The View | In the battle against the coronavirus, Japan and the four ‘tiger economies’ offer the world a new ‘Asian miracle’

The relatively low infection and death rates in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are a testament to investment in public health infrastructure, transparency and societies that prioritise group interests

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A woman wearing a face mask walks along the Han river at a park in Seoul, South Korea, on March 12. South Korea’s aggressive testing regime has helped turn the tide of the Covid-19 epidemic in the country. Photo: AP

Published: 10:00pm, 14 Apr 2020Updated: 2:51am, 15 Apr 2020

Back in the 1980s, it was fashionable to talk about Japan and the “four Asian tigers” – Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – and the “Asian miracle”. These economies were said to have a unique mix of can-do Confucianism and market know-how that allowed them to post the fastest economic growth the world had ever seen. The World Bank even commissioned a major report looking for the secret to the tigers’ success, the “East Asian miracle” study.

Then Japan’s asset bubble deflated and the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis hit the tigers. The demographic dividend of the post-war years dwindled as these countries aged. Growth slowed and the Asian economic story didn’t look so magical any more. The tigers had paws of clay.

Now that we live in a time of coronavirus, simple survival is more important than 6-8 per cent growth. And it seems that Japan and the Asian tigers have something special to show us after all, as these places seem to be doing better than just about anywhere else in keeping Covid-19 under control. This is not a coincidence.

The numbers are striking. These five economies have recorded only 384 deaths from Covid-19, as of April 14, despite having a combined population of 215 million. That’s a much lower death rate – and a lower infection rate – than countries ranging from China to the United States.

The US population is about 330 million, yet it’s recorded more than 22,000 deaths, 70 times as high. China, with six times the population of Japan and the tigers, has about 10 times the Covid-19 death toll.

Japan and the Asian tigers each have quite different systems, from freewheeling Taiwan to buttoned-down Japan and Singapore. Some have high smoking rates – which are linked to Covid-19 deaths – and some low ones. Some have higher obesity rates – another factor that might be linked to Covid-19 mortality – than others.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}The View | In the battle against the coronavirus, Japan and the four ‘tiger economies’ offer the world a new ‘Asian miracle’

The View | In the battle against the coronavirus, Japan and the four ‘tiger economies’ offer the world a new ‘Asian miracle’