Got to love the Japanese and their commitment to societal well-being

[BacktoCricaddict]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-17/how-japan-achieved-one-of-the-world-s-lowest-covid-death-rates

Simply followed the science - no coercion, compulsion or mandates necessary.  Economists who complain about lockdowns should understand that - if all people behaved like the Japanese - draconian measures would be unnecessary.  But alas, when "leaders" in America and other nations undermine the science to the point where people start to follow the nonsense while ignoring scientists' advice, such measures become necessary to protect the vulnerable.

 

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That soft approach has had remarkable results. Japan’s Covid deaths per capita is 246 per million people, the lowest out of the 38 members of the OECD, according to Our World in Data. It’s all the more significant given Japan has the highest proportion of elderly people -- typically some of the most vulnerable to coronavirus -- in the world. New Zealand’s rate, previously the lowest, sits at 257 per million after the country faced its first substantial virus wave upon opening up and lifting curbs.

Japan’s virus-fighting strategy relied on the population complying willingly with social-distancing guidance, particularly when cases were rising. This proved more effective than top-down measures in other places, which in some cases made people resistant and defiant.

“People are using their own judgment to avoid risk and modify their behavior and this plays an extremely important role,” said Ohmagari.

That includes wearing masks, which was embraced during the early days of the pandemic and remains almost universal even as the government relaxed its recommendation to wear one outdoors. Mask use in Japan has typically held above 90%, a threshold other G-7 countries have only occasionally neared, according to Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data.

The relatively light nature of restrictions also meant that Japan didn’t face the extensive disruption to daily life of a harsh lockdown, deployed in countries from Italy to China and New Zealand at various times. That may have helped people comply with restrictions for longer and saw the nation avert the kind of social unrest seen overseas. 

And even as other populations have rushed back to life as normal, Japanese people appear to remain cautious: activities in Tokyo’s night-time entertainment district is still down almost 40% from 2019, according to one estimate.

About 93% of Japanese aged 65 and older have had two shots, and 90% have had a booster, according to data from the Prime Minister’s office.

 

 

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Edited October 9, 2022 by BacktoCricaddict

[coffee_rules]

Meh. Homogeneous society, xenophobic. Works there and not in a diverse country . Everyone should think alike.

[BacktoCricaddict]

1 hour ago, coffee_rules said:

Meh. Homogeneous society, xenophobic. Works there and not in a diverse country . Everyone should think alike.

 

Good point.  It might work if we all simply thought of ourselves as different-colored peas in the same pod and looked out for one anothers' welfare, regardless of our differences.  I dream of science, reason and rationality being a unifying force wherein we base our trust on what has evidence behind it and not whether the person saying it belongs to our in-group. 

 

 

<<Damn ... I re-read my post.  How cheezy - peas in a pod? WTF?  Regardless, point stands>>

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by BacktoCricaddict

[Clarke]

I just admire how some Asian countries like Japan & Vietnam show maturity such as using masks with discipline when facing an epidemic. It has nothing to do with homogenous society, its being responsible citizens which frankly many Indians are not. They may have other flaws but there's no harm in admitting how they're maybe role models in certain ways.