Tokyo reports 253 coronavirus cases; nationwide tally 1,767

More good news so lets open the pubs now !

Does a very contagious virus we all and the world has been fearing suddenly no longer infected anymore? I’m glad to hear it’s going down but suddenly?

Japan ranks around the middle of Asian nations in terms of Covid death rate per capita. There is ZERO evidence to suggest they resist the virus "better than anywhere on earth".

Ranks in the middle while having the oldest population in the entire world huh? Not bad Japan. Not bad at all.

Oxycodin Today  05:32 pm JST

Does a very contagious virus we all and the world has been fearing suddenly no longer infected anymore? I’m glad to hear it’s going down but suddenly?

That is how infection wave works.

"if you don't let people test" - that couldn't be further from the truth. Actually anyone who has at least some of the symptoms (cough, temperature, body aches, etc) will get tested for free. If you have absolutely no symptoms and still want the tests, you'll have to pay for it.

Fiddlers Today  05:01 pm JST

More good news so lets open the pubs now !

Will big celebrations happen on October 1st ?

It's almost like a miracle.

@Foreigner In Tokyo

Appreciate the in-depth response.

I'm not sure massive amounts of testing would be of great benefit at this point. Given that the focus is now on getting people vaccinated and preventing hospitalizations and death.

The vaccines won't stop people from testing positive or stop them from being asymptomatic spreaders so I think that the metrics for the severity of the pandemic have changed. I think you could make an argument for the testing approach prior to vaccinations. But now the main focus should be on "percentage of people vaccinated". The number of people who are getting tested/who want to get tested is going down because they aren't symptomatic. And if we look at these daily figures from that perspective, I think our situation is getting much much better every day.

As for the government doing a sufficient job, I kind of lean on the side of "They did what they could". I don't think they get a lot of credit for the Pfizer contract at the start of the vaccination launch, and giving people that extra sense of assurance in the safety of the vaccine by conducting their own safety trial (other people complain about that but I for one think it was necessary). And I do think there's a lot to be said for not having the country go into what would have been a pointless lockdown. Vaccination rates high also and still show no sign of leveling off yet - is it the Japanese people rather than the government who deserves credit for that one? Maybe - but there's still an argument there I think.

I don't know if we're going to see eye to eye on this but there's my two cents anyway.

BurakuminDes Today  05:17 pm JST

Laughable.

I agree with you.

Japan ranks around the middle of Asian nations in terms of Covid death rate per capita. There is ZERO evidence to suggest they resist the virus "better than anywhere on earth".

Exactly.

Note that most of the people here compare Japan only with western countries to show how Japan is better handling the virus.

Looked at the graphs in toyokeizai.

Daily average of cases dropping more steeply than it has climbed while average of daily deaths just started to drop.

Hopefully current trajectories continue

Right, it’s time to open up and get things back to normal. The vulnerable have been vaccinated and most of those that want it. By now a large amount of the population will have caught Covid too

Still a few fear mongers about here, but not being so dramatic and with apocalyptic scenarios.

Been out supporting businesses as I have daily since this all started and shall continue to do so.

Right, it’s time to open up and get things back to normal. The vulnerable have been vaccinated and most of those that want it. By now a large amount of the population will have caught Covid too.

Would be nice if there was a study of prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

It's almost like a miracle.

weeps tears of joy and gratitude

votes LDP

There’s still 4-5 conspiracy theorists still banging the same drum ( yet 1 has gone quiet and I think 2 are the same person) yes it’s a holiday weekend and the testing is low but for the last month nearly the infections have been going down in Tokyo and across the country. If you want it to be higher would that please you and make you feel better in your world

From data of last Friday, the 10 most populated prefectures (+Okinawa), percentage of infections and number of tests done by million of people.

Osaka 6,5% 1755

Okinawa 13% 1340

Aichi 10% 980

Shizuoka 4% 905

Fukuoka 6% 894

Tokyo 10% 716

Saitama 10% 685

Hokkaido 3% 660

Chiba 9% 636

Hyogo 12% 583

Kyoto 10% 451

Kanagawa 15% 441

AkulaToday  05:16 pm JST

Still some way to go with the vaccine program, but I have no doubt that the 153m vaccines doses administered to date have made a big difference, with two thirds of the population having had at least one dose, and close to 70m people being fully vaccinated.

https://vdata.nikkei.com/newsgraphics/coronavirus-japan-vaccine-status/

Impressive to see now that 90% of over 65s have had at least one dose, and 88.6% are fully vaccinated.

Well done Japan!

What will be the maximum rate of fully vaccinated people in Japan ? 60, 70, 80 % ???

Seems like Japan gave COVID a swift kick in the you-know-what. Never seen it drop so suddenly.

Why isn't there mass testing for example? Why don't we have specifics on how many infected people in Tokyo are left to fend for themselves at home?

Why do you CTs always push the testing narrative? Has it actually helped any country prevent the spread of covid? Or has it actually just delayed the spread?

And what would specifics about rationed care help in any way? You want to push the anti-japan Inc narrative as often as possible, but how will it help?! Smgdfh 2x

Instead of fronting CoVid 19 continually on the front page, how about placing any covid articles under health segment. For 18 months of continuously headlining covid is really getting, how can I put ? a real pain. I have finish commenting on Covid if I don't, I know it will effect me. I suspect a lot of readers feel the same about the continueous headlines about CoViD.

Sadly no amount of pointing out elementary principals of science or statistics seems to work on those deliberately intent on defending and spreading the government's PR narrative.

Are you suggesting that people who think things are getting better because they look at the official figures which indicate that things are getting better are somehow in cahoots with the government?

That sounds very exciting. :)

I hope there is no new variant emerge.

Japan is defying the laws of epidemiology and data science ... or bending them ... ?

What laws are those?

People here still don’t understand how an effective reproduction number is calculated and seem to be confusing it with the percentage of people who test positive among symptomatic people who go to get tested.

However, these ‘numbers’ have recently been changing, but not just in the last ‘24 hours’.

Apparently, some people don’t know what ‘24 hours’ (as in “I’m taking a 24 hour break”) entails.

Sven

Lower cases were before Delta appeared which is much more transmissible, the answer is simple.

What Virus?

Must be magic! Just in time for the current soe to come to an end from October.

What a joke.

Funny how Japan has steady increases and sudden drops of cases along the waves.

Japan is defying the laws of epidemiology and data science ... or bending them ... ?

k good one

Still some way to go with the vaccine program, but I have no doubt that the 153m vaccines doses administered to date have made a big difference, with two thirds of the population having had at least one dose, and close to 70m people being fully vaccinated.

https://vdata.nikkei.com/newsgraphics/coronavirus-japan-vaccine-status/

Impressive to see now that 90% of over 65s have had at least one dose, and 88.6% are fully vaccinated.

Well done Japan!

PCR tests in Tokyo Sept. 17th : 6,294

Pretty self-explanatory.

Just to make it clear, yet again:

If you don't let people get testes, you get smaller numbers.

You are maybe too easily to satisfy. A year ago it was 483 cases for the whole country and still without any vaccinations. I don’t know exactly what you try to celebrate every day now, but feel free to teach us. lol

joffy Today  05:46 pm JST

The Covid situation has never been dire in Japan. Some hospitals were affected greatly but not the majority as some would like you to believe. "Most" residents here practice self preservation and avoid getting into situations where transmission easily occurs. Plus, mask wearing indoors is nearly 100% and has been for over a year. With the number of vaccinated (especially the elderly) at very high levels, it is no wonder the situation is getting better daily.

Oh wonderful Japan where Covid is just annoying but not serious and medical system is working fine with all patients hospitalized as needed. That's your view.

There is no need to test asymptomatic people. Most Japanese don't want to get a test if they are feeling fine. Plus the expense would be enormous. Japan tests those who are symptomatic and we get the daily numbers from that data. It is consistent so it is an excellent gauge to see trends.

You still do not understand the meaning of non restricted testing, you are really st......

Japan is doing very well and it is a great country to live in during the pandemic.

Yes, no problem at all here, no people has lost jobs, economy is flourishing, restaurants are open all day, no quarantine when going back to Japan when you are fully vaccinated and showing 3 negative tests.

I'm not sure massive amounts of testing would be of great benefit at this point.

I disagree. Mass testing is a very useful way to give a clearer picture of what’s going on and perhaps most importantly, detect any possible new variants as quickly as possible.

Some get hysterical with this idea and think they are going to be manhandled in the aisles of Costco or at late night bars in Osaka, or dragged off the Shinkansen with a Pocky stick sticking out of their mouths.

It doesn’t work like that.

The government promised more testing. Hold their feet to the fire.

Realize ‘some’ may have missed developments over the last year with frequent cross-country travel & such *@kyakushinkan_Arimasboose 5:28pm ***but **most have had ‘concerns’.

*- @kyakuShinseibin_Aricabusu 5:28pm: “What Virus?” -*

However, these ‘numbers’ have recently been changing, but not just in the last ‘24 hours’.

Perhaps some should check the internet and those pockytwatches from time-to-time?

Agreed, “Cautiously Optimistic” is the present, trending vernacular for such ‘numbers’.

@For In Tokyo: Your thoughts are interesting and welcome. Really make semse. Nice to have someone on this site thinking out of the box.