"Fewer Confirmed Cases Thanks to Less Saliva Splashing in Japanese Language" Sparks Controversy on Japanese Broadcast

"Less Spitting Compared to English"
Some Japanese Netizens Criticize Experiment as Sloppy

On the 21st, the TBS current affairs program 'Haruobi' aired a video experimenting with the spitting differences between Japanese and English. / Photo by Twitter Capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] A Japanese broadcaster aired a program suggesting that "the reason why the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan is lower than in the United States is thanks to the Japanese pronunciation, which produces less saliva spray," sparking controversy.

The Japanese media outlet TBS's current affairs program "Haruobi" released an experimental video on the 21st comparing the differences between Japanese and English pronunciation.

In the broadcast, the experimenter placed their mouth near a tissue and pronounced the sentence "This is a pen" in Japanese (Kore wa pen desu) and English (This is a pen). As a result, the tissue shook more violently when spoken in English than in Japanese.

Regarding this, the program host explained, "Japanese produces less saliva spray than English," and "this is the reason why Japan has fewer COVID-19 infections than the United States."

However, after the broadcast content became known, some Japanese netizens criticized it as an unscientific experiment.

Netizens responded critically, saying, "The amount of saliva spray and pronunciation intensity can vary depending on the person," "Instead of airing such a program, how about showing people in self-quarantine due to COVID-19?" "It's surprising that such a program is broadcast," and "It will become a subject of ridicule worldwide."

Meanwhile, as of the 24th, the cumulative number of COVID-19 infections in Japan reached 16,569, an increase of 26 from the previous day. Among them, the number of deaths was 825 (an increase of 11). Japan's cumulative COVID-19 cases are significantly lower compared to G7 countries such as the United States (1.6 million) and the United Kingdom (250,000).

Earlier, as COVID-19 infections rapidly spread, the Japanese government declared a state of emergency for the first time on the 7th of last month. Since then, the number of new confirmed cases has remained in the 20s to 30s for eight consecutive days starting from the 17th.

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