Japan’s Delta desperation

The rising infection rate is bad news for a government that must soon face a general election.

With the spread of the Delta variant, new Covid-19 infections are rising around the world, and much more so in regions and countries with low vaccination rates. Japan is no exception. Only around 40 percent of its population is fully vaccinated —compared to vaccination rates of 50-65 percent in the other G7 countries —and its infection rate has increased sharply over the past two months. As of August 24, its seven-day rolling average of daily confirmed cases was 23,036 , up from 3,000 only one month earlier.