patrick.net

I got back to Tokyo on Friday morning having hastily rescheduled my flight from Britain to avoid new restrictions for entering Japan. When I landed, it was all quite normal: I wasn’t pounced on by men in hazmat suits at Haneda airport and forced into isolation. I wasn’t interrogated on my recent whereabouts, or even given extra forms to fill out. And it turns out that even if I had flown a few days as planned, all that the new restrictions amounted to was a ‘request’ (issued with extreme politeness no doubt) to self-isolate in your own apartment.

Yet despite this relatively laid-back approach, Japan must be one of the best places in the developed world to be at the moment, as the impact of the coronavirus appears extraordinarily mild. What’s more, government intervention in everyday life has been minimal, to the point of imperceptibility. There have currently been 900 reported cases and around 50 deaths in Japan, which in a country of 126 million, close to China, and with densely-packed cities and a high proportion of elderly people is remarkable. Italy (population 60 million) has 40,000 cases and 3,600 dead. ...

A more plausible explanation is that the action already taken by the Japanese government (early cancellations, targeted testing and containment by focusing on outbreak clusters) has been effective. The Japanese got early warning of the disease and learned lessons from the poorly received handling of the Diamond Princess outbreak. Hand sanitizers were made widely available, and people urged to make small modifications to their behavior, which could have been crucial in containing the virus in its more controllable phase.

Then there are certain advantages in terms of lifestyle habits that may be helping to keep the virus at bay. Much of the actions being recommended, or enforced in Europe are already established in Japanese culture. Chief amongst these is the almost total absence of physical contact between strangers (contrast with Italy). Shaking hands with, or – God forbid – kissing on greeting someone is about as serious a faux pas as a visitor to Japan can make. A hygiene regimen that elevates daily bathing and hand washing to the status of holy ritual is another likely contributory factor. And, demographic trends have resulted in huge numbers of older people already living in virtual isolation, in vast complexes of tiny one-or two-room apartments, living lonely, but at the moment at least, somewhat safer lives.