Japan downgrades Covid amid vaccine safety concerns

Japan is one of the most vaccine-skeptical in the world. 

The Japanese government intends to downgrade Covid-19's status, reclassifying the disease as seasonal flu. Covid is currently classified as the second most serious threat, on par with tuberculosis and SARS, but after reclassification, it would be ranked fifth out of five. The move would result in the removal of nearly all remaining restrictions and the imposition of new ones. We appear to be on the verge of returning to something resembling the old normal after three exhausting years. 

Unsurprisingly, money plays a significant role in this. The Japanese economy is in shambles, with a record trade deficit and a plummeting yen in 2022. Covid restraints are no longer an option, especially with the promise to double defense spending over the next five years. A possible accelerant is the rumored 400% increase in the price of Moderna shots, which are currently free. 

Even after travel restrictions were lifted, a lingering reluctance to leave the country meant that the domestic tourism sector recovered only marginally. Pleading with the public also failed. Face masks are no longer required outside, according to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, but he has been completely ignored. 

Kishida is undoubtedly concerned about Japan's international standing. Japan is one of the last countries that requires vaccination or a negative PCR on entry, and with the ubiquitous masks, incessant announcements, nightly case counts on TV, and thermal cameras in stores, restaurants, and places of entertainment, the situation is becoming increasingly absurd. Kishida will want all of that gone by the May G7 summit in his hometown of Hiroshima. 

Then there's the troubling issue of vaccine safety, which is still on the periphery of public debate but is becoming more prominent. After a video of an extraordinary meeting in Tokyo on November 25th surfaced, the issue drew national and even international attention. This included harrowing testimony from spouses of alleged vaccine fatalities, as well as an attack on the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare's (MHLW) alleged negligence and secrecy by Dr Masanori Fukushima, a distinguished oncologist and Professor Emeritus at Kyoto University. 

The matter is now being investigated, with the government starting to make payouts to the vaccine-injured and for vaccine-related deaths, as well as stating that a link 'cannot be ruled out'. 

The mainstream media has only recently begun to report on this, and only briefly. However, while pro-vaccine stories were once common, they have now vanished. This will not go unnoticed in a country where'reading the air,' as the Japanese call it, is an essential means of deciphering uncomfortable messages. Meanwhile, Shunkan Shincho, a weekly magazine with a circulation of over 500,000, is publishing a series on vaccine-adverse reactions. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference.

Because of its history of scandals, Japan is fertile ground for vaccine hesitancy. Following reports of long-term pain, the health ministry withdrew the human papillomavirus vaccine in 2013. In 2011, four children who received vaccines against various types of meningitis and pneumonia died, prompting the program's immediate suspension; and in 1993, the MMR vaccine was withdrawn due to concerns that it caused meningitis. Several lawsuits followed. At the start of the pandemic, a Lancet study found Japan to be one of the world's most vaccine-skeptical countries. 

As a result, there was a much more cautious vaccine roll-out in this country. There was no ominous 'get jabbed or else' messaging, and the invitation leaflet, with its list of potential side effects, appeared almost designed to turn people off. Each vial was even labeled with a warning. 

This official caution stems in part from legal concerns: in 1992, a court ruling held the Japanese government liable for both adverse reactions and side effects. However, it is also most likely a result of the Japanese government's blame and accountability culture. Even after relatively minor scandals, officials, up to and including the Prime Minister, readily admit fault and resign. If the official pro-vax, pro-lockdown narrative is going to crumble anywhere, Japan is a likely candidate. 

To avoid this, Kishida, who is already vulnerable after a string of scandals and resignations, will hope that the downgrade draws a clear line in the public consciousness between then and now, allowing the nation and his administration to move on. It remains to be seen whether those who still fear the virus and those who believe the vaccines have harmed them will cooperate. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the world will be watching with bated breath. Just as the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama in February 2020 influenced countries all over the world at the start of the pandemic, events in Japan three years later may help determine the global response at the end.