Japan was feared to be the next US
or Italy. Instead their coronavirus
success is a puzzling 'mystery'
Australian Broadcasting Corp [Sydney Australia],
by
Jake Sturmer
&
Yumi Asada
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
5/23/2020 1:56:56 PM
Tokyo - Crushingly crowded public transport. The world's oldest population. A huge outbreak on a cruise ship. A state of emergency without penalties. It sounded like a recipe for a coronavirus catastrophe, and there were fears among public health experts that Japan could become the next Italy or New York. But it hasn't happened. The country hasn't exactly escaped unscathed. About 800 people have died and more than 16,000 have been infected in a country of 126 million. But in comparison, more than 90,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. And Germany, which is widely hailed for its coronavirus containment strategy, has
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Vesicant 5/23/2020 2:04:27 PM (No. 419858)
Because there are no Democratic governors in Japan.
46 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
NYbob 5/23/2020 2:08:53 PM (No. 419867)
Too easy. Japan simply does not tolerate illegal invaders. They also have a monolithic culture that for the most part conforms to every government decree with a common work ethic that is second to no one. Their government is full of politicians, but not the swamp variety we have here.
35 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 5/23/2020 2:21:42 PM (No. 419884)
How many Chinese in Japan participated in the Chinese New Year? How many Indian Reservations does Japan have? How many minorities from all over the world does Japan have living in their inner cities?
31 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
seamusm 5/23/2020 2:31:53 PM (No. 419893)
Many of the Japanese have worn masks in public for decades and were already attuned to protecting themselves.
17 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
minuteman 5/23/2020 2:37:43 PM (No. 419899)
Maybe the Chinese engineered the virus to kill non-Asians.
8 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
msjena 5/23/2020 2:48:30 PM (No. 419908)
They are a homogeneous population on an island. Immigration is severely restricted. Taiwan also was relatively unaffected and also an island. I
23 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
MMC 5/23/2020 2:48:39 PM (No. 419909)
Let us think/
Obesity
Diabetes
Vit D deficit
Asthma
Low zinc
Any attributes to the Japanese?
Japan has high density population/ and elderly.
The elderly are care for/ and masks worn frequently.
Why would outbreak miss them is not such a mystery/
22 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
lazlototh 5/23/2020 3:12:25 PM (No. 419918)
All the factors listed below come into play, plus they don't shake hands with each other and they seem way more concerned with hygiene generally than the West or much of Asia. There are lots of disadvantages to living there but lack of social cohesion and dirtiness are certainly not among the disadvantages.
12 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
TXknitter 5/23/2020 3:13:47 PM (No. 419921)
Yes #2. Their politicians LOVE their nation’s culture, language and work in a unified manner to keep Japan Japanese. They make no excuses for it and could care less if others don’t like it. We have let our politicians make our borders a joke, our immigration policies favorable more to other cultures than America. We are reaping horrible things because of it.
22 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
bpl40 5/23/2020 3:16:05 PM (No. 419923)
After the war the Japanese became extra conscious of their racially short stature. To improve that, a program of high protein diet and exercise was started. Horizontal bars were erected in public spaces and growing age population was urged to grasp them and swing every time they passed. So that the young generation should not be embarrassed, even grown ups started using those bars. The average Japanese height today is 4 inches taller. Its the culture stupid!
11 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
davew 5/23/2020 3:16:26 PM (No. 419925)
Since they were clearly exposed to the virus the reasonable explanation is that the average Japanese immune system was more effective at combating the novel virus than the average American. My hunch is that because the typical Asian diet includes more mushrooms, shellfish, green vegetables, and other sources high in zinc that this strengthened their immune systems on average. Zinc is suspected of being the active compound that, when combined with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), actually boosts the immune response in cells to fight the COVID-19 virus. HCQ simply makes it possible for the zinc, which is a positive ion, to cross the cell membrane and get into cells. This is also why people have been taking chelated versions of zinc like zinc picolinate as a prophylactic (although most stores have been sold out for some time).
Its also true that zinc levels are harder to maintain with age and the diets of people in senior living homes are often deficient in critical nutrients because they can't get fresh foods that are more expensive. Certain disadvantage ethnic groups in the US also have this dietary problem which can lead to obesity and diabetes comorbidity as well.
14 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Timber Queen 5/23/2020 4:36:11 PM (No. 419974)
From my laywoman's knowledge of Japanese culture, I would guess families care for their elderly. I bet they don't have nursing homes on the scale of the U.S. I also bet that if they did, their elected leaders would not send active cases to those facilities. Just sayin'.
13 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 5/23/2020 4:43:00 PM (No. 419977)
They probably don't have dangerous fools like Cuomo, DeBozo and Murphy in charge.
7 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
DVC 5/23/2020 4:43:48 PM (No. 419978)
And also... remind me about what the Hispanic and black percentage of their population is. I seem to forget.
Oh, yeah.....zero.
9 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Rama41 5/23/2020 6:40:26 PM (No. 420063)
Another opportunity for the New York Times to blame the president.
2 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Rubinski 5/23/2020 8:31:39 PM (No. 420112)
Diabetes is fairly common in Asians, but obesity isn’t common in Japanese.
3 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
dirtyjersey 5/23/2020 10:02:13 PM (No. 420148)
If you have ever been there, you know. No one speaks on the trains. No one. There is zero litter, the toilet seats clean themselves and you don’t wear shoes beyond the front door. School kids clean their own rooms. Public trash cans are non-existent because people eat at home or at a restaurant.
I have been many places, but none as clean as Japan.
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
red1066 5/23/2020 10:03:06 PM (No. 420149)
The Japanese diet doesn't produce millions of people who are grossly over weight. Being over weight produces so many secondary health conditions it isn't funny. Second, the Japanese culture honors their elders. The overwhelming majority of deaths in the U.S. from this virus were over the age of 70 caused by planting elders with the virus with other elders.
5 people like this.
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Lockdown measures were voluntary. Minimal testing. Restaurants remained open. Only 800 deaths in a country of 126 million people. Keeping public places clean 24/7/365 probably was the deciding factor.