JUDY WOODRUFF: A delayed response, limited testing, and a soft lockdown. Japan has been
going against the grain every step of the way in its battle against COVID-19.
But with coronavirus cases nearing 20,000, public health experts are asking whether Japan's
response and outcome should be called a disaster or a success.
Special correspondent Grace Lee reports from Tokyo.
DR. TAKAYUKI OHISHI, Saiseikai Yokohamashi Tobu Hospital: Those are PPE.
GRACE LEE: At this hospital just south of Tokyo, a rare site in the era of COVID-19,
a mountain of personal protective equipment.
Here, the first wave of the virus has already come and gone. Staff are now preparing for
what's expected next, the second wave of infections. Dr. Takayuki Ohishi is deputy director of
the facility's infection control team.
DR. TAKAYUKI OHISHI (through translator): My impression is that Japan just happened
to be lucky. We were in a position where masks were readily available and able to fight the
infection that way.
GRACE LEE: Masks may be the answer to Japan's low death rate, at least according to the
government's expert panel on COVID-19, but there are questions as to whether the country
took the right steps to battle the virus.
There's been no lockdown here, due to Japan's strict constitution, only a polite request
from the government: Stay indoors if possible, and close up shop if you're not essential.
That has been the essence of Japan's nationwide state of emergency. It was put in place mid-April.
But even that was lifted late last month.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe:
SHINZO ABE, Japanese Prime Minister (through translator): When we declared the state of
emergency in Japan, we were not allowed to penalize and force people not to go out. But,
even so, we were able to conduct the state of emergency in Japan's own way. And we were
able to control the spread in just a month-and-a-half.
GRACE LEE: Experts aren't sure that Japan has controlled the spread, especially because
of the country's low test rate. Japan has tested 0.2 percent of its population, one
of the lowest rates among developed countries. There's worry here that the virus may be spreading
silently.
Japan's rigid infectious disease law dictates that even mild cases must be hospitalized.
And that takes valuable bed space away from critical cases. So, authorities here have
been reluctant to test people who aren't in critical condition. Instead, they have opted
for a different method, track and trace clusters.
It's a strategy that experts say worked in the beginning, but has proven difficult in
the long term.
DR. MASA NUMATA, Physician: Sometimes, it's just flooded.
GRACE LEE: Dr. Masa Numata runs a local clinic in Tokyo. He's been handling a large number
of patients with COVID-19 symptoms. And to protect other patients, he's been opening
his clinic on his usual days off strictly for those exhibiting symptoms.
He's recommended a handful of them get tested, but none of them has been able to. This is
why:
DR. MASA NUMATA: If you get sick, then you have to give a call to certain call center.
And then the call center will just contact to distinct outpatient facilities.
And then they finally contact public to health center of local government. But then local
government will contact to another institution for the actual testing.
GRACE LEE: A growing chorus of physicians say, Japan's convoluted testing system is
putting lives at risk.
DR. MASA NUMATA: That's not right, because some people get serious. And I think only
medical doctors can make decision, and not bureaucrats.
GRACE LEE: This COVID-19 survivor went through the system firsthand.
DREW, Hokkaido Resident: It felt like humans were being sort of set aside and not cared
about.
GRACE LEE: Drew is a long time Japan resident who lives on the northern island of Hokkaido.
He's asked to stay anonymous due to the stigma surrounding the virus in Japan.
After exhibiting symptoms for more than two weeks, his doctor recommended he call the
hot line and get tested immediately. But he wasn't able to for more than a month.
DREW: And they just ran me around in circles, back and forth and back and forth. Finally,
at the end of like my fourth or fifth call with them, I just said to her, like, listen,
the doctor is saying that I should have a test.
You have no medical experience or background or certifications or anything whatsoever.
You're just like a trained hot line answer -- call answering person reading a script.
So, like, how can you override the instructions of my doctor?
GRACE LEE: For Prime Minister Abe's administration, COVID-19 has been a P.R. disaster.
MICHIKO UEDA, Professor of Public Health Policy, Waseda University: It seems to us, for a lot
of Japanese people, just Abe government is -- just decide on the spot based on nothing.
That was the major problem. I think that people see that, and they just keep changing the
policies all the time, and that they don't have any firm ground what this country should
do and then where we should go.
GRACE LEE: A recent poll showed that 55 percent of the public is not happy with how Abe handled
the outbreak. Most of them felt he was too late in declaring the state of emergency.
MICHIKO UEDA: The real problem is that they don't have good statistics in terms of the
number of cases of COVID-19, because we are so behind in testing.
GRACE LEE: International criticism began in late February, with the government's response
to the Diamond Princess. More than 700 people were infected on board the quarantined ship.
Criticism toward the Japanese government intensified later over another hot-button issue in the
global spotlight, the Olympics.
Abe was accused of downplaying the severity of the pandemic in an ultimately unsuccessful
attempt to keep the Games on for this summer.
Now, as restrictions are relaxed across the board, residents here are left feeling uneasy.
Many don't trust the official figures.
WOMAN (through translator): I'm afraid we might see a second or third wave of infections.
I have children, and they're currently not going to classes. But if they have to start
going on the subway to commute, I'm worried they might catch the virus there.
GRACE LEE: Doctors say Japan isn't quite out of the woods yet, and are urging the government
to ramp up testing.
Medical staff are hoping, if there is a next wave of COVID-19, it won't overwhelm the system.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Grace Lee in Tokyo.