Japan doesn't seem to be testing aggressively like some other countries, so the number of Coronavirus cases could be underreported. But I would assume the number of deaths would be harder to undercount? (Also, a government official is quoted in the article as saying there has been no spike in pneumonia cases. You would expect this to not be the case if there were many Coronavirus-caused deaths not being recorded as such.)
I'm just bewildered that Japan, which bungled the Diamond Princess response so badly, is packed with people in its largest cities, and is not under lockdown like some other countries, seems to be faring better in this crisis than other countries that have had a much stronger response to this virus. Is this a reason to doubt the effectiveness of lockdown measures that have caused severe economic pain in Europe and the US?
I'm just bewildered that Japan, which bungled the Diamond Princess response so badly, is packed with people in its largest cities, and is not under lockdown like some other countries, seems to be faring better in this crisis than other countries that have had a much stronger response to this virus. Is this a reason to doubt the effectiveness of lockdown measures that have caused severe economic pain in Europe and the US?