Japan is amid a strenuous survival race battling with the deadly China-born epidemic. The Tokyoites are paying high prices for the urban-life benefits they have come to live for, now unable to get even a step out of town to pass the upcoming Golden Week elsewhere. For, Governor Koike is adamant in keeping the citizens at home, the nearby prefectures nearly refusing ‘alien’ plate numbers crossing the borders.

It’s a relief that the Japanese, quite liberal otherwise, are strangely meticulous in abiding by the rules and regulations and, further, highly sensitive to sanitation. As many as 70% of the population now abide by the Prime Minister’s call to cut 80% of outings; the customers at grocery shops never fail to cleanse hands with handy alcohol sprays placed everywhere.

So, Japan is relatively safe and sound so far as fatalities data go. Such national traits seem to account for the relatively calm and less pressing situation crisis in this country, unlike in New York where infection/death rates are sky-high.

A closer look does reveal, however, that Tokyo’s metropolis-run hospitals are partly clusterized due to the shortage of medical staff and equipment. But then, the day’s (April 22) number of those found positive marked mild 132 – a lot fewer than in New York where it ran into thousands the same day.

The situation in the US is alarming. Over 800 thousand are found positive as of April 22 out there. That’s bad enough; worse still is the overall fatalities aggregating 45 thousand as of the day. Compare those with the corresponding figures here in Japan: 12 thousand positive and 320 dead.

It is unlikely that coronavirus is harsher there and tenderer here, no. Are there any differences in working out the data? Unlikely. Then, what accounts for the staggering difference in fatalities? Let’s admit that the eventual level of fatality is what counts.

Let’s presume the current trends drag on till the virus varnishes, Japan maintaining the relatively mild fatalities throughout. There are a few things that stand out to highlight the Japanese style of living.

Firstly, the Japanese are born and raised to take a bath every day and change underwears daily.

Secondly, the Japanese can never think of walking in and out of the house with the shoes on, much less walking right into the bedroom – of all places.

Thirdly, the Japanese are traditionally aware of social distancing in daily life. People do not shake hands but bow to start off the conversation, maintaining a comfortable distance unaware.

Lastly, the Japanese have numerous ways of maintaining a higher level of public sanitation. The most notable of all may be what is called Oshibori or wet (hot and cool) towel offered at most eating joints. The less sanitary-minded Chinese are in the habit of using the towel to clean behind the ears and even their shoes.

All said, the current battle against the coronavirus could ironically turn out to be a rare occasion to show off Japan’s sanitation-minded style of life. Should some Japanese medical brains hopefully come up with the first vaccine against the coronavirus, the world would take a second look at Japan and her virtues.

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