Covid-19 has claimed the lives of over 50,000 people globally, and the positive cases continue to be on a rise.
And yet, among the world’s leading economies, Japan has had the lowest number of positive Covid-19 cases, with the latest number of active cases being 2082.
Compared to United States’ 245,373 cases, and the fact that a considerable section of Japan’s population is over 60, this number appears strikingly small – a fact that led to people questioning Japan’s numbers on Quora.
An Indian user Vedant, living in Japan, provided a possible explanation about how it could be because of the way Japanese react to flu season in general – by wearing masks, regularly using sanitizers, and disinfecting public places.
Several other users corroborated his explanation and listed the general practices followed by Japan.
In other words, precautionary measures undertaken globally in the wake of Covid-19 are regular practices in Japan.
Additionally, people also pointed out that Japan’s cultural norms, which include removing shoes before entering a house and bowing as a form of greeting, may have helped curb the spread of the virus.
Simply put, it may appear that Japan was already following social distancing as a way of life. However, conspiracy theories of Japan underreporting the cases or not testing as much as required have also come up.
As has been the case with most other countries, including the USA and England, as soon as testing was increased, there was a considerable hike in the number of positive cases. It has also been proved that even asymptomatic people can test positive for the virus.
If Japan has indeed been testing accurately and has managed to curb the spread thanks to its practices, then perhaps there is a lesson there for the rest of the world as well.
All images are screenshots from the Quora thread, unless specified otherwise.