Crowds flock to Ueno Park in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms on March 12. Japan has not followed other Asian countries in adopting aggressive testing to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters Crowds flock to Ueno Park in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms on March 12. Japan has not followed other Asian countries in adopting aggressive testing to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
Crowds flock to Ueno Park in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms on March 12. Japan has not followed other Asian countries in adopting aggressive testing to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
Peter Wynn Kirby
Opinion

Opinion

Peter Wynn Kirby

In its coronavirus response, Japan must not repeat the mistakes of its handling of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

  • Japan may have opted to conduct only limited tests for Covid-19 to bolster the chances of the Olympics going ahead. Continuing this policy would be foolish
  • The government was criticised for its opacity and mishandling of data after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown. It must not repeat these mistakes

Peter Wynn Kirby
Peter Wynn Kirby

Updated: 4:13am, 17 Apr, 2020

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Crowds flock to Ueno Park in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms on March 12. Japan has not followed other Asian countries in adopting aggressive testing to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters Crowds flock to Ueno Park in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms on March 12. Japan has not followed other Asian countries in adopting aggressive testing to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
Crowds flock to Ueno Park in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms on March 12. Japan has not followed other Asian countries in adopting aggressive testing to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters
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Peter Wynn Kirby

Peter Wynn Kirby

Peter Wynn Kirby is an anthropologist, Japan expert, and environmental specialist at the University of Oxford. He writes regular opinion pieces on policy and cultural issues for a range of top newspapers and magazines. He is the author of Troubled Natures: Waste, Environment, Japan.