Japanese good manners kept death rate low, says minister

JAPAN’S finance minister has attributed the nation’s low coronavirus mortality rate to the superiority of its social manners.

Tarō Asō, who is also deputy prime minister, made his remarks during a parliamentary session as Japan starts to reopen for business after the nationwide state of emergency ended last week.

“I often got phone calls [from people overseas] asking ‘do you have any drug that only you guys have?” said Asō, who has something of a reputation for controversial comments. “My answer is the level of social manners is different – and then they fall silent.”

Critics highlighted how Asō used the Japanese word “mindo”, which loosely translates as “cultural standard” and is often used by politicians to invoke a sense of nationalism and ethnic superiority.

Renhō Murata, of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, tweeted: “Could you be any more condescending, minister Asō?” Maiko Tajima, an upper house member, said: “It’s an embarrassment to the world.”

Japan has been the subject of global speculation due to its relatively low coronavirus mortality rate, despite Tokyo, its sprawling capital, being one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

The mortality rate is around 0.72 per 100,000 people in Japan, which has had 17,000 confirmed cases and just over 900 deaths. In contrast, the rate is 59.88 in the UK, 43.33 in France and 32.76 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Experts have highlighted how Japan’s strict social protocols such as bowing instead of hand shaking and removing shoes before entering homes may have had an impact on the spread of the virus, combined with aggressive cluster tracing early in the pandemic.

However, others are sceptical as to what extent such factors would impact the spread, with Japanese scientists recently launching a genetic study to determine whether race plays a part in the severity of symptoms.

Mr Asō later reiterated his stance when quizzed by Japanese media over his remarks, stating: “We have kept the fatality rate very low, and it was done just by asking people to (minimise their infection risk).

“People in other countries can’t do that, even being forced. I guess everybody (in Japan) just took it and sweated it out. There were no fines, no violations. I believe the Japanese should be more proud about that.”