Are Japanese people made to believe that coronavirus and monkeypox exist, while they are actually fabricated diseases? No, that's not true: Both COVID-19 and monkeypox are confirmed illnesses recognized by global health organizations and scientific research.
The claim appeared on a video (archived here) on TikTok on January 31, 2024, under the title (translated from Japanese to English by Lead Stories staff) "Japan will perish due to your indifference." The screenshot contained various claims regarding different subjects. One of them was that:
The coronavirus and monkeypox are fabricated.
This is what the claim looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Feb 12 14:11:39 2024 UTC)
The World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare all provide updates and information regarding COVID-19 and monkeypox in Japan.
Specifically, the WHO offers detailed reports (archived here), of monkeypox (also referred to as mpox) cases worldwide, with statistics indicating 225 confirmed cases in Japan between January 1, 2022, and September 11, 2023, as documented on page 16 of the downloadable report.
The National Institute of Infectious Disease reports (archived here) that in Japan in July 2022 (30th week), the first case of monkeypox was recorded in an adult male with a history of overseas travel. Subsequently, the number of cases increased, primarily among individuals with no travel history. The incidence peaked twice, in the 11th and 19th weeks of 2023, before gradually declining. Sporadic cases continue to be reported, particularly in urban centers. The report indicates that by the 38th week of 2023, a total of 205 cases had been reported. The majority of cases were observed in men in their 40s, as of October 31, 2023.
The most recent update from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (archived here) confirms that the initial case was recorded on July 25, 2022, in Japan. Incidences have persisted into 2023, with a total of 240 cases confirmed as of February 16, 2024, representing an increase of three cases compared to the previous week's tally.
Information on the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan is provided by the WHO (archived here) the National Institution of Infectious Disease (archived here ) and the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (archived here).
As of February 17, 2024, 33,803,572 Japanese have caught COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and 74,694 have died, according to Worldometer, which aggregates information from the local, regional and national authorities.
