Japan Times)
Whatever the reasons for Japan’s overall success, it seems that we can be cautiously optimistic. Something they’re doing is clearly working.
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On The Ground: Osaka
Insider Robert Kodama took this snapshot of the mass vaccination centre in Osaka on June 9th. Here's a quick rundown on what he saw: "Shuttle buses from Osaka Station were bringing those who are elgibile and booked a slot to the vaccination centre. As advanced bookings are required, everything seemed to be running smoothly without crowds gathering outside. In true Japanese fashion, many lunch "bento" stalls had also been setup around the vaccination centre!"
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On The Ground: Tokyo
Tyler found this fantastic workaround for the cleansing stations found at shinto shrines. Instead of the usual sharing of ladles, separated pipes have been set up so visitors can still get purified safely before entering the shrine.
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On The Ground: Kyoto
Insider Van recently took his bike out for a ride around Kyoto. "The state of emergency definitely seems to have had an effect on the city. People are out but in noticeably less numbers. Historic sites are also incredibly quiet!"
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On The Ground: Nara
Insider Robert recently took this shot of Nara Park and the National Museum. "It was surreal to be outnumbered by the sacred local deers in Nara!"
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