COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to Japan in January 2020. Cases have been recorded in each of the 47 prefectures except for Iwate. The country has seen over 10,000 confirmed cases.
The beginning
The Japanese government confirmed its first outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 () in the country on 16 January 2020 in a resident of Kanagawa Prefecture who had returned from Wuhan, China. A second outbreak was caused by travelers and returnees from Europe and the United States between 11 March and 23 March.
According to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the majority of viruses spreading in Japan derive from the European type while those of the Wuhan type have been disappearing since March.
Government response
The Japanese government has created many measures to stop and slow down the outbreak. On 30 January, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe created a national task force to take charge of the government's response to the pandemic.
On 27 February, Abe closed down all Japanese elementary, junior high, and high schools until early April.
On 7 April, Abe announced a one-month state of emergency for Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka. On 16 April, the declaration was extended to the rest of the country.
2020 Olympics
As the pandemic became a concern for the 2020 Summer Olympics, the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee worked together for its postponement until 2021.
Criticism of the government response
Medical experts and the media have criticized the Japanese government for under-testing for COVID-19. Medical experts said that the government have instead relied on the country's pneumonia surveillance to identify and treat severely-affected patients.
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