Japan acted like the virus had gone. Now it's spread everywhere

The country garnered global attention after containing the first wave of Covid-19 with what it referred to as the"Japan Model" - limited testing and no lockdown, nor any legal means to force businesses to close.

And the patient demographic - originally younger people less likely to fall seriously ill - is expanding to the elderly, a concern given that Japan is home to the world's oldest population.As other countries in Asia, which experienced the coronavirus earlier than those in the West, wrestle with new flare ups of Covid-19, Japan now risks becoming a warning for what happens when a country moves too fast to normalise - and doesn't adjust its strategy when the outbreak changes.

A panel of experts, praised for showing leadership during the first wave, was dissolved in a political mix-up, while a much-derided campaign to encourage domestic travel began just as infections started to surge.Countries throughout the Asia-Pacific are experiencing second waves, many - like Hong Kong, Australia and Vietnam - after being standard bearers for virus containment the first time around.

"The government should have had a proper strategy to contain the transmission as promptly as possible," said Kenji Shibuya, a professor at King's College London and a former chief of health policy at the World Health Organisation. The death rate in Japan remains low by almost any standards, and the medical system isn't over-burdened - a key factor public health officials use to judge success of virus containment.But treatment won't bring the current spread to a halt.

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