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Experts warn of untested COVID cases in Tokyo as average dips

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@virusrex,

I will acknowledge credit where it is due and thank you for the website addressing numbers.

Now like other institutions, I will just have to trust that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government committee generating those numbers has not become corporate- captured, and are not the equivalence of 'Manufacturing Consent' (Chomsky and Herman) or 'Invented Traditions of Modern Japan' (Stephen Vlastos). At least I hope they are more trustworthy than how 'Nuclear Regulatory Agency' is an Orwellian Doublespeak / oxymoron-euphemism for 'Nuclear Advocacy and Lobbyist Agency'. I see no Japanese equivalence of Julian Assange or Ed Snowden, so I guess we can trust everything any government agency in Japan says.

On the other hand, I still can not find compelling information that PCR tests actually detect the sickness named CoVid-19. It tests for RNA fragments of SARS-COV-2, which may indicate:

1 — prior infection and natural recovery,

2 — a viral load too small to lead to sickness or infection of others,

3 — or as WHO's vaguely worded announcement months ago hinted at, random noise.

I am constantly seeing a conflation, even in 'scientific' literature, between distinctly different names for the virus and the sickness it may cause. I can't help but to think some of that conflation is deliberate.

Though 'CoVid-19' refers to a sickness, notice how the word 'case' has changed in the current narrative from 'sickness' to 'presence of a genetic fragment', or how '60% vaccination to herd immunity' is rapidly drifting to 'mandatory vaccinations and passports for all', or how 'anti-vaxxer' has changed to include anyone against mandatory vaccinations, precluding informed consent.

Didn't Japan Inc. just catch a 'bad' batch of Moderna? Odd that yesterday's NHK report of magnetic properties indicated metallic contaminants. Odd because I recall the 'fake news' videos being banned on YouTube and Facebook a few months ago ... the magnetic properties of the skin around the injection site. You can still find some of those videos on alternative social media sites such as Brighteon, Rumble, or BitChute, but such videos will not stay up long on the near-monopoly social media sites of Facebook or YouTube ... protecting our delicate sesibilities from 'fake news'. But back to the PCR test thing ...

From Public Health Ontario ... https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/about/blog/2021/explained-covid19-pcr-testing-and-cycle-thresholds ... I could not help but to notice that the paragraph entitled ''How does PCR actually detect COVID-19?'' does not explain how detection of genetic fragments from a corona virus equals detection of a sickness. A bit of critical reading of that paragraph can lead to only one of two assumptions ...

1 — any indication of genetic material associated with the corona virus automatically dismisses prior infection and recovery or viral loads too low to cause symptoms or be infectious ... and translates simply as either symptomatically 'sick', or an asymptomatic (and still 'case' definition, 'sick') carrier. That's an awful lot of 'Typhoid Mary's' running around, but apparently not running in the same circles as top level politicians, Olympic committees, athletes, or school kids. OR ...

2 — the writer(s) are deliberately conflating presence of genetic material with presence of a sickness.

Of course, we can dismiss point 2. No government institution has ever been corrupted by perverse incentives — corporate-captured or even slightly influenced by financial incentives provided by corporate lobbyists. Odd, that corporate news in the U.S. fails to point out that the recent FDA approval is for a variant of the Phizer treatment not yet in production, not for the current 'Emergency Use' injection. Of course there are no conflicts of interest to see ... Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the FDA from 2017 to 2019, now sits on the board of directors of Pfizer. Nope, nothing to see here.

As your link points out, different makers of test kits, necessarily the same medical and governmental institutions pushing the narrative, justify a higher number of cycles for their 'custom tests' than was previously cited in the literature, but this raises at least two further questions:

1 — What is the medical justification for a non-clinical setting (for example, when the tested person shows no symptoms of sickness) to automatically be classified as a positive test 'case' — presumably, an asymptomatic carrier rather than someone who has previously been infected and has recovered?

2 — Why the double standard in testing for the presence of a virus in a healthy population, and testing for the absence of the virus in a vaccinated population? In the testing of the efficacy of vaccines, are presumably generic PCR tests being used, and with a lower threshold cycle? In the following study, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891, the section titled ''SARS-CoV-2 Testing'' indicates no specifically tailored PCR test. Just 'PCR test' with the following description ..*. ''***Polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the United Kingdom is undertaken by hospital and public health laboratories, as well as by community testing with the use of drive-through or at-home testing, which is available to anyone with symptoms consistent with Covid-19 (high temperature, new continuous cough, or loss or change in sense of smell or taste).''**

Maybe PCR testing technology has changed since the study was published — a bit more than a month ago?

I followed up the link (25) to ascertain what specific makers' PCR test was used, and found no indication other than a reference to 'PCR test'. The discussion of that generic PCR test also stated *''***RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values correlate strongly with cultivable virus.**''

Now apparently scrubbed from the net, a study a few years ago indicated a random PCR sampling of otherwise healthy people in New York indicated a wide variety of potentially dangerous bacteria and viruses, but at not enough of a load to cause sickness or infect others ... just part of the natural biome.

I can't help but to think a co-ordinated and wide-spread case of 'blinded-by-science' gaslighting is going on. I just hope nobody pulls my finger.

-12 ( +0 / -12 )

@zichi

Where are the links for the numbers of vaccinations by prefecture? I looked.

I do not doubt it. It is tricky to find it.

https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/headline/kansensho/vaccine.html

For people not understanding japanese : under the table, that is the link on the right. As of the 23rd (if my memory serve me right they update it every Monday) :

https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/content/kenbetsu-vaccination_data2.pdf

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The debate about testing?

It goes on and on and on…

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just because the Big Pharma vaccines don't work doesn't mean the much vaunted Delta variant is SO infectious. Only countries exclusively using the Big Pharma concoctions have seen especially large waves on infections.

The scientific consensus in the world (as in every single respected institution) says the data available clearly contradicts your opinion, vaccines have been extremely effective at reducing the burden of the pandemic and the Delta variant has brought much more cases everywhere where it is present, and in those countries without generalized vaccination it also brings more complications and deaths.

Somehow nameless people on the internet contradicting the medical science of the world does not hold the same weight.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

specially with the Delta variant clearly SO infectious.

Just because the Big Pharma vaccines don't work doesn't mean the much vaunted Delta variant is SO infectious. Only countries exclusively using the Big Pharma concoctions have seen especially large waves on infections.

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

Indeed. Last year , kind of got the 'testing' thing. Don't understand anymore at all - especially with the Delta variant clearly SO infectious. Just keep jabbing away.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

That'll work. 33 million people in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Impossible to vaccinate all and any. But, sure, testing, that's the key to ending the pandemic.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

ianToday  02:50 pm JST

Where are the links for the numbers of vaccinations by prefecture? I looked.

Quick search "vaccination by prefecture"

3 in the results, I haven't looked at it yet

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239968/japan-covid-19-vaccination-rate-by-prefecture/

That is one a little old as Osaka dropped below Okinawa since then.

https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/14390378

There is a weekly pdf release by the National government but right now I can't find it as it was always 2 weeks late on its info, I gave up.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Thanks for posting that Yubaru - it seems to be a common misconception here. They do indeed HAVE to report. They don't have to provide names of the infected. No Data privacy issues. In fact I could give any old name at Shibuya Crossing and get tested.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

From the figures (tests, deaths, seriously ill ...) and from the facts (no lockdowns, no contraints ...), we can deduce that the Japanese people is much more resistant than the rest of the world.

Many people insist that in terms of measures to counter spread of covid, Japan is the worst.

If thats true then yes probably the only reason that remains why covid is not that prevalent here is that they are "much more resistant".

But same people certainly wont accept that.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Have they thought to test more?

I thought dentsu had smarter people than this.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I always thought that Japan was a world apart. And now, with the pandemic, I'm sure, Japan is a very different world from other nations.

From the figures (tests, deaths, seriously ill ...) and from the facts (no lockdowns, no contraints ...), we can deduce that the Japanese people is much more resistant than the rest of the world.

And with vaccination, the Japanese will be even more resistant and the virus will not affect them much.

But they have two weak points to which the government has responded brilliantly: eating in places of restoration after 8 p.m. and not consuming alcohol in these same places.

So why bother? Why should the government spend a fortune on prevention with the famous tests? Why should the government release data on the pandemic in Japan when the public does not care? Why invest in human and material resources to treat infectious diseases when at home it does so with a good anti-virus cocktail? Why should the government look at what is happening elsewhere when in Japan everything is under control and everything is fine.

Voilà. It is so obvious. Japan is unlike any other country and it is pointless to compare it to others.

Some numbers on tests. Of all G20, Japan is the one testing the less. So when Japan did 1 test, let's see the others :

Mexico 4

Indonesia 6,5

South Korea 15.

...

USA 103.

France 110.

UK testing 232.

Have a nice day everyone.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Where are the links for the numbers of vaccinations by prefecture? I looked.

Quick search "vaccination by prefecture"

3 in the results, I haven't looked at it yet

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239968/japan-covid-19-vaccination-rate-by-prefecture/

2 ( +2 / -0 )

private clinics are not providing their numbers of positive cases due to privacy laws

Private clinics, by law, must report any positive test results! It's a contagious virus and like influenza or any other virus that is contagious, BY LAW, they must, and they do, report positive tests!

Please stop stirring the pot!

3 ( +5 / -2 )

@Foreigner In Tokyo

Honestly - You want to see 250-500k tests a day? How? Its never been the policy of this government at any level to mandate random testing. You might 'want' to see that but you never will. And yes, when the + numbers slip below 1000, they will declare victory that will be it. Don't know how long you've been here...but thats how its going to go. Not looking to be downvoted. just find your 'plan' comical

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Testing is actually one important factor in managing the epidemic, obviously not the only one but especially if associated with quick isolation of positive cases and close contacts, can highly contribute to limiting damage. If we take the example of a relatively comparable country like Korea (an industrialized democracy, with high life expectancy and low incidence of co-morbidity, basically also an ‘island’ only accessible by air and sea given the neighbor…), by June 15, 2021 Korea had undergone 10,196,470 pcr tests. 

Japan has approximately 74 million more people than the 52 million of Korea, meaning just the extra population is in itself 142% that of Korea. If Japan had tested the same proportion of its population than Korea, by June 15 it should have done 10,196,470 (like Korea) + 14,478,987 (for the 142% additional population) = 24,675,457 tests. 

It had done instead 15,494,981 tests, meaning 9,180,476 tests less than expected if the same approach had been taken. 

Given the proportion between the two populations, in terms of death Japan could have also expected an additional share of 142% of Korea’s covid deaths (2,257), meaning 5,461, but had instead 15,768 officially recorded deaths, almost three times more than predictable. 

It is to be noted that Korea has imposed pcr tests and a strict quarantine (now lifted for those vaccinated in Korea and a few other cases) to all visitors since the very beginning, but has not closed its borders a single day not only to its returning foreign residents (thanks Japan for the almost unique experience!) but also to business travelers and tourists. They did have the insane idea of testing all foreign workers in Incheon province (and them only) last year, but as far as I know they abandoned it two days after because it was immediately recognized as discriminatory.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

My own documents came months ago. I just do not recognise that people do not have access. The only vague notion of that was a person I know who wanted to jump the queue and was on a list for when people cancel appointments. They struggled to jump for a while with a lot of admin. But even they are now doubled.

First Osaka is in the top 10 worst prefectures in vaccination along with Tokyo having one of the lowest percentages of their population Vaccinated.

That is the national government's own numbers.

My children in their early/mid 20s got their vouchers around the same time as I did

But our ward in Tokyo hasn't opened vaccination to those under 30 yet.

My sister in law just under 40 in Saitama tried getting an appointment nothing until late October in her city ( yes Saitama is also on the list of worse vaccinated prefectures).

I keep reading comments like your but when I look up the numbers, check cities and wards, I find the facts are generally contrary.

Why is Tokyo opening a walk-in vaccine centre? Because those under 40 are not able to even book appointments in their wards.

Our ward just extend Vaccination times to last appointment 18:30 for those over 30 but as soon as it did they were fully booked and now out of vaccine.

Weekends appointments are still only 10:00 to 17:00 just like testing those in charge think the virus takes the weekend off.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

How many dead?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

1 — What percentage of those 'tested' are showing up as positive?

there are many sources that report this, remaining ignorant about something on purpose is a terribly bad basis to criticize not knowing it.

https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/

 — For those still being tested by PCR, how many cycles are being run and what are the percentages of false positives?

You have been corrected several times on the irrelevance of this but you keep focusing on it as if it had any importance, how do you justify trying to mislead people insisting on "concerns" that have been debunked as non important since last year?

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking/covid-19-pcr-test-reliable-despite-commotion-about-ct-values

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@blahblah

First I hope the 222 has a different meaning to what it used to be for (Jon Benet).

As for vaccine access. From my little corner of Osaka all the people I know have been able to get it. Some are waiting for second doses but the older, vulnerable ones have all had the option. I do not know people below 30's but I do know people in their 30's who are fully vaccinated.

My own documents came months ago. I just do not recognise that people do not have access. The only vague notion of that was a person I know who wanted to jump the queue and was on a list for when people cancel appointments. They struggled to jump for a while with a lot of admin. But even they are now doubled.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Too bad there is no enforceable 'truth in advertising' law here, otherwise 'experts' would have to be called either 'authorities' or 'puppets'.

And just as bad, no real information to stand on such as ...

1 — What percentage of those 'tested' are showing up as positive?

2 — For those still being tested by PCR, how many cycles are being run and what are the percentages of false positives?

You won't find that data in previous JT articles because unlike baseball scores, strange weather, or interviews with celebrities ... the half-life of previous articles associated with the current public health narrative is a few weeks tops. Makes it kinda hard to see trends or patterns in the narrative, but isn't that the point of those 'The requested article has expired', messages?

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Seems death rate still on the way up, not good. Of course it's a lagging indicator

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Japan has been battling with an alarming rise in the number of daily infections caused by the highly contagious Delta variant, with the medical system close to breaking point.

Close to breaking point?!

What unbroken medical system requires 10,000 people to 'recover' at home?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So is the situation getting worse or is it getting better?

I was hoping to see some data breakdowns but seems the helpful ones aren't around yet.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hey everyone simmer down!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

ShinkansenCabooseToday  08:17 am JST

Why bother testing at all while the Olympics are on. They have testing priority anyway, plus they have 100% access to those beds reserved for Covid.

Source? Or just a feeling that's how it is?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If you don't want people watching the trends then why publish them at all? Just send faceless propoganda like China does.

Japan have a lot more propaganda about covid than China.

Tests at a rate ranked 140ish out of all nations. Have a much stricter definition of severe than the world. In fact, in Japanese definitions when compared to global, Japan's severe is actually critical, while moderate would be considered severe in all other nations.

Lies about vaccine access, blaming anti-vaccine sentiment rather than the actual fact that Japanese national government refuses to provide access and actively sabotages vaccine distribution to prevent vaccine access to the vast majority of the young population

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/20b9ddd97dec673ec44423b6b6b0b90d4ae14cd2

Do you think there would be lines like that with people waiting since 1am at night for a chance at vaccine if there was a problem with demand??? People who got vaccines are just elites, almost none of the normal people have any access to vaccines and they open a center that can only do 200 shots a day for an area with millions of young people with zero access to vaccines. Everything is just pure propaganda and for show, with zero intention of actually vaccinating the majority of the population.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Considering the fact that it is next to impossible to get tested within a week once you got symptoms if you are not deemed a “close contact” this is obvious. What is the use of getting a test appointment scheduled 3-4 weeks after you are symptomatic??? You either get serious or recover on your own without a test. Even worse once you have symptoms, you cannot even pay for your own testing as private testing wont test people with fevers.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yes, after already many months of obvious problems it first needs some loud ‘experts’ to bring the focus on too few testing otherwise it is all censored and not recognized. Was the same with the lab theory, LongCovid percentage, vaccination efficacy and so on. You’d better sometimes listen earlier also to experts who aren’t officially or call themselves experts. Can you understand that? Of course not, as a no-expert I know that for sure. lol

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

El RataToday  10:13 am JST

People here always say 'we need to do more testing' but I don't understand, why would a person with no symptoms want to test for corona? How would you make people get tested even if they feel fine? Why would someone

See my comment

AntiquesavingToday  08:08 am JST

That is the reason.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

theResidentToday  10:52 am JST

I also said that I know that I feel just using your daughter's friends as an example is not an overall representation if other companies. I do know plenty of people OUTSIDE my company and outside the large company vaccination programmes that have had no issues in getting

Well then if that is so, explain why the government seems to feel the need to open a vaccination centre especially for the exact age groups I am pointing to.

If companies are so accommodating as you claim then there is no need for such a centre.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Seems like it's pretty easy to become an "expert" in this country.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

People here always say 'we need to do more testing' but I don't understand, why would a person with no symptoms want to test for corona?

If they've had contact with someone infected, tests would make sense to ensure they aren't asymptomatic and out spreading the virus unknowingly.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

I also said that I know that I feel just using your daughter's friends as an example is not an overall representation if other companies. I do know plenty of people OUTSIDE my company and outside the large company vaccination programmes that have had no issues in getting a morning or afternoon off work to get a jab

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

theResidentToday  10:35 am JST

I also pointed out that a fair percentage of employees in my company chose to have the Pfizer jab provided by their local ward or City. Please read everything

I did and as you pointed out your company has been accommodating.

It is part of the large corporations program.

You seem to be doing your best to avoid acknowledging that not all ( in fact quite few) workers have that luxury.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I also pointed out that a fair percentage of employees in my company chose to have the Pfizer jab provided by their local ward or City. Please read everything.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

theResidentToday  10:10 am JST

and I, am referring to vaccinations. Other than that, the government has been useless. Both at local and national level

You pointed out your company had in house Vaccination, you do realise that this is now coming to an end.

Once that ends what will be the Vaccination rate?

Elderly done, large in house corporate vaccination, done, the few housewives done, what is left?

Those that even if they wanted to cannot or have to do a backflip, somersault through hoops of fire, in order to find a place and find the time to go get vaccinated.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

People here always say 'we need to do more testing' but I don't understand, why would a person with no symptoms want to test for corona? How would you make people get tested even if they feel fine? Why would someone want a stick up their noses for no reason?

That is the thing, there are perfectly valid reasons to test for infection in people that don't have symptoms, specifically to avoid putting others at increased risk from you.

Why would anybody that has not symptoms need an HIV test, right? According to your way of thinking it would bring no benefit nor you could make anybody get tested.

There was a time (Feb/March 2020) when it would have helped to identify clusters and would have aided in contact tracing. That time has LONG passed as the Delta variant is so rampant and is running around out of control now.

The current situation is not the worse that could happen, by much. The spreading is out of control but not yet what would be the worst case scenario, a well coordinated effort to isolate cases (that obviously requires identifying those cases first) can still have an effect, even if it is only delaying the absolute lack of control on the spreading until more of the population is already vaccinated. If magically today every person that wanted could get a test a huge lot of positive cases that would have exposed many others could be identified and isolated on time to prevent secondary infections from them.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

@El Rata: I agree - from a practical and financial point of view. There was a time (Feb/March 2020) when it would have helped to identify clusters and would have aided in contact tracing. That time has LONG passed as the Delta variant is so rampant and is running around out of control now.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

People here always say 'we need to do more testing' but I don't understand, why would a person with no symptoms want to test for corona? How would you make people get tested even if they feel fine? Why would someone want a stick up their noses for no reason?

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

and I, am referring to vaccinations. Other than that, the government has been useless. Both at local and national level.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The Resident

A: The younger will have incentivised walk-in vaccinations centres soon. As slow as the Government as been - pretty much everything they said they would do, they have.

Waoh, Abe promised 50K Covid beds and increase in welfare center personell, where are the beds and personel, Koike promised 65K tests a day more than 8 months ago and tests has still not hit 30K this is just a few if you need more evidence let me know.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Been saying this for over a year - also the testing capacity for Tokyo alone went from ~60,000 to 97,000 about 6 months ago but nothing was mentioned about it in the media. The joke is that at max 10% of that is utilized while they ignore the general population from testing. It shows that they have their heads in the sand. However if you attempt to come in here from outside the country you are tested and tracked like a prisoner. Their lax attitude to the population and testing inside the border means this will only drag on and on....

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Seems clear in the typical Japanese way these experts are trying to say indirectly Tokyo isn't testing.

Then we cannot rely on or believe in experts who are scared to call a spade a spade and this alone

calls into question their credibility.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I've answered your questions quite clearly. You are not reading my response properly.

I don't believe the testing/case numbers any bit more than the next person either, same as you, But I refuse to get angry about it more when the police hasn't changed since Day 1.

Mid October - mark my words, we will be able to socialise openly again.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

theResidentToday  09:32 am JST

A: The younger will have incentivised walk-in vaccinations centres soon. As slow as the Government as been - pretty much everything they said they would do, they have.

So what part of companies not giving workers time off to get vaccinated did you not understand?

Walk in vaccine centre in one location only, you think it will be practical for a young person living in the north end of Adachi-ku to go there and realise that it is full because to only time off they have is after work and weekends!?

B: I feel sorry for your daughters friends but it runs pretty contrary to friends of mine and the policy of my company (although we had in house Moderna) - there was a fair percentage who preferred Pfizer and used their local wards.

And again what part of those not those without in house Vaccination, did you also not get.

My daughter is the only one of her group of friends to work for a large company with in house Vaccination.

I am not sure if you are not understanding or deliberately trying to avoid the facts and reality.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The Resident

There isn't any 'good' news as such, But it's not 'bad' either - Japan only tests those who are symptomatic and the number is stabilizing. 

20 Months have passed now and you still belief the bullsh?t that only those with symptoms are being tested.

The possibility of you getting a test symptoms or no symptoms depends on the welfare center. It is like you suspecting you have a problem in your stomach and want to do a medical exam and somebody who is not even a doctor telling you that you don't qualify for an exam because he or she knows your condition better than you. Talk about treating adults like 2 or 3 year olds.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

We do not need “experts” to make us understand that in Japan the Covid numbers from the very beginning were never credible,they twisted the numbers from the start to keep the cases low and tell to their naive population that they were doing better than the others.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Japan has been battling with an alarming rise in the number of daily infections caused by the highly contagious Delta variant, with the medical system close to breaking point.

Close to breaking point, with 100K infected people told they are on their on and have to stay home leading to deaths of some at home as there are no Covid beds for them or the many whose cases deteriorate at home and when taken to the hospital pass away a few days later due to their situation allowed to deteriorate at home yet this is still considered by Kyodo as "close to breaking point". It is a shame when a supposedly independent news agency resorts to not reporting the truth.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

A: The younger will have incentivised walk-in vaccinations centres soon. As slow as the Government as been - pretty much everything they said they would do, they have.

B: I feel sorry for your daughters friends but it runs pretty contrary to friends of mine and the policy of my company (although we had in house Moderna) - there was a fair percentage who preferred Pfizer and used their local wards.

and also - Japan is STILL vaccinating 1.2 mill people a day - these clearly not just the over 65's and housewives anymore. Using your family and the 'shitamachi' as an example for everything doesn't make it the norm.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

Get your shots, think of other people as well as of yourself (if the culture of your home country has such a concept) and generally don't be part of the problem.

Now the elephant in the room!

How do people get vaccinated?

See my previous comments.

We have done the elderly, the housewives, the Lage corporation employees.

How do the rest get vaccinated seeing it is very obvious most employers are not giving people the time off to get vaccinated.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

theResidentToday  09:09 am JST

Yep- Looked at them all and stand by what I think.

I am not disputing you point.

I am asking how will it proceed or improve now that the elderly, housewives and large corporations employees are mostly vaccinated?

A-) How do the younger get vaccinated when many places are still not vaccinating their age groups.

B-) Even if their age group is open in their area, How do they book appointments when their employers will not give them time off?

Note how many companies are still insisting employees not work from home and go in every day to the office, these are not the type of employers that are going to agree to missing work to get vaccinated even less a few days after the vaccine where many have fever and the side effects of vaccination.

So the questions remain How will things move forward under these conditions?

1 ( +6 / -5 )

"There may be a large number of potentially infected people who have not been tested," the experts said in their assessment presented at a metropolitan government meeting on monitoring COVID-19. They also underscored that it is unclear whether the average will decrease further.

Not May be, One doesn't need to be an expert that with no contact tracing and low testing that

"There are a large number of infected people" and it is utter naivety that with zero mitigation efforts

the delta variant is reducing naturally as if Tokyo has struck a deal with the virus.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Health experts warned Thursday it is too early to judge whether coronavirus cases in Tokyo are on a downward trend, despite relatively fewer numbers in recent days, citing the possibility that many infected people remain untested.

Don't tell me the experts for the past 20 months don't know the number of tests

done in Tokyo and the rest of the country. Well the Maintaining the Wa is more

important than saving lives.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Reopening schools after summer the summer vacation will prove to be a big mistake. Send your kids to school at your/their own risk.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

Yep- Looked at them all and stand by what I think.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

Fudging the numbers again.

Great work Japan.

Always an eye for details.

Not!

8 ( +15 / -7 )

Who cares how many people are infected, we are far beyond that now. Get vaccinated and get on with it

I have to agree with this. These numbers are just a performance.

People should basically assume that the government has no interest in their well-being unless it's for reasons of political propaganda.

Get your shots, think of other people as well as of yourself (if the culture of your home country has such a concept) and generally don't be part of the problem.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

theResidentToday  07:31 am JST

Have you taken a look at the daily PDF provided my the Tokyo government?

The numbers are only decreasing in the age groups that are either already mostly vaccinated, and the age groups next down in the Vaccination list.

They have steadily increased in the other age groups.

Those in Tokyo under 50 but over 40 are just barely starting to get vaccinated in many wards it is worse in Saitama.

Tokyo government announced that over 50% of those with severe covid in hospital are between 39 and 59.

The problem is multi level.

Poor organisation by many wards, limited hours of vacation centres, employer refusing to give time off to get vaccinated. ( Over 65 went quickly as did the corporate vaccination program because the majority of the elderly are retired and corporate vaccination was done within the company in the same way yearly health checks are)

Most of my daughter's friends in their 20s were told get vaccinated on weekends, as were many people I know or their adult children, this was also what my sister in law in her late 30s was told by her employer.

A quick look at the 3 adjoining wards to mine, (our ward is closed for appointments) shows available space to get vaccinated only Monday to Friday mid day, early morning last spaces in the evening and weekends fully booked.

The house wives, and retired elderly are done getting Vaccinated.

The problem is those working that didn't have the luck to be working for a large corporations part of the Vaccination program.

7 ( +14 / -7 )

"There may be a large number of potentially infected people who have not been tested," the experts said in their assessment presented at a metropolitan government meeting on monitoring COVID-19. They also underscored that it is unclear whether the average will decrease further.

As has been said for more than a year - if you don't test enough, you can't report high numbers of infected.

Rather than consistent statistics using real numbers, they prefer to report nice looking statistics and graphs that do not represent reality. If they were giving statistics at the beginning of the year where the number of infections was decreasing, but actually increasing, then that is not consistent.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Testing is not particularly useful given that the country is essentially open

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

Why bother testing at all while the Olympics are on. They have testing priority anyway, plus they have 100% access to those beds reserved for Covid.

14 ( +18 / -4 )

Simian LaneToday  08:05 am JST

Who cares how many people are infected, we are far beyond that now. Get vaccinated and get on with it

Sure can you tell the younger people where they can get vaccinated.

My ward has no vaccine for under 30.

Oh and for those that keep saying that this private clinic here or there will do it.

Great, now will you tell Companies (AKA employers) to give time off so people can go get vaccinated?

My sister in law's company refuses to give her time off said do it at lunch time or weekends,

Many of my 2 adult Children's friends are in the same situation most in their early to mid 20s their first job out of university and their employers will not give them time off to get vaccinated and there are just not enough appointments available in weekends to make a dent in the situation.

10 ( +20 / -10 )

joffyToday  07:14 am JST

Compare what you know. Less people are presenting with symptoms which would be a reason for the dip. Japan hasn't suddenly changed their testing requirements.

If by less people presenting you mean being rejected for testing because the criteria set by the Tokyo government basically means you had better be quite sick then Ok!

10 member team working in a small secure room doing work on a super computer.

2 team members get sick and finally get tested and are positive for covid.

The rest of the team tries getting tested but told they do not meet the criteria.

Frustrated the employer pays ¥30,000 each to get the 8 remaining members tested privately, reveling 2 more with Covid. This was the situation my daughter had she was one of the team of 10.

In any other developed country the at the first sign of one member testing positive, the entire team would have been tested by the authorities immediately.

12 ( +21 / -9 )

The metropolitan government reported 4,704 new infections, with the seven-day rolling average standing at 4,352.9 per day, down 8.8 percent from the previous week. The average dropped for the second straight day after marking its first decline in nearly two months.

And a quick look at the number of tests in Tokyo and it has dropped by 14% since last week.

As opposed to Osaka where testing increases and Kanagawa where it remained the same.

Seems clear in the typical Japanese way these experts are trying to say indirectly Tokyo isn't testing.

8 ( +16 / -8 )

There has never been enough testing from the start

27 ( +32 / -5 )

Japan has been battling with an alarming rise in the number of daily infections caused by the highly contagious Delta variant, with the medical system close to breaking point.

The ONLY reason the medical system is close to the breaking point is because of a lack of direction and leadership within the government (Abe/Suga)

They saw it coming, ignored it, pushed on with an unpopular Olympics, kept sending mixed messages, and all along expecting everyone in the country to follow their advice.

As is being seen in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and other countries, LIVING with COVID is the only way to proceed. "0" cases is unrealistic. Getting people vaccinated, and educating people how to live with it around us, is the only feasible way to get a handle on things.

Stop the BS!

19 ( +26 / -7 )

There is no better advertisement for the Chinese vaccines than China itself. Either they are very good or the much vaunted "Delta variant" is just an excuse for the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines very poor efficacy. The much vaunted Delta variant spread to at least 6 mega-cities but it's looking like China was able to snuff it out with relatively minimal trouble. I know it's still too early to make a definitive judgement on that but at this stage it looks that way.

-22 ( +10 / -32 )

When it takes a week or more to actually GET an official PCR test at a facility designated by the health center in any municipality, it's no wonder that potentially infected people are not tested!

Japan did this at the beginning of the pandemic, and has continued throughout it.

Almost seems like the numbers dropping are coinciding with the upcoming LDP party president election and Diet election!

24 ( +30 / -6 )

Everyone knows that even if 80 or 90% of people are vaccinated with the vaccines currently approved in Japan, it will do almost nothing to slow the spread of the disease. It may possibly reduce the number of deaths but even that is looking unlikely. Judging by other countries in summer when it's likely not as bad and where a large % of the very vulnerable population was already killed by the virus or culled by the state via the virus when it comes to Sweden and New York.

-16 ( +11 / -27 )

@joffy - Correct. There isn't any 'good' news as such, But it's not 'bad' either - Japan only tests those who are symptomatic and the number is stabilizing. Further proof that the vaccination effort is now starting to show its effect. If that pace can be kept up and these numbers continue in the same vein - knowing how infectious the Delta variant is, I don't see why all restrictions on daily life could come to and end end of September/mid October.

-13 ( +11 / -24 )

This really does require experts to tell us.

13 ( +16 / -3 )

"There may be a large number of potentially infected people who have not been tested," the experts said

I bet these experts were from the comments from yesterday's article.

-8 ( +8 / -16 )

Japan is only country where government still restricts number of PCR test to general citizen.

Number of PCR test at Tokyo during Olympics was less than 30% of athletes village.  

"medical system close to breaking point"

Japan's medical system are already over breaking point. and un-hospitalizable patients have died at theirhome one after another.

30 ( +36 / -6 )

Good news. It dipped.

-18 ( +15 / -33 )

Don't ask don't tell, Japanese style

27 ( +37 / -10 )

Looking to hear from all the commenters who say that the "downward trend" of Tokyo is undeniably happening, because they claim it's an outlandish conspiracy theory to suggest that the government is trying to fudge the numbers in order to look good.

And for those still insisting that its "impossible" to hide the truth because "the number of deaths don't lie", its been announce by the new governor of New York that Cuomo (the previous and ousted gov) had indeed fudged the official death numbers right up to his farewell speech a couple days ago. He apparently hid 12,000 Covid deaths in New York, presumably, in order to look good.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/569356-new-york-adds-12000-covid-19-deaths-to-tally-after-cuomo-exit

4 ( +25 / -21 )

There may be a large number of potentially infected people who have not been tested,

For sure. Otherwise, we will have zero infected in a day.

12 ( +18 / -6 )

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