How worried is Japan about Swine Flu?

I am coming from a country with no confirmed cases yet. i am actually worried about my girl... she has a history of pneumonia last year... Hospitalize... She is been coughing on and off since she was 2 plus...

Japan has only had 4 confirmed cases out of a population of 120,000,000. Your daughter has more chance of being struck by lightning than catching swine flu.

People seem to have forgotten suddenly that there is always ordinary seasonal flu around- for every swine flu case there are hundreds if not thousands of people with ordinary flu- and there always is, every year.

There is no earthly reason that you should cancel your trip to Japan because of swine flu!

Annie,

I don't think that the chances of getting the flu in Japan or on board the aircraft is any bigger than the chances of getting it in your own country, at least if you're coming from the Northern hemisphere.

If I were you, my only concern would be that the little girl can be stressed from all the quarantine procedures at the airport, and I assume that stress won't really help to prevent her coughs.

It's up to you. And maybe things will calm down a bit by June as scientific facts are being discovered.

Tilt,

Thanks for the link. Madio said it all.

Uco, I live in Hong Kong. I lived in Hong Kong during SARS. Hong Kong is not responding to swine flu as Japan is. Japan's response is somewhat hysterical and that is neither appropriate nor a good model for a future truly dangerous pandemic.

I am from Spore... We been thru SARS though not as bad as Hong Kong but it really scary... Really bad experience... BTW... Msia has juz confirmed its first case juz days after Thailand... I guess Spore would be the next in line...

Cant blame a mother for being too careful...


Appreciate all the responses..

Tilt, I wish not to get too off topic on Madio's thread, but here goes.

As Madio suggested, I respect what Hong Kong is doing to their country, but Hong Kong and Japan are culturally very different from each other in the first place.

You can tell the Japanese people about examples from several countries and expect them to change their values in the long term. But you can't come up with just one example and tell them to change their ways of doing things overnight. The Japanese would just respond with, "Well, I can't dring water from the tab in Hong Kong."

Anyway, the OP seems to be very adult in handling this matter.

Thank you Uco! That's nice of you to say. You have posted quite a few very insightful posts, and I appreciate that very much :)
I truly do respect the decisions being made. Once things with Swine Flu settle down, and more is known about it, plans will once again be made for my trip. So in the end this is only a small set back.
In fact, because of this when I stay in Japan it might be for three weeks instead of two! Which I know will be wonderful! It will give me more time to study the culture and language.

-Madi

It is not a matter of cultural difference, nor is this Madio's thread. Can you explain to me how you see this as a matter of cultural difference? Do you really view it as necessary for people to change their travel plans or to have their travel plans changed for them because of swine flu at this point?

What does the tap water of HK have to do with anything? That seems a matter of personal preference. I know many Japanese who drink Hong Kong's tap water everyday. Personally, I can drink HK's water straight from the tap, but not Tokyo's. However the tap water of neither country is considered unsafe to drink, and the comparison to swine flu is not apt.

Sorry, this is Madio's thread, I was mistaken.

Is it true that people who are/were quarantined in hotels, etc, had to pay for that, and not the government?

Reina Jess,

I couldn't find official comments, but as far as I know, Japanese internet users seem to believe that all accomodation and meal fee were paid by the government (which is the reason these internet users are upset).

Tilt,

I have to appologize for my poor composition ability, but you seem to misunderstand what I am saying, and perhaps I misunderstand you as well, so I'm going to let you go for a while. Thank you.

I just found a relatively reliable source. Mainichi Shinbun, one of the top three major newspapers in Japan, writes as of May 10th on their official website that meals and accomodation are to be paid by the government.
http://mainichi.jp/seibu/shakai/news/20090510ddp0410400...

Btw, I think everyone who didn't have the flu have checked out by now, and those who do are recovering. Today, some Japanese high school students in Kobe who've never been abroad caught the flu and the Minister annouced that we should calm down and that proper medical treatment should cure them with no problem.

Hi Uco, sure we are probably talking past one another. Maybe we can try again when it isn't so late at night for us?

On another note, are people really upset that the government paid for the hotel bills? I am so surprised about that.

You have no need to apologize for your English, Uco.

Thanks for the link Uco! I'm surprised that they would be jealous over something like too.

Since they are making such a big deal out of it, they should be glad to have survived the "dangerous outbreak." Not mad that some folks got to spend a week in the hotel for free. It's not like they were treated like royalty or something.

It's not because they are "jealous for free accomodation." No one wants to stay at hotels like that.

What Japanese internet users are implying is that our taxes are being spent on what seems quite unnecessary. Being locked in hotels for 10 days sounds quite over the top, and indeed (as I mentioned previously) the Ministry reduced it to 7 days.

Uco is right. No-one envies the people who are having to stay in the hotels, they are annoyed with the government because they believe taxpayer money is being wasted.

As far as I know, no Japanese resident is happy with the fact that people (local and foreign) are being locked in hotels/hospitals, being media-hyped and being parted with their friends and families. Who would be happy about a thing like that? I just had to add this.

Thanks for your rescue, Sira. I feel silly not knowing your post was coming in as I was posting mine.