Japan: Keeping the death toll to the minimum

Ono, T.; Matsui, S.

This chapter assesses the Japanese government’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the strong criticisms and deep-rooted concerns with the insufficiency of government response to Covid-19, together with a limited availability of PCR testing, the government’s concentration on the treatment of more serious patients, its focus on prevention of cluster transmission, and its soft lockdown without any legal sanctions might be sufficient to achieve the primary goal of keeping the death toll to the minimum. However, it is not clear whether it could be ultimately successful as the pandemic continues to unfold, nor is it clear whether Japan could respond effectively to the outbreak of a much more deadly disease in the future. The Japanese unique approach against Covid-19 might work out to prevent pandemic outbreaks and medical system collapse, but some problems and challenges remain. Japan surely needs to re-evaluate its response to Covid-19 and reconsider, in a holistic and systematic way, the entire infectious disease prevention system and the possibility of emergency powers during a public health crisis. © the several contributors 2021.