News On Japan

Will Japan's low immunization rate pose a problem for the Olympics?

Apr 22 (TIME) - There are less than 100 days to go before the Tokyo Olympics and the torch relay is busy crisscrossing all of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

But far from building excitement for the delayed 2020 Games, the flame is sparking anxiety about proceeding with the tournament amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Torch runners are being heckled by protesters.

“Japanese people are generally cheerful, kind and polite,” says Mieko Nakabayashi, a former lawmaker and current professor at Waseda University’s School of Social Sciences in Tokyo. “But people are frustrated about the COVID situation and some don’t feel they have another place to express that.” He says a close friend of his, chosen to be a torchbearer, was among those verbally abused.

It doesn’t help, of course, that Japan is in the middle of a fourth wave of COVID-19, with 4,111 new cases reported Sunday. (Globally, COVID-19 deaths recently breached 3 million.)

Fears are compounded by a vaccination rate of less than 1% across Japan’s population, which is the world’s oldest, with 28% of Japanese aged 65 or above. Despite foreign fans being banned from the Games, and strict health protocols in place for athletes and officials due to attend, the potential for the event to be a super spreader isn’t lost on anyone.

“I’m very frightened, very concerned,” says Prof. Robert Booy, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney. “If the older population suddenly gets into trouble, there will be a lot of hospital admissions and deaths.”

The reasons for Japan’s low immunization rate are complex but reflected across the Asia-Pacific region, where many of the nations that controlled the pandemic best are falling behind in the race to vaccinate, potentially undoing early gains and stalling economic recoveries. New Zealand also has less than 1% of its people vaccinated. Australia and South Korea fare little better with under 3%. This compares to 48% in the U.K. and 25% in the U.S. (although both of those countries admittedly suffered devastating outbreaks, with the world’s sixth highest and highest case numbers respectively).

“It’s problematic, as the more opportunity the virus gets to circulate, the more potential exists for significant mutations that threaten our existing strategies—including vaccines,” says Adam Kamradt-Scott, a public health specialist with the Georgetown Center for Global Science and Security.

In Japan, an extremely conservative attitude towards vaccine approval compounds the problem. To date, Japan’s government says it has signed purchase agreements for a total of 314 million vaccine doses from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna—enough to cover its entire population. But only the Pfizer vaccine has so far received local regulatory approval. At this rate, it’s estimated Japan’s population won’t be covered until September, while the Olympics begin on July 23.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The Emperor, Empress, and their daughter Princess Aiko visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Sumida Ward on Thursday afternoon, marking their first visit to the site as Japan observes the 80th year since the end of World War II. They were greeted upon arrival by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and other officials.

The Kofu Local Meteorological Observatory announced on October 23rd that the season’s first snow had been observed on Mount Fuji, which stands 3,776 meters tall. Around 6 a.m., an official visually confirmed that snow had clearly accumulated near the summit.

After nearly a decade of construction, the newly rebuilt Haneda Line of the Metropolitan Expressway, one of Tokyo’s key arteries linking the city center with Haneda Airport, has been unveiled to the media ahead of its official switch to a new road on October 29th.

The newly launched Takaichi Cabinet moved into full operation on October 22nd, with early personnel decisions revealing a clear conservative tone. Satsuki Katayama was appointed as finance minister and Kimi Onoda as minister in charge of foreign resident policy, underscoring what observers are calling the emergence of a distinct “Takaichi color.”

Authorities in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, have begun culling approximately 460,000 laying hens after a poultry farm in the region’s Iburi area confirmed infections of highly pathogenic avian influenza, marking the first confirmed outbreak of the season in Japan.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Naoki Satake, an unemployed suspect, on suspicion of robbery resulting in injury after he allegedly sprayed tear gas on a man and tried to steal 53 million yen in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward in September.

A train window on the Tobu Tojo Line shattered while the train was in motion on the evening of October 22nd, leaving five passengers injured.

The number of people killed in bear attacks across Japan in 2025 has risen to nine—the highest ever recorded—prompting urgent responses from both the government and local authorities as incidents continue to spread from forests to residential areas.

A photograph of fireworks soaring above the Edo River in Chiba’s Ichikawa City — forming what looked like a glowing Mount Fuji — was taken down from city hall just one day after being displayed, following a single citizen complaint.

The October issue of the long-established American lifestyle magazine Town & Country features Mako Komuro, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, on the cover under the headline "Princess Ingognito," dedicating a six-page spread to Komuro and her husband Kei, exploring their life in the United States.

Police have arrested a former host and several associates for allegedly coercing female customers into sex work after exploiting their romantic feelings and saddling them with massive debts.

A violent attack early on October 20th in Ibaraki Town, Ibaraki Prefecture left one man dead and another injured after they were stabbed with what appeared to be a bladed weapon inside an apartment. Police are investigating the case as a murder.

A woman in her 40s suffered a serious injury after being trapped in a mechanical parking system in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward on October 19th.