The ‘Japan model’ that tackled coronavirus

Much public debate in Japan had turned on cultural factors — such as high standards of hygiene, obedience to government requests and even claims that the lack of aspirated consonants in the Japanese language reduces the spread of virus droplets. But local experts do not believe their country has any magic power to defeat the virus. Instead they point to three more prosaic factors: a special contact-tracing strategy, early awareness that brought a positive reaction from the Japanese public and the timely declaration of a state of emergency.