Japan Provides Additional 1 Million Doses of AZ Vaccine to Taiwan... "Firm Friendship with Taiwan"

A total of 3.4 million doses provided since last month... China's intention to check
Controversy over worsening spread in Japan... "Vaccination rate barely reaches 30%"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Japanese government announced that it will provide an additional 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan. Previously, Japan had donated vaccines to Taiwan twice since last month, and with this additional 1 million doses, the total provision is expected to exceed 3.4 million doses. Japan's vaccine provision is interpreted as a move to counter China alongside the United States. However, with Japan's vaccination rate at around 30% and the spread of the Delta variant intensifying ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, there are concerns about domestic backlash in Japan.

According to Japanese local media such as NHK on the 13th, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stated at a press conference, "1 million doses of the AZ vaccine will be provided to Taiwan on the 15th," adding, "This will bring the total vaccines delivered to Taiwan to 3.4 million doses." Japan had previously delivered approximately 2.4 million doses of vaccines to Taiwan in two shipments since last month.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on the same day, "We have confirmed the firm friendship between Taiwan and Japan," and "We once again express our gratitude for the warm and strong support from our partners in liberal democracy." Japan's vaccine provision this time is known as a move to counter China together with the United States.

Earlier, when the Taiwanese government revealed that it had failed to sign a Pfizer vaccine purchase agreement with the German company BioNTech due to interference from China, the United States provided 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, and countries centered on the U.S. and Japan expressed their intention to provide vaccines to Taiwan. Taiwan is currently rapidly expanding its vaccination program, but it is estimated that only about 10% of the total population has received at least one vaccine dose.

Meanwhile, public opinion in Japan regarding the successive vaccine donations to Taiwan is reportedly unfavorable, raising concerns about backlash. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the proportion of people in Japan who have received at least one vaccine dose remains at about 29.6% of the population. The Japanese government had planned to complete nationwide vaccination by last month, one month before the Tokyo Olympics, but due to difficulties in vaccine supply, the vaccination rate has not even reached 30% as the Olympics approach in ten days.

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