Japan Concealed COVID-19...No Testing Due to Olympics

Kim Yong-ik, President of the National Health Insurance Service / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han, Intern Reporter Juhyung Lim] Kim Yong-ik, Chairman of the National Health Insurance Service, claimed that Japan is "not actively diagnosing and is concealing" the situation regarding the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Chairman Kim appeared on the YouTube channel 'Yoo Si-min's Alileo Live' on the 3rd and said, "(The number of infected people in Japan) could be much higher than in Korea, but they are making very political decisions," adding, "They are not conducting diagnoses because of the Olympics in the summer."

He further stated, "Normally, Japan is a country that actively manages (infectious diseases)," but "this time, they are not trying to contain it at all."

He continued, "This is because of the political motive of the Olympics and because COVID-19 is a much milder disease than Koreans think," analyzing, "If it becomes severe, pneumonia treatment can be done. Since Japan also has a large elderly population, their attitude seems to be that if people die, they die."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is responding at the House of Representatives Budget Committee on the afternoon of the 17th of last month (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared at the House of Councillors Budget Committee the previous day and mentioned that "if the number of COVID-19 tests increases, the number of confirmed cases may increase."

At that time, when asked if there were plans to expand COVID-19 testing, Prime Minister Abe responded, "Not everyone who wants to be tested can be tested," adding, "Testing will be conducted based on a doctor's judgment."

He also said, "Increasing COVID-19 tests could lead to an absolute increase in (confirmed) cases," but added, "However, it cannot be definitively said that the number will definitely increase."

Meanwhile, Chairman Kim evaluated the domestic quarantine situation, saying, "They are effectively preventing the spread beyond Daegu and Gyeongbuk," and "Especially in the densely populated areas of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, they are preventing (the spread of infections)."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.