Posted on 12/15/2021 6:57:33 AM PST by george76
Japan’s ministry of health is taking a sensible, ethical approach to Covid vaccines. They recently labeled the vaccines with a warning about myocarditis and other risks. They also reaffirmed their commitment to adverse event reporting to document potential side-effects.
Japan’s ministry of health states: “Although we encourage all citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it is not compulsory or mandatory. Vaccination will be given only with the consent of the person to be vaccinated after the information provided.”
Furthermore, they state: “Please get vaccinated of your own decision, understanding both the effectiveness in preventing infectious diseases and the risk of side effects. No vaccination will be given without consent.”
Finally, they clearly state: “Please do not force anyone in your workplace or those who around you to be vaccinated, and do not discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.”
They also link to a “Human Rights Advice” page that includes instructions for handling any complaints if individuals face vaccine discrimination at work.
Other nations would do well to follow Japan’s lead with this balanced and ethical approach.
This policy appropriately places the responsibility for this healthcare decision with the individual or family.
We can contrast this with the vaccine mandate approach adopted in many other Western nations. The U.S. provides a case study in the anatomy of medical coercion exercised by a faceless bureaucratic network.
A bureaucracy is an institution that exercises enormous power over you but with no locus of responsibility. This leads to the familiar frustration, often encountered on a small scale at the local DMV, that you can go round in bureaucratic circles trying to troubleshoot problems or rectify unfair practices. No actual person seems to be able to help you get to the bottom of things—even if a well-meaning person sincerely wants to assist you.
Here’s how this dynamic is playing out with coercive vaccine mandates in the U.S. The CDC makes vaccine recommendations. But the ethically crucial distinction between a recommendation and mandate immediately collapses when institutions (e.g., a government agency, a business, employer, university, or school) require you to be vaccinated based on the CDC recommendation.
Try to contest the rationality of these mandates, e.g., in federal court, and the mandating institution just points back to CDC recommendation as the rational basis for the mandate. The court will typically agree, deferring to the CDC’s authority on public health. The school, business, etc., thus disclaims responsibility for the decision to mandate the vaccine: “We’re just following CDC recommendations, after all. What can we do?”
But CDC likewise disclaims responsibility: “We don’t make policy; we just make recommendations, after all.”
Meanwhile, the vaccine manufacturer is immune and indemnified from all liability or harm under federal law. No use going to them if their product—a product that you did not freely decide to take—harms you.
You are now dizzy from going round in circles trying to identify the actual decision-maker: it’s impossible to pinpoint the relevant authority. You know that enormous power is being exercised over your body and your health, but with no locus of responsibility for the decision and no liability for the outcomes.
You are thus left with the consequences of a decision that nobody claims to have made. The only certainty is that you did not make the decision and you were not given the choice.
Japan’s policy avoids most of these problems simply placing responsibility for the decision on the individual receiving the intervention, or the parent in the case of a child who is not old enough to consent.
Incidentally, this focus on choice and freedom was somewhat reflected in Japan’s policies throughout the pandemic, which were less stringent that most countries, including those in the U.S.
They got houses for sale? LOL!
Of course, they won't give you a visa unless they deem you useful to the country and unlikely to become a public charge.
Their standards for foreign residency visas are very, very high.
The Japanese actually make policy that is based on real data and actual observations. The CDC and the FDA are now under the control of the Biden commissars who ensure that the policies are consistent with the political narrative regardless of the facts. Its how science was treated in Stalin’s Soviet Russia.
Conversely, our standards are pretty slim. At least as far as trespasser go anyway. Guessing it might be a little more of a challenge to sneak into Japan and remain un-noticed.
Japan shows how civilized societies deal with these issues.
The US and Europe are barbaric pfascists.
For your interest.
They never arrived at their next destination. Their bosses were livid and told us we should have ridden with them. I kid you not.
We later found out that Chinese always travel in groups of two (or more) to make sure one does not defect. The best guess is that these two colluded, got off before their destination and disappeared into the underground, probably working in a Chinese restaurant. So life as an illegal working a menial job in Japan had its advantages over being a high government official in Communist China.
To Mitsubishi's credit, we closed down the project shortly thereafter. The company brass said trying to work with them was just too creepy to tolerate.
That sounds exactly like President Trump’s position, which many FR trolls are condemning him for.
I am not getting vaccinated - I think it’s not worth the risk, given that Covid19 is as mild as the common cold and the chances of dying from it are infinitesimal.
But it doesn’t bother me one bit if someone disagrees (even President Trump) as long as they leave me free to make my own decision - and that is exactly what President Trump has always done.
I have a Taiwanese night security guard here (elderly, about 70yo), and he was really not sure what to do about the jabs (he already got 2).
I explained everything I learned here (including the Japanese news/position on it).
I spoke to him about this for about 3 nights.
The night before last, he thanked me and said he was going to refuse the boosters ;^)
(btw, he said that he has lost many friends/family already from the jabs, so it should have been obvious.. but his doctor and BIL were telling him he must take the jabs to survive... o.O )
My stepdaughter works for a large telecomm company in Japan. There was never a demand or requirement to get vaccinated. It was encouraged.
She goes into work 1 or 2x a week, and works from home the rest of the time. There was never a threat to not report to work if not vaccinated.
Based on my conservations with multiple Japanese, there were lots of articles of evaluating COVID-19 vaccines. There seems to be a level of risk aversion that is not rooted in the cray-cray theories elsewhere (e.g. spoons stick to vaccinated people, etc.).
There does not seem to be a Japanese “Dr. Fauci” type person always on TV or in the paper doing spitballing. Although when COV ID-19 had more cases, the Tokyo mayor, Koike Yuriko, was on TV quite a bit.
n.b.- I believe there may be a possible genetic consideration to COVID-19 not hitting Japanese and other Asians as hard. Well, that and not as much testing and also the US is a nation of fatsos - Japan not so much.
Greets from Kumamoto , Japan . Thanks for posting this . I was unaware . Great news . My wife and I had no intention of taking the jab .
Some you can get for free in the sticks . We had ours for sale for years and finally ended up selling it for $ 7000 . The main house - huge - + a newer smaller 2 room studio where I housed my drum collection and recorded music , etc .
Thanks ! Great news .
Wise CHOICE.
So, do you collect them or play them too. Drums that is. We could get the band back together. LOL!
Thanks
I used to have a huge collection here in Japan but sold most of it before we moved into our new house in Kumamoto City 5+ years ago . I played professionally in Tokyo from 1986-1995 ( main job was teaching at Tokyo Center For Language & Culture ...Also had many private students ...) From around 1996 imported vintage and high end/rare drums & cymbals from USA , Germany and UK and sold as a side business ( main job JHS teacher in my wife’s hometown in Kumamoto boondocks ) .
Cool. Sounds like a healthy hobby. LOL!
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