78% of Japanese Citizens Feel Anxiety About Medical and Testing Systems (Update)

Abe Cabinet Approval Rating at 40%... Down 5%p from Last Month

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) is attending the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Headquarters meeting held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo on the 4th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han, Intern Reporter Juhyung Lim] A public opinion survey revealed that 68% of Japanese citizens feel anxious about the Japanese government's response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 6th (local time), the Japanese media outlet "Mainichi Shimbun" reported that, based on a survey of 1,150 voters aged 18 and older nationwide, 68% of respondents expressed feeling "anxious" about Japan's medical and testing system.

The media explained, "Amid the insufficient increase in the number of tests, voices expressing concern about the collapse of the medical system are emerging," and added, "There is growing anxiety that even if one becomes infected, they may not be able to receive appropriate testing and treatment."

Meanwhile, in the same survey, 66% of respondents answered that it was "appropriate" for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to extend the nationwide state of emergency period for COVID-19 response.

In this survey, the approval rating of the Abe Cabinet was recorded at 40%, a 4 percentage point drop compared to the same survey conducted on the 8th of last month, the day after the state of emergency was first declared. Conversely, the percentage of those who disapproved increased by 3 percentage points to 45%.

According to the "Yomiuri Shimbun" on the same day, as of the 28th of last month, among 8,711 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan, 5,581 patients (63.8%) were hospitalized, 1,984 (22.8%) were recuperating at home, and 862 (9.9%) were recuperating in accommodations such as hotels.

This means that more than 30% of confirmed COVID-19 patients are not receiving inpatient treatment. Among them, many home-quarantined patients who do not receive medical support have no place to turn to in emergencies.

Cases of patients who stayed at home due to mild symptoms suddenly worsening and resulting in death were reported consecutively in Japan last month. In response, the Japanese government announced on the 23rd of last month a policy to transfer home-quarantined patients to accommodations prepared by health authorities for isolation and care.

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