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Shigeru Omi is the current head of the Japan Community Health Care Organization, which is the government department that manages the social health care system. Prior to that he also served as a director for the WHO and tackled past pandemics such as polio and SARS. Omi has also been heavily involved in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan since February, 2020. However, despite advances in vaccines and treatments, infection rates have been soaring to their highest levels ever.
Fearing that the causes for this are becoming more social than medical, the 74-year-old virologist is taking the fight against COVID-19 to an arena way outside his comfort zone: the internet.
On Sept 1, Omi announced his brand new Instagram account which he plans to use for an open dialog about COVID-19 prevention. Anyone who has a question or opinion to give to the health czar can do so via the hashtag #ねえねえ尾身 (“Hey hey Omi”).
Omi admits that he knows very little about social media, let alone “Instagram,” which he adorably chose to put in quotes in his announcement. This is why he has a team of younger people helping him manage the account and sort through the hundred of replies that it has already received.
A video thanking his 200,000 followers amassed in one day: “I look forward to studying Instagram as hard as I can. Thank you!”
He explains that the purpose is not to tell people how to handle the current situation regarding the pandemic, but more to hear how people have been handling it and hopefully gain more insight to more forward with.
“Many people have cooperated for a long time in implementing basic infection control measures, but there may be some aspects that are causing divisions due to differences in thinking.
But I also think that a lot of different kinds of wisdom and ingenuity has arisen in overcoming these differences in thinking. For example, some things I’d like to know are:
How do you choose a type of mask?
How can you avoid being rude to customers who don’t wear a mask?
What is the best thing about your school or workplace’s COVID-19 prevention measures?
How did you adapt workplaces for those who don’t understand telework or are refusing to return to work after an infection?
How do you overcome worries that your opinion of COVID-19 is different from your family and friends?”
(Shigeru Omi)
There’s a certain disarming charm to the fact that Omi put himself out there as the face of this campaign. Most of the time a government agency would concoct a bunch of anonymous graphics and perhaps a mascot pigeon to solicit information — and would fail miserably.
But there’s something about Omi’s kindly-worded message that reeks of sincerity, and people have responded to it favorably. As of this writing there are nearly 1,500 replies which were a mixture of praise, opinions, and questions.
“Did I just tear up reading that? Omi is really great!”
“People in their 40s have not been able to get vaccinations through the government programs. This is the group of people who have the hardest time working and raising children and can’t afford to get sick. Please help them.”
“I used to buy masks only made in Japan at the beginning, but now this has gone on so long that I’ll just buy the cheaper ones made in China.”
“Since I have bad skin and asthma I wear a cloth or silk mask when walking, but I wear a non-woven one on the train even though it’s hard to breathe. I also only use restaurants with partitions, but there are surprisingly few.”
“Thank you for often speaking out against holding the Olympics. I appreciate you for that.”
“Good luck! I would like to hear more from younger doctors. These days it's like their families are sending them off to war.”
“Dr. Omi, those who don’t follow the government’s recommendations will continue to spread the disease rapidly, and those who do follow it will lose touch with those they love and fall into depression. Either way it’s unreasonable and painful.”
“Will you do live streaming too?”
“Dr Omi, thank you but I hope you are getting enough rest. Until now I’ve had to rely on politicians who live in a different dimension and have no idea about the reality normal people face.”
It’s been a pretty overwhelming response so far, considering it could have just as easily turned into 1,000 meme inquiries about the “BOFA“ virus.
Omi himself admitted that he wasn’t sure “if this crazy attempt will work,” but it appears to be, and hopefully some kind of better understanding can be achieved between the increasingly divergent opinions on how to handle prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Sources: Instagram/@omi.shigeru, Corona Expert Volunteer Association, Hachima Kiko
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Young people in Tokyo to be offered points and discounts if they get vaccinated
-- Population aging in Japan gets a corona-boost as pregnancies drop by 11 percent this year
-- New crowdfunding project from Japan mixes COVID-19 comedy with a touch of Kyoto craftsmanship
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2021/09/05/74-year-old-japanese-politician-starts-instagram-account-for-open-dialog-about-covid-19/
22 Comments
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Tora
Instagram?
"Instagram - A simple, fun & creative way to capture, edit & share photos, videos & messages with friends & family" (Instagram).
Don't know anybody who uses it as a Q&A platform. Good luck with that, Mr. Omi.
Mark
The fact that 200,000 people followed in one day shows that this was one step in the right direction, educating the young generation takes more than the good old TV, social media is the best tool now a days.
Goyt
I guess compared to the UK, healthcare in Japan would be considered excellent. Dr. Omi while with WHO tackled polio? When and where? A decade ago The WHO had recommended changing from the oral polio vaccine to the inactivated polio vaccine in those countries that basically eradicated polio. While, not surprisingly, Japan kept using the oral polio vaccine. Which resulted in cases of polio caused by such vaccine. And a decade before that, Japan stopped giving ANY polio vaccine, which resulted in, surprise---an increase in polio cases.
Flute
"How did you adapt workplaces for those who don’t understand telework or are refusing to return to work after an infection?"
I do not really understand the meaning of the question.
Antiquesaving
Well your far from alone.
The woman chosen to be in charge of the Government's social media is in her mid 70s and got her account shut down for posting copyrighted material.
Apparently she didn't understand how things worked.
Young Japanese are having a blast laughing at her and the government for putting someone far to out of touch with modern tech and social media as head of the section.
virusrex
Disagreeing is not a problem and lots of people can express their opinion without getting deleted, but spreading falsehoods and misleading people with half truths is, and should be, censored because it brings no benefit to anybody to be exposed to lies and disinformation.
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
Japan definitely does not have a wonderful health care system.
Goodness gracious wake up !
FtGuy2017
Since we cannot control the pandemic and show good results with "bip" (
falseflagsteve
This man is a troublemaker. He has tried to have the Olympics stopped, claiming wrongly they would be a super spreader and urged the government to change the law and introduce lockdowns. He’s a dangerous man who is now trying to brainwash the young.
didou
he is chairman of a group of hospitals receiving covid patients, but many beds are free while the hospitals get susidies, over 70000 yens a day per bed.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/b7d53a203635ef158d9d8c027941d174efa28d19
justasking
And the reason is that the government is waiting for locally produced IPV. I see where this taunting about JGov waiting for locally sourced Covid vaccine came from.
smithinjapan
Isn't he now pushing to start a new GoTo campaign? Maybe he'll talk about that, and disable comments.
Kuya Jaysons
How many meetings and millions of JPY did it take to decide on opening an Instagram account?
Ingvar
Sputniik V actually works.
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
The health care system is better than some but i wouldn't say its wonderful.
That's ridiculous !
Why don't you ask the 130,000 people that have bin refused hospital treatment and forced to recover at home and some have died.
How about all the people trying to get vaccinated but cant ?
How about all the people that may have received contaminated vaccines before they noticed it?
How about all the sharp objects i found in my food last year at the hospital whilst recovering from intestinal surgery or having to argue with the nurse that my gallbladder was in fact on my right side and not my lower left appendix area.
How about all the doctors wearing sandals with no socks and surgeons with grotesquely long fingernails ready to poke holes in their rubber gloves.
Oh yes what an amazing healthcare system Japan has.
Congratulations to Japan health care system.
And there's still not enough vaccine to go around.
Singapore now there's a health care system ,economic system, emergency disaster system, legal system , education system and foreigners appreciation system that Japan could learn from.
Zaphod
Err, Instagram? Sure, that has a comment function, as a choice for a Q&A platform it is really strange.
falseflagsteve
Lovecrafting
Actually Omi is the one with weird ideas and crackpot theories. He said the Olympics would be a disaster, a super spreader maybe and pressured the government to cancel them, thank god they used common sense and ignored him. He also wants the laws changed to allow draconian lockdowns, we know where that can lead. Thankfully this was also dismissed by the government.