Japan begins major HPV vaccine push after decade of dismal take-up rates

Thousands of lives could be saved as Japan begins to actively promote the HPV vaccine – which can prevent cervical cancer – after a decade of misinformation and weak policy left inoculation rates dismally low, advocates say.

The percentage of teenage girls getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been close to zero since the country’s 2013 decision not to promote the jab as panic erupted over alleged side effects.

But from Friday, authorities will actively recommend and share information about the vaccine, which is free for girls aged 12-16 in Japan and has been found safe in extensive trials.

“Finally we can protect the lives of young women,” said ruling party politician Junko Mihara, a former vice health minister and cervical cancer survivor.

Even then, “we will lose so many lives because of the past eight years”, she said.

Nearly always caused by sexually-transmitted HPV, cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of the disease in women globally.

In Japan, around 10,000 women develop cervical cancer each year, and it causes nearly 3,000 deaths.