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Japanese government PSA: A mask is the only way to cover your cough

according to this commercial, only a mask can stop this from happening

The Japanese government has created this PSA to warn people about proper coughing etiquette:

Apparently proper coughing etiquette only means wearing a mask to cover your mouth. Those without masks are given no proper advice on how to cover their coughs.

Public service announcements in other countries usually don’t assume that everyone has masks, so people are told to cover their coughs with a tissue or a sleeve:

It is common to see people in Japan wearing masks to cover their coughs when sick. However, it is not unusual to see mask-less people coughing and making no effort whatsoever to cover their coughs. Such people will no doubt always exist, but I’d wish the Japanese government made more of an effort to educate people about coughing into their sleeves…

[hat tip to Adamu]

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36 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - November 4, 2009 at 7:59 pm

Categories: General Japan Tags:

yoga boy

This is my BIGGEST pet peeve of all in Japan. People simply have no manners whatsoever. People cough and sneeze all over the place without covering their mouths. Those with masks somehow feel they don’t need to cover their mouths at all when they sneeze of cough. It is truly disgusting and drives me insane on the train especially.

I snapped today and told off a guy today “chotto waruruindesukedo, te wo ageta kuchi osaetekuremasenka? Kihon manaa wo mamotte kudasai koko wa janguru (jungle) ja nai desuyo!“. I said this at near top of my lungs and he turned completely red, bowed apologetically and ran off the train at the next stop. F*cking idiot coward with no manners.

There is a girl in my office who sneezes full force all the time and never covers her mouth. She simply diverts her snot spray away from her monitor when she lets loose. I want to throw her out the office window (20th floor). Then they guy who sits across from me who picks his nose and eats it all day wonders why I never want to touch his keyboard….ugh.
http://www.binary-apotheosis.com/blogs/index.php Rob A

You could always try your hand, sleeve, a handkerchief, or holding it in…

…unless of course you wear a mask everywhere you go.
http://www.mutantfrog.com/ Adamu

Man that post went up fast! There is an icon on the front page of http://www.kantei.go.jp which is how I found the video.
fh

Although I’m not one to verify the validity of this, I’ve heard that most OTC masks are only able to filter particulates 0.3µ or larger, while the influenza virus is able to pass through at only ~0.1µ in size.

Moreover, after prolonged use, most masks lose their effectiveness after 4 hours; the warmth and dampness caused by breathing loosens the fabric. So to be effective, you would need masks capable of filtering down to 0.1µ, and would need to change it several times a day.

I think masks are nothing more than a placebo, although I certainly agree more could be done about being courteous about how/where you cough.

On the other hand, washing your hands and gargling definitely do help. And similar to gargling is drinking warm liquids (think tea) regularly, washing viruses from the susceptible respitory areas into the stomach where digestive acids are able to neutralize them.

Level3

WHERE CAN WE GET THESE PLACEBOS?!?!!

[Simpsons ref]

David

From what I have read and heard the comments on wearing masks are correct for if you are healthy and don’t want to catch the flu. However, they are meant to be effective in helping to prevent the spread if you are already sick.

For gargling, I understand it is pretty much useless.

Ajapa

fh,

Are viruses floating in the air like pollen and dust? As far as I see the above clip, they seem to mainly focus on viruses spread by splash of saliva, phlegm, and nasal drainage. I don’t know if my observation is correct though.

James,

The title of this entry is obviously misleading, they do not insist a mask is the only way to cover cough and they do not intend to teach a proper coughing etiquette itself. I think, you can only argue about efficacy from this small pieces; you should be sure that they must tell something within 15 seconds. Have a look at their article for full explanation:

http://www.gov-online.go.jp/useful/article/200909/6.html

Don’t miss the part about the coughing etiquette. It may depend on detailed situation if their choice of promoting masks are adequate. A train during the rush hours and savanna are different.

As for the background, I think, masks have often been used as measures to allergic rhinitis caused mainly by pollen (5-100 µm) for a long time. It may help if you feel adherence to the masks look strange.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

Ajapa:

They might mention use of a tissue to cover coughs in that article, but that method has been completely left out of the PSA. My headline was about the PSA, not the article.

Ajapa

James,

So, then. They don’t say “mask” at all. Just an image of a man wearing a mask appears at the end of the first part of this PSA. It may just imply that wearing a mask is the best way to prevent spreading germs and viruses.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

“Just an image of a man wearing a mask”

Yes, that’s right. Just an image of a man wearing a mask. That’s the only thing they show viewers when announcing that they observe proper coughing etiquette. No other example of coughing etiquette is shown in the PSA.

Masks may be an effective means of blocking coughs, but it isn’t the easiest you have to buy certain types of masks and change them every few hours.

Coughing into one’s sleeve costs nothing, and it would only take a second or two to demonstrate it in the commercial.
Ajapa

So, then. It’s a matter of efficiency, efficacy, and such. They could have prepared another version with an image of a man covering his mouth with a handkerchief, or both in the same PSA. I personally took the image just as a kind of symbolization. I usually use a handkerchief or a towel when I have frequent coughing and sneezing, althought I often feel the necessity of a mask when I must ride on a bicycle or walk an overcrowded place with uncontrollable coughing or sneezing. Anyhow, their purpose is definitely not “the only way” to cover a cough nor implication of it.

nanya

I once saw this guy sneeze right on the elevator buttons in Tennoji Station Plaza. It was disgusting.

I also saw some fat guy on the Tanimachi Line pick his nose and wipe boogers on the newspaper he was reading repeatedly and then put the newspaper on the overhead rack for someone else to deal with.

And, that was just my first year in Japan.
Somehow I dont think a PSA is going to do enough.
Murasaki

Sneezing into your elbow can actually create a hotspot of germs there that can shed into the air, just like using a mask for too long. It’s really no better.

Level3

Way better than sneezing into the air, or into my face.

And I’m sorry, but germ-loaded water droplets and particles fly out of a mask (because people are breathing, coughing and sneezing through it) far more than spontaneously leap off a sleeve.

It’s WAY better to cover with a sleeve than do nothing. And it might be the same as or better than using a mask.

Good bet is use a frigging handkerchief to cover your sneezes, then put it away, like people do in so many places, except Japan, where handkerchiefs are reserved for use as hand towels.

Best bet is STAY THE FUCK HOME when you have friggin swine flu!!!! Or at least do us a favor and stay off public transportation. Can we get a “healthy people car” next to the “Ladies only” car on the trains?

Murasaki

Yes, of course it’s better than sneezing in someone’s face. No-one should do that.

http://aki-akiaki.blogspot.com/ Aki

Murasaki is right. A mask is way better than sneezing into your elbow.

The following is from an article entitled “Summaries for patients: the effect of hand washing and facemasks on prevention of influenza infection”, which is an excerpt of a study on measures for preventing spread of influenza. (Cowling et al., Annal. Int. Med., 151, 437-446 (2009).)

What did the researchers find?

Hand washing and facemasks helped to prevent spread of influenza when people started using these measures within 36 hours of their family member becoming sick.

In the study, facemasks did help to prevent spread of influenza. Also, hand washing had effect to prevent spread of influenza, indicating that influenza virus can be transmitted through contact. If you cover your coughs with a sleeve, you may transmit influenza to other people through contact in train cars and elevators.

Edvard

Trying to educate japanprobe readers. Way to go!!!!
longus dickus

hi james,

how did hit news about “F1 out” of Toyota in Japan?

thx
k

Yea initially when I got to Japan I noticed people not covering their mouths when they sneezed, usually they would just sneeze to the side. I thought this was nuts, but I started to do it as well and when I was in 7 11 one time, I turned to sneeze and I ended up unloading the sneeze all over some Japanese girl who was around 20 years old. She kind of freaked out, threw her hands up, and walked away quickly. All my friends laughed, but I feel like an ass. Come to think of it, it was around march this year, so she probably thought a foreigner sneezed H1N1 all over her face.
Buster

Its only a thin line between sensible hygiene measures and paranoia…
イブちゃん

Perhaps the PSA was designed to sell masks. Unfortunately, we can’t charge for hand and elbow… yet *sinister laugh* Also, in a country where many people cough and sneeze openly, ignorant of others, perhaps they wouldn’t have the common sense not to sneeze into their hands and then grab that door handle or bar on the train. In that case, maybe a mask really is best.
jroach

http://englishrussia.com/?p=5782
Mary

Research shows that there is a reduction in the spread of germs when you cough/sneeze into the crook of your elbow, thus a reduction in the incidence of colds/flus. There is a reason the experts HHS and the CDC are recommending it. Once on the clothing in the elbow, the germs are less likely to spread everywhere else. If you have kids, there is a great program out called Germy Wormie that teaches them in a fun and entertaining way how to do this. Included is a great DVD that teaches them in a fun way the elbow cough, as well as other good hygiene habits.
leitmotiv

This money would be better spent on a vaccination awareness campaign. Unfortunately, Japan’s pharma companies pretty much scored a huge FAIL for providing H1N1 vaccines. Direct result of long-term backwards strategy, lack of effective public health leadership, and general unwillingness to harmonize with rest of industrial world.

It would probably cause a riot if Japanese people clearly understood how their government has failed them long-term in this area (infectious disease control). Relevant here because this PSA seems to be a sort of pinnacle for their efforts in H1N1. There are some others, but not much more impressive.

ponta

Do you think a riot is coming in the U.S?

The American Future Fund, an Iowa-based conservative interest group, will launch ads tomorrow that seek to link the Obama Administration’s handling of the H1N1 flu with broader questions about the viability of a public option being included in a health care overhaul.

The ad begins by noting that in July the Obama Administration promised 120 million H1N1 vaccines would be available by October but only 27 million actually were ready at that time. “Children, pregnant women, seniors line up for nothing,” says the ad’s narrator before adding that the government had planned to give vaccines to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/white-house/conservatives-attack-on-h1n1.html?wprss=thefix

leitmotiv

Certainly not about this topic. Possibly others though. Employee compensation at recently bailed-out banks comes to mind.

There is some dishonest political discussion around the H1N1 vaccine situation (and other manufactured topics) in the US by backward political groups such as the one you note above (backwards in ways analogous to some of Japan’s own ridiculous and loud-speaker loving organizations). Anyone who is nominally educated can understand that the current vaccine situation in the US, bumpy and suboptimal as it may be (but still several decades ahead of Japan, sorry), has nothing to do with current president.

Its obvious that the ad you quote above is aimed at morons who vote (which every country has many of, sadly). Surprising that you would bring it up as if it represents some sort of reality.

ponta

“but still several decades ahead of Japan, sorry”

No you don’t have to be sorry.
I don’t know if the U.S. is several decades ahead of Japan in this respect, but now more and more people realize that that is the way you want to talk for some reason.

I am rather glad this time you didn’t mistakenly warn Japan probe readers for the link I put up and mistakenly accuse me of running off the topic and mistakenly bring up a fake story.

“Surprising that you would bring it up as if it represents some sort of reality.”

is the current vaccine situation in the US being bumpy and suboptimal some sort of reality? You said,

“Anyone who is nominally educated can understand that the current vaccine situation in the US, bumpy and suboptimal as it may be”has nothing to do with current president.

I didn’t focus the relation between the vaccine situation and the president.
leitmotiv

I don’t know if the U.S. is several decades ahead of Japan in this respect,

It is true. Same can be said in many ways about India and China. The EU is even further ahead. I wont go off topic to try to convince you. But if you want to argue that Japan is reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions, I would be interested to hear it. Probably so would the head of Ministry of Health ….they seem to be pretty confused about the topic through most of 2009. I imagine they need some bullet points.

is the current vaccine situation in the US being bumpy and suboptimal some sort of reality? You said,

Yes I did say that. But your reality is that the WH is actively responsible that reality. What they have done is pass on statements from CDC/FDA about delivery that are now unrealistic. What you are trying to claim as reality with your US-uyoku advertisement is clearly hyperbolic and misleading.

I didn’t focus the relation between the vaccine situation and the president.

But the text you quoted, comprising almost all of your comment, DID do that.
leitmotiv

I am rather glad this time you didn’t mistakenly warn Japan probe readers for the link I put up….

Ponta….your comments on this belong elsewhere. But here’s the security info for your potentially unsecure website. It is no mistake. I find it astonishing that you posted it to go off topic and bring up “you-know-who” AGAIN. Your favorite pastime.

http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/occidentalism.org

Note that the author of that site describes a rerouting attack against the site in Sept that was supposedly fixed. I don’t know why you deny what I said is true. Its minimally a breech of netiquette to post such a potentially unsecure link. If the site is somehow unfairly targeted to have a low WOT rating (WOT is community-based, after all), then you should explain it (The webmaster should do so as well). Japan Probe readers might appreciate you acknowledging that and apologizing.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

No more warnings, please.

Ponta doesn’t have to apologize for anything.

Occidentalism got hacked a few months back by spammers, but it’s fine now. (If that rating is community-based as you say, there’s a chance it could have been flagged because some people were angered by its inflammatory content.)

If I see dangerous links, I’ll remove them from comments accordingly. Occidenalism.org is not a dangerous link.
ponta

leitmotiv

”I wont go off topic to try to convince you. ”

You insisted that the U.S was several decades ahead in this respect, The burden of proof is upon you.
Just W.H.O website or something like it will be useful and reliable for anyone to see.
Especially I am curious about how to measure advancement of H1N1 actions (—how do uninsured people get protected in the U.S. for instance?—-does that count as backwardness? )
and how you measure how many years a country is behind in this respect.

F.Y.I
2009 flu pandemic by country
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic_by_country

欧米などの主要国のワクチン確保状況
　人　口確保のめどが
立ったワクチン接種
開始時期
米　　国　3億 600万人　 2億人分 10月中旬
英　　国 6100万人 3000万人分 10月
ドイツ 8300万人 2500万人分 10月初め
フランス 6200万人 4700万人分 10月中旬
イタリア 5900万人 2400万人分 11月中旬
日　　本 1億2700万人 6000万人分 10月下旬
（各国の保健当局資料などによる）
｢朝日新聞｣(’09/9/18）
http://www2.odn.ne.jp/ottotto/memo/new-flu.html

(The information is a bit old: it is on Asahi Sept 18th.)

“US-uyoku advertisement is clearly hyperbolic and misleading. ”

You might be right about an American conservative group being hyperbolic and misleading.

(CBS) The H1N1 flu virus is expected to make a comeback this fall. But America’s timetable for treatment is changing. Health officials had predicted having 120 million doses of vaccine ready by mid October.

Now they say it will be more like 45 million

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/17/eveningnews/main5247937.shtml

It is pathetic that an American conservative group is misleading in such a sensitive area as this.

Does broadcasting hyperbolic and misleading ad in public counts as how the U.S. is advanced in this area?

Which Japanese conservative group broadcast such an Ad to attack J government? J uyoku must be several decades behind.

And tell me, leitmotiv, the story of how J government has failed them long-term in this area that would cause a riot among Japanese people. It will be fun if the truth is told, and many Japanese journalists are hungry for this kind of story.

I just want to know the truth, and people in Japan, Japanese as well as non-Japanese, are concerned about it.

You are not misleading people just like U.S.ridiculous and flag-waiving loving Uyoku , aren’t you?

You just said with no sources but based on your bias that the U.S. was several decades ahead in this respect —-Nah, that only makes you more look like an orientalist.

”But the text you quoted, comprising almost all of your comment, DID do that.”

Let’s be careful not to confuse what I said with what the text said.

“But here’s the security info for your potentially unsecure website.”

As you can see, Japan Probe itself has linked Occidentalism several times and thank James for the clarification.
leitmotiv

You insisted that the U.S was several decades ahead in this respect, The burden of proof is upon you. Just W.H.O website or something like it will be useful and reliable for anyone to see.

Sure….if you insist. Here is a document from the WHO website that was generated by Japan’s own vaccine experts

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/JapanNatPandPrepPlan1.pdf

Its from 1997, but the part about vaccines (go to page 11) is basically a strong indictment of Japan’s medical community’s international backwardness and “confusion” over safety/effectiveness of flu vaccines….DESPITE existence of Japan’s own internationally-recognized research showing the opposite

More recent description of the situation can be seen from industry perspective in PDF here:
http://www.efpia.eu/Content/Default.asp?PageID=559&DocID=3775

But if you still don’t believe me, then ask yourself why life saving vaccines (and many other necessary and latest-generation medical products, frankly) are still not available in wealthy, 1st world Japan decades after the rest of the industrial world enjoys them? The case of meningitis vaccine (only available in Japan in 2009 – and only barely) is just one tragic case — many Japanese families have paid a terrible price for governmental negligence and lack of medical community leadership on this issue.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aB3VEOh74lEM

To clarify my comment above, in the case of H1N1 Japan is probably doing the BEST IT CAN under the malnourished and backwards situation it created for itself via government malfeasance. So PSAs for how to cover your cough might one of few options for them. The Japanese drug companies cannot produce nearly what is considered the adequate amount of vaccine to protect Japan, so the GoJ is now purchasing H1N1 vaccines from non-japanese companies. Interesting to note that GoJ will also pay much much more for them than they pay for domestic vaccines (quite humiliating for the Japanese drug companies I imagine). This is all in recent news. Just google recent news with “Novartis”, “GSK” “H1N1”, and “Japan”. I read that news with interest because there were comments during negotiation for that arrangement from the GoJ side that discussions were delayed because there were not enough guarantees that the vaccines would be safe specifically for Japanese people. Nihonjinron concepts continue to linger within GoJ even in 2009, I guess.

You just said with no sources but based on your bias that the U.S. was several decades ahead in this respect —-Nah, that only makes you more look like an orientalist.

If that’s what you want to call me and the panel of MHLW-appointed Japanese vaccine specialists who wrote the above quite report with critical commentary of Japan medical community backwardness on flu vaccines as late as 1997, go right ahead. It clearly ridiculous though. I still say you badly misuse that word to mean “any non-Japanese who comments about something related to Japan that ponta disagrees with.”

It is pathetic that an American conservative group is misleading in such a sensitive area as this.

I agree. I also would probably agree with your comment hinting about the healthcare system in the US being backward in some ways compared to Japan (though not for H1N1 topics). But that is a key difference between you and me. Unlike you, I don’t have dogmatic nationalistic sensibilities that get inflamed if I hear such a comment from a non-citizen of the US….causing me to claim all kind of crazy nonsense, demand unreasonable proof of the obvious, and other rhetorical BS to “correct” the slander of my “beautiful” country — or whatever your motivation is. I simply agree if its reasonably true and don’t get bent out of shape based on the nationality of the messenger. Its called objectivity. You might try it sometime.

ponta

leitmotiv

leitmotiv said.

“Its from 1997, but the part about vaccines (go to page 11) is basically a strong indictment of Japan’s medical community’s international backwardness and “confusion” over safety/effectiveness of flu vaccines…”
”I also would probably agree with your comment hinting about the healthcare system in the US being backward in some ways compared to Japan (though not for H1N1 topics).”

Really?
As of today

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 by country
Summary of official reports（From Wikipedia “2009 flu pandemic by country”）

・・・・・・・・・・Cases・・・・Deaths
United States・・・66,216・・・ 1,683
Japan・・・・・・・11,636・・・・50

(See also Time Line Pandemic(H1N1)2009 laboratory confirmed cases and the number of deaths as reported to WHO on WHO website.)

Is Japan not “reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions”　as you say?

Is U.S reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions?

And let’s take note of the U.S. situation which LM said a decades ahead of Japan.

“Press Releases
2009 Releases
Poll Finds Two-thirds of Parents and High-Priority Adults Who Tried to Get H1N1 Vaccine Were Unable to Get It”
（Harvard School of public health)

“That’s true even for people are at extra risk for severe complications and should be at the front of the line. The numbers are about the same for parents who tried to get the vaccine for their higher-risk children”
(AP Nov. 6, 2009)

Is the U.S. a few decades ahead?

LM said
“Its from 1997″

You are a decade behind.
Is this all you’ve found after two days research?
It is written by Japanese.Can’t you find a recent Japanese article?

Anyway where does it say U.S. is ” still several decades ahead of Japan”?

LM said
“More recent description of the situation can be seen from industry perspective in PDF here”

From industry perspective.

“Japan’s health ministry is set to buy enough H1N1 flu vaccine for nearly 50 million people from British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline and Swiss maker Novartis, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday”
(TOKYO (Reuters/ Sep 11, 2009 )

LM cites the case of Vaccine scandal in Japan

It says among other things.
”
Japan’s reluctance to approve new vaccines stems from the introduction of a shot for measles, mumps and rubella in 1989 that sickened 1,040 people, three of whom died, sparking a scandal about lax drug manufacturing.”

Does it ” probably cause a riot if Japanese people clearly understood how their government has failed them long-term in this area”? as you say?

The fact that there are unapproved vaccines that are approved abroad is well known among Japanese.

Or does it make U.S. “still several decades ahead of Japan?”

Incidentally, googling vaccine gap, you will also find

“Vaccine scandal revives cancer fear

19:00 07 July 2004 by Debbie Bookchin(New Scientists)
Many millions more people than previously thought might have been given polio vaccine contaminated with a monkey virus linked to cancer.・・・・

Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration who attended the conference also declined to comment, as the FDA is a defendant in lawsuits alleging that the SV40-contaminated polio vaccine used in the US has caused cancer cases.”

Is the U.S. a few decades ahead?

So far, you haven’t shown

“Japan is not reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions”

“It would probably cause a riot if Japanese people clearly understood how their government has failed them long-term in this area (infectious disease control). ” and that

“the current vaccine situation in the US, bumpy and suboptimal as it may be (but still several decades ahead of Japan, sorry)”.

In veiw of a death rate as regards H1N1, Japan is doing better than the U.S.

Stop being hyperbolic and misleading like U.S dishonest backward political groups that you mentioned yourself.
Your comment even smacks of a racist when you say a country is behind a few decades behind with little or no back-ups as you cited.

leitmotiv

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 by country
Summary of official reports（From Wikipedia “2009 flu pandemic by country”）

・・・・・・・・・・Cases・・・・Deaths
United States・・・66,216・・・ 1,683
Japan・・・・・・・11,636・・・・50

That is even more irrelevant than usual for you. We are talking (at your insistence) about vaccination policy. Not epidemiological data. But the link I provided mentioned an interesting quote… “From a global public health perspective, Japan is cited in medical journals as an `exporter` of infectious diseases to countries that have these diseases under better control through vaccination.” Probably from cases such as:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2932278220070529

But I am sure you will dismiss such views as orientalist conspiracies in medical journals.

“Its from 1997″
You are a decade behind.

That’s it? That’s your only comment about it? Its clear you did not read page 11. It clearly sets out the historical context of why Japan is behind. The situation I described is from long-term neglect that goes back far before 1997. If you want to claim that the criticisms in the 1997 report have been adequately addressed as of 2009, go right ahead. But I can tell you they have not. The other link which is more recent (2007) is very clear in describing the current problem. So there you have together (1) historical roots of the problem, as described critically by Japanese experts, (2) current overall vaccine situation from industry perspective, which is consistent with historical perspective, and (3) specific case of one 2009 product that the Japanese public was deprived of for no clear reason – result of which cost many Japanese children’s lives. But its clear you did not read, so why bother discussing?

It says among other things.”
Japan’s reluctance to approve new vaccines stems from the introduction of a shot for measles, mumps and rubella in 1989 that sickened 1,040 people, three of whom died, sparking a scandal about lax drug manufacturing.”
Does it ” probably cause a riot if Japanese people clearly understood how their government has failed them long-term in this area”? as you say?

You should understand the information in the link before commenting on it. Don’t just read one sentence and assume that is the whole article. The article is about meningitis vaccines, not MMR vaccines. The quote is trying to put a reason why Japan population may not “trust” vaccines from experience with another vaccine (MMR). The 1980’s problems with that particular vaccine have been addressed long ago. Except in Japan where it is still not available. The incorrect perception about vaccines being unreasonably risky has lingered since 1989 in Japan due to inaction of medical authorities – at cost of human life.

Is this all you’ve found after two days research?

Its what I found in ~1 hour. Perhaps unlike you, I actually do other things on weekends.

It is written by Japanese.Can’t you find a recent Japanese article?

It is clear you would not even read it. So why bother? My guess is that it is also on MHLW website since they commissioned the report (but maybe not, since it has critical elements of Japan’s system in it…..maybe anti-vaccination elements from Japan Medical Association requested removal? In my experience it is common to see important information suppressed in Japan for fear of making someone somewhere “uncomfortable”, so it wouldn’t surprise me if it is not there).

But we can learn something from your reply.

(1) Ponta is unsatisfied with earlier answer and specifically demands for a WHO website.
(2) Ponta is given a WHO website.
(3) Ponta is unsatisfied because its not in Japanese (for some strange reason).
(4) Conclusion: Pontas goal is to be eternally unsatisfied, regardless of facts.

Your comment even smacks of a racist when you say a country is behind a few decades behind with little or no back-ups as you cited.

A reasonable “back-up”, as demanded by you, is precisely what I provided. Crying racism again, are you? Typical when you have nothing to say. You are so foolish. I showed you exactly what you asked for, and you can not or will not comprehend it. Only splutter about “racism”. That is a problem that no one except ponta can solve.

Frankly, your emotional response makes no sense at all.

ponta

leitmotiv

I am responding to your comments such as I quoted above,
Just because your article is old, inaccurate, too weak in supporting your thesis, it does not mean my comment is not justified.

LM said

A “Japan is not reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions”

Against this, I quoted Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 by country
Summary of official reports,

・・・・・・・・・Cases・・・・Deaths
United States・・・66,216・・・ 1,683
Japan・・・・・・・11,636・・・・50

It shows it is not true that “Japan is not reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions”
It is relevant.

LM said,

B “the current vaccine situation in the US, bumpy and suboptimal as it may be (but still several decades ahead of Japan, sorry)”.

Agasinst this,I quoted “Press Releases by Harvard school of public health” that “Poll Finds Two-thirds of Parents and High-Priority Adults Who Tried to Get H1N1 Vaccine Were Unable to Get It”

It shows the the current vaccine situation in the US is not several decades ahead of Japan, contrary to some American racists/nationalists who want to believe otherwise.

LM said

C “It would probably cause a riot if Japanese people clearly understood how their government has failed them long-term in this area (infectious disease control). ”

It can be taken apart into two part.

1)How J government is doing about infectious disease control would cause a riot.
2)J government has failed them long-term in this area.

As for 1) I pointed out that the fact that there is unapproved vaccine that is approved abroad is well known among Japanese. And yet there is no sign of riot.

As for 2) after checking some sites, it has become obvious you know little about the situation.

Check ワクチン　from From Japanese Wikipedia, for instance.

And note in some Vaccines, Japan is faster than the U.S. in approving.

英グラクソの子宮頸がんワクチン、日本に続き米国でも承認
2009年10月17日

［ロサンゼルス　１６日　ロイター］　英グラクソ・スミスクラインは１６日、子宮頸（けい）がんワクチン「サーバリックス」について、日本の厚生労働省に続き、米食品医薬品局（ＦＤＡ）も承認したことを明らかにした

Though it might be true that there are some Japanese who complain that J government should approve some vaccines they think they need,(and that happens in any country), either way, you failed to show c) is true.

“The incorrect perception about vaccines being unreasonably risky”

Right,

”Majority of U.S. parents wary of H1N1 vaccine
Poll finds two-thirds will delay kids’ immunization or not get shots at all　By David Morgan

updated 7:51 p.m. ET Sept. 30, 2009”

American people need to be educated on H1N1, right?

LM said

“result of which cost many Japanese children’s lives”

How many children lost lives due to some vaccines unapproved in Japan and is the death rate equivalent to the death rate a few decades ago in the U.S. That will perhaps prove your thesis.

leitmotiv, just stop hyperbolic and misleading like U.S dishonest backward political groups that you mentioned yourself.That is all I am asking.

leitmotiv

I am responding to your comments such as I quoted above, Just because your article is old, inaccurate, too weak in supporting your thesis, it does not mean my comment is not justified.

Yes it does. You have never said anything about how it is “weak” or “inaccurate”. Are you ever going to do that? I assume not. You just claim 1997 is “too old” and that is enough for ponta. Facts are irrelevant. I told you exactly why it is relevant, along with a second more comprehensive citation that is from 2007 (which you conveniently ignore). There are more sources (not from WHO website, as you had demanded) if you care about understanding the reality (it seems you dont). Here are Japanese vaccine researchers from National Institute for Infectious Disease claiming in 2009 publication:

“Since the disease epidemiology clearly indicates that the US has better control of VPDs [vaccine preventable diseases] over Japan, we considered the advantage of development of a comparable vaccine policy setting system of the US in Japan.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19186205

・・・・・・・・・Cases・・・・Deaths
United States・・・66,216・・・ 1,683
Japan・・・・・・・11,636・・・・50
It shows it is not true that “Japan is not reasonably up to par with their industrial/economic peers for H1N1 actions” It is relevant.

No it does not show that. If it were to be just slightly relevant, it would have to at least be data generated during a vaccination program. How many of the Cases/Deaths above had H1N1 vaccines available to them? The answer is zero (or very close to zero). There were no vaccines available anywhere when most of those irrelevant-to-pontas-argument epidemiological numbers occurred. You should respond using your brain, not your inflamed nationalistic sensibilities.

Agasinst this,I quoted “Press Releases by Harvard school of public health” that “Poll Finds Two-thirds of Parents and High-Priority Adults Who Tried to Get H1N1 Vaccine Were Unable to Get It”
It shows the the current vaccine situation in the US is not several decades ahead of Japan, contrary to some American racists/nationalists who want to believe otherwise.

No, it does not show that. Is there a comparison to Japan situation in the press release? No there is not.

And note in some Vaccines, Japan is faster than the U.S. in approving.
英グラクソの子宮頸がんワクチン、日本に続き米国でも承認
2009年10月17日
［ロサンゼルス　１６日　ロイター］　英グラクソ・スミスクラインは１６日、子宮頸（けい）がんワクチン「サーバリックス」について、日本の厚生労働省に続き、米食品医薬品局（ＦＤＡ）も承認したことを明らかにした

I admit it is surprising that Japan approved that rather quickly. But the comparison does not show what you think it shows. The US already has such a vaccine from a different company approved and marketed since 2005. And HPV has been added to the recommended vaccine schedule of the US. Did you conveniently leave that fact out? GSK’s vaccine is the second such HPV vaccine in the US, and as such has extra regulatory requirements for approval. Japan has no such HPV vaccine prior to GSKs. And I am fairly sure we will not be seeing GSKs added to Japans recommended vaccine list any time soon.

How many children lost lives due to some vaccines unapproved in Japan and is the death rate equivalent to the death rate a few decades ago in the U.S. That will perhaps prove your thesis.

I don’t understand that at all. But I think I have clearly and repeatedly showed you supporting evidence for all I have said. I suggest, instead of your typical running in circles and being dishonest in your arguments, you show that Japan is reasonably up to par with its vaccine policy & infrastructure in a way that is commensurate with its wealth and technical abilities.

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