Japan was among the first countries to report cases of Covid-19 after the world was alerted to the virus in December 2019. But just over a year later, it is the last major economy to deploy a vaccine – a measure widely acknowledged as the best hope for a return to something resembling normal life.
The first round of jabs is not expected to begin in Japan until the end of February, months after the US and UK – which have recorded far higher death tolls and caseloads – began their vaccination programmes.
On explaining the apparent lack of urgency, officials have pointed to Japan’s relative success in averting a catastrophic outbreak, with 373,000 cases and 5,300 deaths recorded to date.
But getting the vaccine into arms has also been delayed by clinical trials involving Japanese people that must be completed before it can be approved, and a history of vaccine hesitancy among large sections of the public.
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