In Japan, the number of people per capita infected with the novel coronavirus is very low compared to Europe and other areas. One good example is Denmark. While their population is just short of six million, they have 1,024 infected, higher than Japan’s 882 (according to a Johns Hopkins University survey as of March 18, 15:40 JST). Why is this the case? I thought of a few different hypotheses.
1. The number of people tested is small. If few people are tested, it is obvious that few people would be officially recognized as being infected.
2. The number of CT scans per capita is overwhelmingly high. Among OECD countries, there is an average of 27 CT scan units per one million people. In Japan, there are 111, a difference of four times. Australia ranks second with 64 units, about half of Japan. The U.S. has 42 units, Germany and Italy have about 35 units each, and France has 17 units. The differences are stark and clear. Japan has a high population density and a high number of CT scan units. It is easy for patients here to get a CT scan, and with a CT scan, doctors can immediately determine whether a patient has pneumonia or not. There is no need to get tested for the virus. I believe this is a major factor.
3. Japanese already have established habits of washing hands and gargling and tend to be fastidious when it comes to cleanliness. Restaurants and toilets are clean. People take baths daily. Daily baths are not necessarily a common thing in all advanced countries and while this may be difficult for non-Japanese to understand, I think this is a major factor. Another factor may also be that Japanese do not enter their homes with their shoes on.
The above three points are hypotheses that I personally feel quite convinced of. The following, however, I am less confident of but will share as anecdotes anyway.
4. As noted just an anecdote to share, in Japan there is a saying that houses should be built with summer in mind. Don’t think mainly of winter, but of summer. In other words, good ventilation is key. That is perhaps why there were cluster infections in Hokkaido, music clubs, ships and other enclosed spaces.
5. Home deliveries are highly reliable. There is no need go shopping in crowded stores.
6. The Japanese diet is rich in fish-based fermented foods that provide for good gut health. This is something I just thought of off the top of my head.
7. And for perhaps my most dubious idea – many Japanese suffer from hay fever. Maybe our antibodies for hay fever or our experience with it has increased our resistance to the novel coronavirus?
And to conclude with a random thought – Japanese tend to mumble more.
Perhaps the reason why there are so few Japanese are infected is a combination of some of the factors above. I will be observing closely in the weeks to come with these hypotheses in mind.