Former Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Hata and other lawmakers visit Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. Photo: REUTERS file
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Ex-transport minister Hata, 53, dies from COVID-19 after falling ill on Dec 24

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Rest in Peace, Hata. Poor taste to use a picture that includes a controversial visit when the bloke’s just passed away. Seriously. This is not the time, Japan Today !

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Mr Hata should have been tested.

Hos concern for overwhelming the system was incorrect.The PCR test takes seconds to perform and is simple.Many hospitals can now do in-house testing as they have invested in the hardware to do so.

Therr are countries where home testing kits based on a chemical reaction have been dispensed by the millions for home testing.

Why isn’t there free testing on the street in Japan?

Of course, it is very possible but....?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Sick and overweight, same as your average American Joe, no wonder why he didn't make it. May his soul rest in peace!

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Statistics that show just 0.8 percent of Covid fatalities between April and December were made up of healthy people under 60

The way I see it, those 0.8% had no known health problems. Covid19 should not kill a truly healthy person.

Lol, the infamous "True Scotsman" argument

https://www.gotquestions.org/No-True-Scotsman.html

Question: "What is the No True Scotsman fallacy?"

Answer: No True Scotsman (NTS) is a logical error committed when someone tries to change the definition of a word in order to ignore a valid counter-example. The name of this fallacy comes from the cliché most often used to illustrate the mistake. In this story, a man says, “No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.” Another man responds, saying, “I was born and raised in Scotland, and I put sugar on my porridge.” The first man replies, “Well, no true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.”

Specifically, the No True Scotsman error is an attempt to defend some universal claim—“all X are Y”—by “excusing away” a legitimate instance of the contrary—“here is an X that is not Y.” This deflection involves adding a new requirement, one never legitimately part of the original definition and usually aimed directly at that particular example. NTS is a specific example of an ad hoc (“to this”) fallacy.

Soul #1: "No healthy person dies from Covid!"

Soul #2: "My doctor said I was healthy as an ox, and I still died from Covid."

Soul #1: "Well, no true healthy person dies from Covid!"

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Repeatedly I told you what to do and that there is no other option left. I don’t repeat it again, that would look stupid. You have it all in your server backups.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

You have the free will to do research and think and conclude. Don’t let the media be your brain. Fact and truth checks. Nothing to do with denying

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

What do Covid deniers gain?

Not a denier.

just spend a lot of time researching.

Maybe some people don’t agree with the freedom of research?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@runner3

Unfortunately many still consider covid a respiratory virus. Especially the deniers who still like to think of it as merely a bad flu. With that mindset, if the cause of death is not pneumonia then they easily jump to the conclusion that the person was already sick and going to die any way. Pure ignorance.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Everyone needs to be right here. Way off topic. Take a step back, show some humanity. RIP Hata.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

To n1k1 and Zoroto, I'm not going into every detail, one, death is permanent, two I've had many patients that have had strokes and lost limbs because of clots caused by the virus! Hopefully some will get some mobility back, but they will never grow back legs and arms!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Will it take more deaths of high-ranking politicians before they really take it seriously and do more testing, track and trace? Simply closing the borders to foreign tourists is not enough, despite putting the xenophobe's mind at ease.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

As for Hata's death seeming quick even for Covid, I wonder if he didn't have a blood clot that made its way to his lungs; the reports I've read of him in the car going for his Covid test, all of a sudden getting short of breath and then losing consciousness, kind of fit that description. Blood clots are a known side effect of Covid, and with diabetes, even more so.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

@noriahojanen: The Asahi report is incorrect (par for the course with Asahi). According to the CDP website, per Fukuyama Tetsuro, the general secretary of the party

https://cdp-japan.jp/news/20201228_0476

Hata-sensei's secretary first called the clinic at the Upper House to get a test. They turned down the request for a test from one of their own members. 

None of the media report this, because it looks like the Government clinic had a role in his death. Which it very possibly did, even if only through negligence. So they tack on the story about how noble he was, or they simply skip this detail altogether.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Very sad news. Rest in peace.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Covid doesn't care who it takes or leaves with permanent damage. 

To be honest I still don't understand this permanent damage .

I wonder how do you know it is permanent. Here and there I read about this but never really in details . Does it not take years to establish truth of those proportions ? Can you share an example ?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Denial - it's not just a river in Egypt. Let's put the question this way - if there were no such thing as COIVD, would Hata, Shimura, and a million+ other people still be alive today? Yes they most certainly would be.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I'm insulted by comments saying that truly healthy people don't die from covid! I work in a hospital I have cared for both "healthy" and not so healthy covid patients. Covid doesn't care who it takes or leaves with permanent damage. I have also lost a family member to covid who was very healthy for her age. So people think before you post something you really don't know anything about. And be kind in these terrible times.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

ZorotoToday  12:07 pm JST

Shimura's immune system was probably heavily compromised by his lifestyle. If it hadn't been COVID, there's a reasonable chance that he would have died from something else not too much later.

That's a bunch of bull. You don't know anything about Shimura's medical history. Why are a bunch of posts discussing Shimura in the first place?

Mods, why is this nonsense allowed to be posted by a bunch of deniers here? I mean, I get it, most gaijin in Japan are not exactly members of Mensa, actually the opposite.

Shimura's hard-living lifestyle was no secret: he was a heavy smoker and drinker. Given these facts, it's not unreasonable to estimate that they significantly affected his health, rendering him a lot more susceptible to COVID and plenty of other illnesses than the average person who does not smoke and drink heavily. It's not too hard to figure out.

In Hata's case, I don't know about his smoking and drinking history, but diabetes made him a lot more susceptible to COVID-related illness than others without it.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

I am always amazed at your ability to write long posts that don't say anything other than "you're mistaken".

I gave clear reasons why you are wrong, and whose opinions are the ones that contradict you. That includes your last comment, full of your personal beliefs without any real proof and contrary to what all health professionals have demonstrated.

If you are completely unable to disprove any of those reasons and instead are obligated to ignore them you should seriously consider the possibility of being wrong.

Or go against the rules of the site and begin to discuss the people because you cannot do anything against the reasons that prove you wrong. That is also your choice to make.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

Here goes the problem: no one is really truly healthy. Someone has allergies, asthma, high K levels.

Yes, I agree.

But I worry that people will assume that because a doctor has never told them that they have a particular illness, that they must be healthy.

We should all strive to optimize our health and immune system, even if we are not aware of any particular health problem.

It's generally not the virus that kills people, but the body's reaction to the virus or viral debris.

That is a mistaken opinion born from ignorance...

I am always amazed at your ability to write long posts that don't say anything other than "you're mistaken".

Oh, BTW, you're mistaken.

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

OxycodinToday  10:17 am JST

MarkXToday  07:26 am JST

It took the death of Shimura Ken for a lot of people to really sit up and take notice of the Corona virus. Maybe now wit h the death of a noted politician, the government will finally take the virus seriously. Let's hope.

i still don’t believe Covid took Shimura sans life. I the think they associated his death to covid when other underlying medical conditions such as heavy smoker and drinking could of led up to cancer or even cardiac arrest but I feel it wasn’t covid that took his life.

I'd have to disagree with you here, in that COVID-19 would have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Shimura's immune system was probably heavily compromised by his lifestyle. If it hadn't been COVID, there's a reasonable chance that he would have died from something else not too much later.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Raw beer

truly healthy person.

Here goes the problem: no one is really truly healthy. Someone has allergies, asthma, high K levels. Unless you go under detail medical check and I mean detailed when you check everything. No one can be sure that there is nothing to be worry about. Pregnant woman died after giving birth just one example. Is pregnancy being risk factor? May be...problem is no one can tell.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Given Hata's pre-existing conditions (diabetes, overweight), he was clearly in a high-risk group to become ill from this virus. Still, his deterioration was quick if the information we are being given is accurate. That's a big if.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Wondering how many postmortem covid tests are done here for the common Taro ..........

5 ( +9 / -4 )

The way I see it, those 0.8% had no known health problems. Covid19 should not kill a truly healthy person.

That is a mistaken opinion born from ignorance, health care professionals all contradict you, and they are much more trustworthy since they have the data on their side.

Also, every single person in the world could have unknown health problems, your argument is completely void of value if anybody is in the same situation as a person considered healthy and have that same 0.8% chance of dying.

9 ( +16 / -7 )

Statistics that show just 0.8 percent of Covid fatalities between April and December were made up of healthy people under 60

The way I see it, those 0.8% had no known health problems. Covid19 should not kill a truly healthy person.

-10 ( +7 / -17 )

i still don’t believe Covid took Shimura sans life. 

What you believe and the truth are two different things. Why do you know more than those who cared for him, his family? Why deny th

9 ( +11 / -2 )

The CCP virus has gone beyond viral and no stopping it now as too late. How many wake up calls will it take for Jgovt to take this seriously either how too late to play catch-up when we had a years time to implement.

-14 ( +3 / -17 )

MarkXToday  07:26 am JST

It took the death of Shimura Ken for a lot of people to really sit up and take notice of the Corona virus. Maybe now wit h the death of a noted politician, the government will finally take the virus seriously. Let's hope.

i still don’t believe Covid took Shimura sans life. I the think they associated his death to covid when other underlying medical conditions such as heavy smoker and drinking could of led up to cancer or even cardiac arrest but I feel it wasn’t covid that took his life.

-20 ( +4 / -24 )

I am curious....Is there not any other picture of the late Hata-san than this one showing him visiting Yasukuni?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

According to a report, Hata first declined to take a pcr test when offered due to concern of overwhelming hospital works. 

He would only overwhelm hospital work if he tested positive, otherwise no big deal. Good intentions, it seems, but he should've been more careful as a diabetic.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

@goodlucktoyou. Covid was factor in Hata’s death, why do you not acknowledge this? You appear to be regurgitating the line used recently by Covid deniers in the U.K. Around 80,000 deaths, and you write off the overwhelming majority of them because you do not consider the victims ‘healthy’ or they were older. So they don’t count or matter? So that means Covid isn’t real? You are so desperate to pretend Covid isn’t a problem. Similar rubbish is being spun on how U.K. hospitals aren’t really busy and there are less patents in ICU etc, which are not true. Do you believe this too?

What do Covid deniers gain?

14 ( +19 / -5 )

According to a report, Hata first declined to take a pcr test when offered due to concern of overwhelming hospital works. It seems that he didn't suspect the infection at the last moment (going to the coma).

「たいした熱じゃないから…」PCR検査断った立憲・羽田雄一郎参院議員の悲劇 〈週刊朝日〉

https://dot.asahi.com/wa/2020122800020.html

Considering his preexising health problems and symptons (high temprature), he could have taken some ugent way to save his life. RIP.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

He was overweight and diabetic so had at least two factors going against him.

Not sure of the cause of death, which is sad at his age.

if it was SARS-CoV-2, you have to take a look at statistics.

Statistics that show just 0.8 percent of Covid fatalities between April and December were made up of healthy people under 60

 the whole of the UK, 70,752 deaths. Only around 400 deaths are healthy under 60 year olds.

japan needs to seriously look after our elderly.

-12 ( +6 / -18 )

The 4 days waiting system was already removed in May. He might have underestimated the Covid-19, as same as many Japanese.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

He was overweight

Not really. In the US and Australia, he'd be considered average.

The average American is overweight.

Being diabetic, he should have gone to the hospital on day one.

13 ( +17 / -4 )

Important to remind that the common citizen would not have access to postmortem diagnosis, as it is happening in many other countries

Do you have proof of this?

5 ( +11 / -6 )

Very sad news.

He was found to have tested positive in an examination after death, according to the party. He was 53.

Important to remind that the common citizen would not have access to postmortem diagnosis, as it is happening in many other countries

This may explain the “low death rate” in Japan that everyone brags about.

Stay safe everyone, this is not a virus to take lightly.

It is rapidly spreading and it is killing more than we know, unfortunately.

10 ( +18 / -8 )

I am currently living in Australia in a city which has not had a single locally transmitted coronavirus case for several months. The other day my wife, who is Japanese, developed a cough. She visited the doctor who there and then extracted a PCR test kit (for free) from his fridge, and of course, there was soon a negative result. It's a pity that Hata was not able to receive a similar standard of care.

30 ( +33 / -3 )

The worrying thing is that he died five days after falling ill; that's fast even for Covid-19.

Japan's "let's-pretend-it's-not-that-serious" official response to this pandemic is deeply concerning. The general public seems to be taking it more seriously than the Government at the moment.

15 ( +18 / -3 )

He was overweight and diabetic so had at least two factors going against him.

I wonder if he has a son to replace him in Japan’s hereditary political swing-door system?

18 ( +23 / -5 )

Not going to bother with a Shinto blessing this year obviously doesn't work.

5 ( +12 / -7 )

Japan has to get serious about testing.

27 ( +29 / -2 )

It is very unfortunate for anybody to die unnecessarily, but this is not likely to be the first time it has happened with the current testing strategy in Japan, Medical professionals have warned repeatedly that the disease is serious, can complicate unexpectedly in a short time and that more care is necessary to stop the spreading as the most effective way to prevent this.

The worst part is that with current trends this will happen more and more, and once hospital capacity is surpassed it may even become the rule and not the exception.

16 ( +24 / -8 )

It took the death of Shimura Ken for a lot of people to really sit up and take notice of the Corona virus. Maybe now wit h the death of a noted politician, the government will finally take the virus seriously. Let's hope.

24 ( +27 / -3 )

Stay safe everyone!

4 ( +10 / -6 )

Symptoms first appear Thursday and he dies on the weekend? Well, I guess the government policy of forcing patients to wait 4 days until seeking a test and treatment didn't help, to put it very mildly.

Apparently, he was diabetic yet attending in-person meetings and carrying on work as usual in the lead up to his death. All this gives the impression that Japan and the Japanese are not treating COVID with the urgency it requires.

32 ( +35 / -3 )

See, fifty three is no age at all, but still falls into the risk zone. Very sad and shocking for his family.

25 ( +27 / -2 )

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