Japan COVID-19 Cases Drop from 25,000 to 300... "Due to Reduced Testing?" Suspicion

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] As the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan shows a sharp decline, suspicions of statistical distortion have emerged.

On the 23rd, Asahi Shimbun and others reported that Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Osaka Prefecture decided to ease quarantine guidelines for restaurants and other establishments starting from the 25th. These local governments will lift the shortened business hours restriction until 9 PM for "certified establishments" that have confirmed COVID-19 infection prevention measures. As a result, about 102,000 certified restaurants out of approximately 120,000 in Tokyo will no longer be subject to business hour restrictions.

This policy shift is understood to be a result of the sharp decrease in new COVID-19 cases in Japan. The local public broadcaster NHK reported that as of the 21st, the number of newly confirmed cases nationwide was only 345, marking five consecutive days with fewer than 500 daily cases in Japan. This is a significant decrease compared to the peak of about 25,000 cases in mid-August.

However, opinions among infectious disease experts in Japan differ regarding the reason for the sharp drop in new cases. The most plausible hypothesis currently is that the number of COVID-19 tests has decreased, leading to fewer confirmed cases being recorded in the statistics. Recently, the Japanese government switched from free COVID-19 testing to paid testing. With PCR tests now costing about 20,000 yen (approximately 200,000 KRW), the number of tests, which had increased to 170,000 per day in mid-August, has recently shrunk to between 30,000 and 60,000.

Consequently, some speculate that the Japanese government, ahead of the House of Representatives election at the end of this month, implemented these measures to reduce the reported number of confirmed cases. On the other hand, even considering the decrease in testing volume, additional explanations are needed for the drop from over 20,000 cases to the 300 range. There are concerns that the government's choice to attempt an early transition to so-called "With COVID-19" without clear reasons could trigger a larger pandemic.

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