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I live in Japan too and just spoke with a friend who thinks government is hiding cases to keep the Olympics. Given how hard it seems to get a test (as per the press) this has some truth. People are a bit more careful than in Europe but not amazingly careful either, so the virus is probably spreading silently.

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"...so the virus is probably spreading silently"

And harmlessly? Because the outbreaks in Iran and Italy show that the virus, if not contained, will spread rapidly and start killing hundreds every day.

Why exactly is this not occurring in Japan? How do we reconcile the idea that Japan is doing little-to-nothing about the virus with the fact that the virus is not causing nearly the same level of illness or disruption as in other countries?

That certainly seems like something the Japanese government would do. Just look at the Fukushima nuclear issue for evidence of them hiding information to save face. I personally do not trust the Japanese government to be transparent about such things.

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