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568 new cases of coronavirus reported in Japan

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keep up the great work?

are you out of your....mind?

let see if you have the same opinion next few weeks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Cognac - It is laudable that you're the voice of reason on this thread.

Like you I don't buy these doom and gloom prognosis whatsoever. I don't see the numbers in Japan being any different from those in S Korea, for example, despite the latter employing draconian policies to achieve their relatively low numbers.

Keep up the great work, Japan!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Ed Rowe

You have to look at the number of tests with the number.

Testing 500 and saying we only have 100 cases and testing 10000 and saying we only have 100 cases shouldn't be considered same.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Tokyo only 108 so it went down...Hyogo was like 21 so kind of low..

Can't the "Japan Today" post an daily chart of cases in Japan?

This is important news...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Cognac: "corona virus arrived almost at the same time in both countries, sorry I don't see any difference and math is not an opinion, so would you like to explain me where is the "shame" ?"

Sure, but before I answer, would you kindly tell me how many tests have been carried out, in total, in South Korea and how many in Japan? Then I'll answer your question. If you can't tell me, or more likely just don't want to, then you already know the answer. And as a side question, when did the curve flatten in SK, and when did it flatten in Japan?

(from article) ""but the spread of the coronavirus has accelerated in recent weeks, doubling from around 5,000 in just 10 days."

Well, it's baffling, because the government issued a very strict order, demanding all people stay home in a minimum two-week lockdown, with failure to comply being met by stiff fines and/or jail time. Oh wait... THIS is the situation here, reported quite well in the NY Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/world/asia/tokyo-japan-coronavirus.html

0 ( +1 / -1 )

there are few leftovers hoping that numbers will not go up because of the hygiene practice here locally.

look at the numbers from Feb to April, do you see a pattern here,

if a person who has the virus has such a hard time getting a test, almost dying in pain, and 1 out 2 comes out positive, what does that tell you?

get your head out of the sand folks, let's wait a week or two,

you guys are hopeless, look at other countries who had similar policy as Japan, ex: Italy, Sweden and Spain

with limited testing and stay at home policy,

do you see a pattern here?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

to get any rough idea of how many infections are walking around one can take the number of all tested by now and see the percentage that is of the total population, then see the total of positive results and se what percentage of the total rests it is. out of that one can extrapolate the possible total infections in the country.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

smartacusApr. 19 04:22 pm JST

The question about testing that comes to my mind, and this applies to every country, not just Japan, is: Should a government be trying to test the entire population (which would be impossible in any country) or just those who show symptoms?

The trouble with this virus is that you can carry it, infect other people and not show any symptoms. By the time you test them when they are showing symptoms ], they have already infected other people. The government needs to set up some type of statistical testing based on the locations of those already infected. Too late to trace now.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@Cognac - Excellent observations!

I'm sanguine about the Japanese numbers, btw. No amount of doom and gloom from the usual naysayers will make the low numbers in Japan go up.

From my experience having visited the big three East Asian countries - Japan, China, South Korea -: the Japanese tend to have better hygiene practices, so I don't envisage their numbers going as high as those I see here in the US, for example.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

most Japanese people will follow the government's lead, they are staying home unlike the folks in Europe or U.S , some of the idiots are fighting the shelter in place ,

the real problem is testing, if you don't increase testing, you will be next New York and Italy.

so don't wait, get the military involved in this process, set up testing outside of the hospitals, either drive through, walk through, or any other method which will make it easier for the people with symptoms to get test before they are close to death.

use the Olympic village, government dormitories, and set a side more hotels to quarantine less effective virus patients from the seriously ill people.

finally, it's no shame asking for help , if your citizens are dying , you need to reach out, countries will help, if you ask genuinely , if you need more test kits, you better ask for help, don't let your people die for your pride,

your pride means nothing to a common family.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I'm from Italy.

It seems that Japan learned nothing from Italy, UK and USA. There isn't any magical protection from coronavirus.

The 500 cases registered are only the beginning because they reflect a situation of approx 7/10 days ago.

As the situation get worse and ICU become full the mortality rate will start to jump up.

I'm sorry but the only way to slow the pandemic is to lockdown and make sure to test also the asymptomatics!

7 ( +7 / -0 )

South Korea :

10.661 cases - 234 deaths

Japan :

10.686 cases - 230 deaths

corona virus arrived almost at the same time in both countries, sorry I don't see any difference and math is not an opinion, so would you like to explain me where is the "shame" ?

@Cognac - I'll let this graph do the talking:

https://i.postimg.cc/cCc37D2R/1.jpg

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Can't happen because of the constitution.

I thought that Article 41 of the constitution provides the Diet with sufficient power to authorize aggressive government action against the coronavirus and other threats to public health. I think I saw that in the Japan Times. Is it not? I mean: they applied something similar of an emergency measures bill for Fukushima in 2011 at the peak of the nuclear crisis.

If anything, I think that Abe cares too much about his political image instead of focusing on what has to be done to protect the people. And besides, no one in the right mind can compare this particular set of circumstances with any set of normal circumstances.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Genuine questions I want to ask here to those who know Japan better than I do:

1) What does it take for Japan to enforce the kind lockdown you see in France or anywhere other country where they chose to go with tough measures to fight against community spread?

2) Do the various police forces in Japan have enough manpower to enforce a lockdown?

3) If law enforcement units don't have enough manpower, is the JSDF even considered to intervene against violators or to provide logistics in hotspots?

That being said, this is no longer the time for the government to meet and meet. There is a need for drastic decisions to be made and to be enforced at this time. What numbers currently are now, they don't matter. What truly matters now is how to prevent an explosion of new cases.

The ball has been fumbled once by the government. They better not fumble it again.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Cognac

You seem to think the situation is well contained.

Now give me some figures.

Number of tests.

Number of positive cases.

Number of deaths.

And tell me how they are counted and are changing.

Look at the curve and how the numbers are correlated.

When tests are increasing and cases and deaths are not or are decreasing, that's when you can say the numbers mirror the reality, and that's when you can say the situation is well contained.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Japan is testing just 1,400 person a day! while in EU average county is tasting 60,000 people per day....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@rimno ofcourse yes it would be nice to safely tests everyone (and don't infect them during swabing )? have many samplings ? and finaly quarnatine them ? But is this realistic and the best aproach given unprecedented circumstances ? And would the results of these efforts really make the difference ? I am really not sure ... again still thinking about how easy this virus spreads

If you understand how easy this virus spreads, you should start to think about how this virus may be contained.

Intense testing may not be the best approach given the circumstances, but it seemed to work in other countries.

At least their curve is starting to get smoothed out and seem to be at the peak or maybe even near.

In Japan, you can't tell if it's at the peak or if the curve is smoothing or exponentially increasing, because the number of tests are so low that it can not correctly represent the increase curve.

oh and @rimno one other question if you don't mind ... when do you stop this testing ? .. think about it; S.Korea and China are now fighting imported cases .. (so that is japan in January) . Can you also test the whole of India and Africa ... I don't know man .. it is just feels like barking on the wrong tree

You don't stop the testing for diseases like this.

Think of cancer, flu, any other disease that may kill someone or is infectious.

Tests are being done yearly.

You just find a safe way to test them and to treat them.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

You really have to look at the curve as well. Not just the numbers.

Also try searching for number of tests, then look at the increase in cases and deaths.

As the number of tests increase, number of cases increase with it.

BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF TESTS ARE NOT ENOUGH, AND THERE ARE MANY INFECTED PEOPLE RUNNING WITHOUT BEING TESTED.

Gosh...

You can only say the number of tests are enough when the number of cases does not increase with the number of tests.

That's when you are getting, at least, near the actual increase in number of infected.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Japan has no choice but to self isolate now. While the government set up more testing locations throughout Japan

they saw this coming. Saw what exactly Korea went through

while other countries were mocking Korea’s massive testing and locating the spreaders. Korea never went off course when they went from 31 to 7000 infected was number 2 behind China. Looked like it was following China but massive testing outside of the hospital worked

it’s terrible when Japan had so much time to prepare past 4 month which could lead to less death. Typical Japanese practice of more meetings after more meetings and we now face this pandemic like New York.

what a shame

2 ( +3 / -1 )

You should have seen the number of people out in the Parks today, it was almost like nothing was wrong!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@doggar I am really sorry for talking numbers here ..please accept my condolences and if at all possible ignore my comments.

@Cognac the numbers are outstanding ! maybe not precise but also not that relevant ! at the end of the day what I really like to think works is the lock-down .. but that is just me ...

@OpenMinded it really is a good question why is Tokyo not NY.. .. given the population the trains ...the progression should indeed be similar .. but it is not and I sincerely doubt this or any government can manipulate numbers to that extent ... It could be the masks culture everyone wears them ( that is already 2 layers of cloth for the virus to pass ) it could be something else .. there must be an answer to this and it will tell more on exactly how China and Korea so successfully handled the virus

0 ( +0 / -0 )

And here in Japan the system they implemented is to call a hotline first for screening. Apparently guidelines are too restrictive but it did prevent people from flocking to hospitals

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

"But how do you go about that? You don't want people with coughs, runny noses or fever flooding into hospitals or clinics."

Different countries have come up with different systems. In S. Korea they have movable test stations on streets, in America they have drive-in test stations, In Finland they separated ER and clinics into two: special ones where you come if you have corona symptoms, and the rest where you should go with any other problems.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Cognac , someone I know died from the virus so tell me again how good it is.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@Cognac

If you believe the COVID19 cases and deaths record in Japan as representative of the actual situation, this is up to you.

I am not sure about what "shame" you are putting on me. What I know is that I have a lot of friends in Japan and I worry about them about the development of the situation. Nothing more, nothing less!

6 ( +6 / -0 )

tamanegiToday 04:10 pm JST

Wow! South Korea had less than 20. Such a shame Japan couldn't swallow its pride and image of exceptionalism to learn from and work with its closest neighbor about this virus.

South Korea :

10.661 cases - 234 deaths

Japan :

10.686 cases - 230 deaths

corona virus arrived almost at the same time in both countries, sorry I don't see any difference and math is not an opinion, so would you like to explain me where is the "shame" ?

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

fa477279Today 07:13 pm JST

Where are the dead people? A month into this and there are no dead people so to speak. So please tell me why is it there are so many apparent

a month ?

LOL

corona virus arrived in Japan at the end of JANUARY, almost THREE MONTHS AGO, don't listen the undervote community which tries to let everyone think that corona virus arrived in Japan at the end of March after the Olympic Games were postponed, even forgetting the Diamond Princess parked in Yokohama.

The truth is corona virus has been circulating in Japan for almost THREE MONTHS and we just have 230 people died, which is a very "good" result compared to the west

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

@ Cognac

Why the progression of COVID19 should be any different in Japan vs. any other countries.

USA made this claim vs. China, Europe made this claim and even Singapore made this claim and...?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

HeckleberryToday 07:33 pm JST

@fa477279 - The beauty of open data is that you don't need to re-create a disaster that happened in another country, to know what is likely to happen in your country (a point that seems to have been missed by the Japanese authorities may I add).

Currently, Japan's confirmed cases of COVID-19 stand at 10,296, with 222 deaths (2.16% mortality).

Nothing to write home about?

Well, on March 3, 2020, Italy had 2,263 cases, with 79 deaths (3.49% mortality).

Italy now has 175,925 cases, with 23,227 deaths (13.2% mortality).

As you can see, the mortality is not a linear function of the number of cases, but dramatically increases when the healthcare system is overloaded with ICU beds full of affected people.

Hope this helps you understand the gravity of the situation.

you just forget to mention that on March 3 it was around one month that corona virus was in Italy, while in Japan arrived earlier and deaths are still very low compared to the disaster happened in Europe and Ammerica, you talk, as most here, as corona virus arrived at the end of March in this country, which is TOTALLY uncorrect.

I hope this helps you understand the gravity of your error.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

kokontozaiToday 08:42 pm JST

tamanegi

S.Korea and Taiwan have done the great jobs, because this is the second time for them to address the novel virus. The western countries and Japan are struggling due to the first time.

And the western countries and Japan cannot accept their system unfortunately, because of the human rights. The tracking system of the patients cannot be approved by the Japanese communist party and the other opposite parties absolutely.

230 deaths are impressive numbers, but in positive considering we are talking about a 120mln people country

Switzterland has 1/8 population of Japan with 6x deaths, which is much worst in my opinion

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Same old same old, even the Olympics is still being mentioned. For those who are deathly obsessed with the numbers I think the place to start should be the number of deaths. Just compare the total deaths for this year to the total deaths for the same period last year. All deaths, whatever the cause. Weeks, maybe months ago my suggestion was to look for the influx in pneumonia or respiratory related deaths only. Now lets just start with total deaths.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

rzadigiToday 05:08 pm JST

Most every country in the world is struggling now. The exponential increase of cases in Japan has been quite slow comparatively. The USA went from 1000 cases to 100000 in 10 days. Europe has the top ten slots for death per capita. Although Japan has definitely made plenty of mistakes they have avoided the chaos and hysteria prevalent in other countries. Things could worsen, but until then we should all feel grateful.

as usual an intelligent comment got a lot of downvotes...

I wonder when people here will understand that Japan is NOT united states of ammerica and those numbers will be never replicated here, considering the virus is almost 3 months in this country and Tokyo just got 200 cases in one single day...

I almost lost hope

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Wouldn't it better to let the damm virus run its course and those who feel mild symptoms (of what might only be a cold) stay at home and make sure the more severe cases get the hospital beds?

I'm sorry but logical thinking has no business in the comment section. Fear, panic, doom and gloom are more desirable.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Summarizing shortly, every city of big numbers might work the real numbers of [ cases - (deaths+recovered)=the occupied beds} to find hospitals available but it's time to build temporary houses like that ones of earthquake refugees or use a huge premise, as it is Tokyo Dome, where there's a roof.

Testing can be in hotels where positive infected but not critical patients are. Or any institute or conservatory prepared to execute positive or negative examinations. Find ways to learn the experiences from another countries very affected from this virus, and from that experience on board Diamond Princess cruise, as long as Japan started everything too late.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

ill prepared...instead of the best prepared nation to host the Olympic.Its too late to reverse it.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

When hospitals are treating patients in waiting rooms then we’ll know it’s getting bad....

3 ( +3 / -0 )

just thinking loud again ...if the 2 masks do indeed arrive to everyone it will prove that safe self testing is posible . don't think that is neat move without over-committing (typical japan) . Hmm.. it could solve the both the testing and quarantine .. Maybe there is more to abenomask ..

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I don't get why people think more testing will lead to medical breakdown.

Conventional two way thinkers: either ① not enough tests and we don’t get the necessary data or ② test and risk capacity overload of hospitals. It doesn’t have to be either or; you don’t have to settle for these. Find the solution.

Should a government be trying to test the entire population (which would be impossible in any country) or just those who show symptoms? I would say the latter. 

But how do you go about that? You don't want people with coughs, runny noses or fever flooding into hospitals or clinics.

This is an example of the Either Or thinker. The answer is Neither.

Test as many as possible without flooding the hospitals. That means temporary testing centers or drive thrus like in Korea or whatever solutions you can think.

Focus on finding solutions and be three dimensional. Public officials are paid to come up with answers instead of resorting to picking your poison.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@yubaru You, for one, are being hysterical. But judging from the comments here, you are clearly not alone. If we look at statistics, and try to be objective, we can see that Japan has, so far, weathered this crisis better than many developed countries. And the more time Japan has before the storm arrives, the better prepared it will be. I have friends in New York and Italy, and I feel extremely grateful I am not in their situation. If you still object to my reasoning, then I suggest you turn off the TV and stop reading the news, or your fears will continue to worsen. All that each of us can do is follow safety precautions. There is nothing else to do but wait til the storm passes.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

tamanegi

S.Korea and Taiwan have done the great jobs, because this is the second time for them to address the novel virus. The western countries and Japan are struggling due to the first time.

And the western countries and Japan cannot accept their system unfortunately, because of the human rights. The tracking system of the patients cannot be approved by the Japanese communist party and the other opposite parties absolutely.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

The ratio of confirmed to tested people exceeded 50% this week in Tokyo according to the following site: https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/

In S. Korea, it peaked 6% on February 29, but has been mostly less than 1% thereafter. You will have no clue on the actual number of cases unless the capacity of test increases by at least a factor of 10 in Tokyo.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

oh and @rimno one other question if you don't mind ... when do you stop this testing ? .. think about it; S.Korea and China are now fighting imported cases .. (so that is japan in January) . Can you also test the whole of India and Africa ... I don't know man .. it is just feels like barking on the wrong tree

2 ( +3 / -1 )

People on JT seem to have the Coronavirus crazies. It’s as if they want the numbers to increase just to prove their point. Japan is still caring pretty well compared to other countries, despite most of the posters on here saying 2 MONTHS ago that the world is ending

-4 ( +10 / -14 )

@rimno ofcourse yes it would be nice to safely tests everyone (and don't infect them during swabing )? have many samplings ? and finaly quarnatine them ? But is this realistic and the best aproach given unprecedented circumstances ? And would the results of these efforts really make the difference ? I am really not sure ... again still thinking about how easy this virus spreads

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

@n1k1

Intense testing is to know the right number.

AND TO KNOW WHO HAS THE VIRUS EVEN IF THEY DON'T SHOW ANY SYMPTOMS AND QUARANTINE THEM.

BECAUSE THEY CAN STILL SPREAD THE VIRUS AND INCREASE THE PATIENTS WITH SERIOUS SYMPTOMS.

WHICH WILL MOST CERTAINLY LEAD TO MEDICAL BREAKDOWN.

I don't get why people think more testing will lead to medical breakdown.

Testings can be done outside of the hospitals, on people who thinks they may have the virus, by dedicated crews who doesn't look at normal patients.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

sounds scary. But with only testing people who felt bad enough to think they have it, that would be 0.2 percent death rate and only around 9% positive infection rate.

Wouldnt we expect even lower levels if we tested people who dont even feel bad? or do you think that 9% (or more) of the entire country has it or had it already and doesnt know?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

As of now, they have tested 111,325 people so far. 10,439 tested positive. Of those, 1069 have recovered and 222 dead. It's impossible for this so-called state of emergency to end on May 6.

By the way, a 30 year old male in Saitama died of COVID-19 on April 14. No mention if he had any pre-existing condition. I believe he is the youngest person to die from this virus in Japan.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Where are the dead people? A month into this and there are no dead people so to speak. So please tell me why is it there are so many apparently untested cases here yet such a miniscule amount of deaths. Please someone explain.

@fa477279 - The beauty of open data is that you don't need to re-create a disaster that happened in another country, to know what is likely to happen in your country (a point that seems to have been missed by the Japanese authorities may I add).

Currently, Japan's confirmed cases of COVID-19 stand at 10,296, with 222 deaths (2.16% mortality).

Nothing to write home about?

Well, on March 3, 2020, Italy had 2,263 cases, with 79 deaths (3.49% mortality).

Italy now has 175,925 cases, with 23,227 deaths (13.2% mortality).

As you can see, the mortality is not a linear function of the number of cases, but dramatically increases when the healthcare system is overloaded with ICU beds full of affected people.

Hope this helps you understand the gravity of the situation.

9 ( +14 / -5 )

@fa477279 ...we can and should assume there are dead people that weren't COVID-19 tested .. but that is fine too... . One theory that could explain this is the tests for dead (biopsy and what not) will be performed later when there is time for that. similiar to how china did ) . One other interesting theory is the BCG vaccine and the variants ( there are some clinical trials with medical staff in Australia so we'll see) . Again the medical facilities , the equipment, the expertise will also play a role. Look at Germany for instance.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

that is correct. Yet I wonder why.

So are you living in Tokyo? Are you self isolating?

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

I really dont know what more can be expected. I said that old people and those at risk as well should just stay home and let the rest of us go about our business. Was told that old people/at risk people have the need to go to the supermarket, doctor and to exercise.

So to avoid them when they are out and about, I am expected to stay home. Yet I also need to go to those same places, dont I? Plus I have to go to the office too.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Where are the dead people? A month into this and there are no dead people so to speak. So please tell me why is it there are so many apparently untested cases here yet such a miniscule amount of deaths. Please someone explain.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

well they need the scary nationwide numbers to push the nationwide stay at home that just started.

Just ignore that Tokyo numbers are decreasing and that deaths of anyone under the age of 70 without underlying conditions are basically nil.

Does it really matter about the number of cases if it just shows the mortality rate as less and less than we were told?

What is everyone's guess for a reopening day for Tokyo?

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Yup! Just over 100 reported in Tokyo. How do you like them eggs? I wish people were more critical analyzing information as they are criticizing Japan.

-11 ( +4 / -15 )

So there were less cases this weekend than last,

How many more weeks are people going to accept being told the end of the world is coming next week.

-10 ( +5 / -15 )

Although Japan has definitely made plenty of mistakes they have avoided the chaos and hysteria prevalent in other countries. Things could worsen, but until then we should all feel grateful.

Grateful for what? The government refusing to test and track all potential cases? If you havent heard, over half the "new" cases are untraceable, meaning that due to the government's refusal to openly test, there is no way to know where or how far too many are catching the virus.

Chaos and hysteria? Tell me what countries are in chaos? Who exactly is being hysterical!

Japan is just getting started sadly, all because the damn PM was living in a dream and refused to take action!

13 ( +15 / -2 )

correction to above entry - (there is NO data as to those who tested negative)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

nakanoguy01

It’s funny that suddenly they are giving nationwide totals when up to today, the headlines were all Tokyo totals. This reeks of sensationalism. I betcha Tokyo’s numbers aren’t eye popping so they decided to use a different total.

Orrrr, the Tokyo total is so high and scary, they're trying to water it down by reporting the entire country's numbers instead of Tokyo-only.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Interesting take on this... the report is rather straight forward that it is the number of "reported" cases and not projected or assumed cases. It gave data on the ship to give a perspective on the increase from the first cases actually reported. It also indicated that the u,bers are based upon the selective testing that was done and how the increased testing will change the figures. That is all.

Then it indicated the actions taken so far. There is only one assumption. It is that with increased testing the figures will change. However, there is data as to how many tested negative, so therefore this report probaly is not intended to give any statistical analysis. Because such analysis requires multitude of data from different perspectives with much accurate and relative data for comparison and analysis.

This report does not refer to anything else and does not imply anything.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The inevitable is coming,as always behind the rest of the civilized democracies.

But this time the majority of the population is going to suffer this.

It’s a Waterloo.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

it's just i keep asking my self what if we have the real numbers of infections as opposed to mild and serious cases numbers ? what really is the difference ? for us ? is it to so that we can entertain some numerical theory on the virus spreading speed ? is that it ? Something tells me we will be able to reverse engineer the numbers later when this is over . Why do we need the actual numbers ? Call me what ever you want I personally don't see real reason for accuracy here. I sincerely doubt anyone will be testing treatment on less then mild cases . They ( the gov ) said : the virus is a bitch, stay home ( if you can ), wash hands , wear mask and wash hands and that is pretty much it everything we can do right now. There is avigan , there is the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interleukin_6 technique that was on nhk.or.jp soon we will have the remdesivir results .. we will be fine I am sure. Japan always apears a little bit clumsy in the begining i have noticed , it is optics really . Test driven logic is logic as sound as the test itself so not that simple to trust devices made in china a hurry and in big volumes you just simply must always bear in mind the test are rubbish and find alternative ways to triangulate results; all that takes time and resources ; resources japan hasn't got or needs for those that really need help (the diying ..) . Given the circumstances I think the Japanese aproach to the problem is fine, I for one don't see much nonsense neither from goverment officials not from normal people . Abe sensei , Koike sensei , I think they are fine they did and are doing OK. Maybe a bit tired and maybe we should see more scientists on TV. I think it will be of help to see and hear an unfiltered take on the problem from the people on the front lines. PS. Yes, China and South Korea did good I agree . China is a comunist country and it was easy for them to take draconian measures. Neither China nor S.Korea have Tokyo nor the financial and economical complexity behind.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

Please read what @mu-da san wrote.

ignore what @nakanoguy01 Says

1 ( +4 / -3 )

However the last part of your post I agree with. I agree those with mild symptoms should stay home and self isolate.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

C’mon Japan! Get your poop together! Dump that useless leader and get somebody in that position with some youth and some brains. Over 500 cases in a weekend is totally unacceptable in a so-called modern and rich country. The US and Italy will have to move over and make space for Japan. Get it together!

3 ( +11 / -8 )

It took two months for the number of patients to reach 1,000 since mid-January, but the spread of the coronavirus has accelerated in recent weeks, doubling from around 5,000 in just 10 days.

it's amazing if the reporter of such statement actually think it's right...

virus was spreading all the time with cases much higher than the ones "confirmed" and the clear evidence is that the numbers increased in correlation with test numbers, right after the announcement of postponement of the Olympics. tests were not conducted for political and economical reasons. and now tests are being done more than before, why can't the media just say it like this?

im not trying to spread panic or accuse anyone. I just want to know the truth and get corrected if I'm wrong. health isn't the most valuable thing?

12 ( +13 / -1 )

@smarticus,

Testing as much as possible is necessary because most carriers (people who can spread the virus) are asymptomatic.

If we 'let the virus run it's course' you end up with Italy, Spain, New York.

Why must we keep repeating this?

13 ( +15 / -2 )

There are so many tourists in Kamakura city today. Many Japanese still underestimate the virus.

21 ( +22 / -1 )

Most every country in the world is struggling now. The exponential increase of cases in Japan has been quite slow comparatively. The USA went from 1000 cases to 100000 in 10 days. Europe has the top ten slots for death per capita. Although Japan has definitely made plenty of mistakes they have avoided the chaos and hysteria prevalent in other countries. Things could worsen, but until then we should all feel grateful.

-11 ( +8 / -19 )

 But how do you go about that? You don't want people with coughs, runny noses or fever flooding into hospitals or clinics. 

You test outside hospitals anywhere, everywhere, anybody, as exercised in South Korea, Germany and elsewhere. In countries where testing is scarce or done very late you'll have no idea who's infected or not and the potentially infected enter hospitals. Not only will you have extremly high fatalities with doctors, nurses and medical personnel (as in Italy, Spain, Japan and Indonesia) but hospitals will turn into hubs for the virus and bring down the whole medical system. It's not really rocket science, just common sense and a coordinated strategy.

18 ( +20 / -2 )

Now are we going to take this seriously, or do we wait until we see 20,000 (which is probably next weekend)

15 ( +18 / -3 )

It’s funny that suddenly they are giving nationwide totals when up to today, the headlines were all Tokyo totals. This reeks of sensationalism. I betcha Tokyo’s numbers aren’t eye popping so they decided to use a different total.

-16 ( +8 / -24 )

My wife and daughter are in Amami Oshima, and they just reported their first two cases yesterday. Kind of disappointed that Japan didn't stop travel to small islands.

18 ( +22 / -4 )

Wow! South Korea had less than 20. Such a shame Japan couldn't swallow its pride and image of exceptionalism to learn from and work with its closest neighbor about this virus.

@tamanegi - South Korea reported 8 new cases overnight, of which 5 were in strictly quarantined travellers returning from overseas.

14 ( +18 / -4 )

The question about testing that comes to my mind, and this applies to every country, not just Japan, is: Should a government be trying to test the entire population (which would be impossible in any country) or just those who show symptoms? I would say the latter. But how do you go about that? You don't want people with coughs, runny noses or fever flooding into hospitals or clinics. Wouldn't it better to let the damm virus run its course and those who feel mild symptoms (of what might only be a cold) stay at home and make sure the more severe cases get the hospital beds? I confess I don't know the best way to make sure the people who need to be hospitalized are hospitalized as quickly as possible.

-5 ( +13 / -18 )

Japan hasn't even barely begun to see the worst of this, I'm afraid.

29 ( +35 / -6 )

Wow! South Korea had less than 20. Such a shame Japan couldn't swallow its pride and image of exceptionalism to learn from and work with its closest neighbor about this virus.

36 ( +43 / -7 )

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