I wanted to try to clarify some of the information that's being thrown around lately. I've seen many sites and telegram posts claiming that Japan has used ivermectin and crushed covid.

Let me just say, I would be really happy if this could be proven to be true! I'm totally on team ivermectin but I think some of the news is being exaggerated or is accidentally misleading.

As far as I understand it:

• Around Feb 2021, Haruo Ozaki, chairman of the Tokyo Metro Medical Association, said that Japan should consider using ivermectin.
• Nothing happened, and then in August 2021, he doubled down saying "Now is the time to use ivermectin".
• As of that time, ivermectin was authorised to be used "off label". This means that while it's not necessarily a protocol, it is allowed to be prescribed at doctor's discretion.
• At the same time, the Japanese government is going forward with its own clinical trial to establish whether ivermectin is effective. You can find the link with mixed English/Japanese here. Notice that it still says that it's in 'Recruiting' stage.

It's quite possible that Japan HAS widely adopted off-label ivermectin use and it IS working as we all expect and hope, but I'm assuming that as it is not "officially" indicated for use for covid, Japanese mainstream media are not reporting on it, and its use is not widely known among the public.

If anyone has any more information, including disproving anything I've said, please let me know / comment below. I'm not an expert, I'm just someone who lives in Japan and has been cheering for team ivermectin for ages now.

Article in Japanese - Translation below

Clusters in Hospitals: 24 of 25 Patients Have 'Breakthrough Infection' Gunma

September 22, 2021 10:07 PM

Gunma Prefecture has announced that a cluster of 25 people have been newly confirmed infected with a new coronavirus at a hospital in Isesaki City. Of these, 24 were confirmed to have been infected more than two weeks after receiving two doses of the vaccine, a so-called "breakthrough infection".

According to the prefectural government, a total of 25 people, including 17 hospitalized patients and 8 staff members, were found to be infected between the 20th and 22nd.

One of them had received only one vaccination, while the other 24 had received two vaccinations over two weeks ago.

No one has developed severe symptoms of the new coronavirus, but this is the first time in the prefecture that so many people have been found to have been infected with the so-called "breakthrough infection" at one time.

The cause of the disease is not known, and the prefecture is asking the national government to investigate.

According to the hospital, patients and staff who were confirmed to be infected have been transferred to other hospitals or placed on standby at home, and while hospitalization has been suspended, outpatient care is continuing.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

From NHK but I'll include a translation for ya

Foreign object in Pfizer vaccine at vaccination site in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture

On September 12, the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture announced that a foreign substance was found in a Pfizer vaccine at a vaccination site for a new coronavirus. The city has asked Pfizer to analyze it.

A white floating substance about 1 mm in diameter According to the city of Kamakura, a foreign substance was found in a bottle of Pfizer vaccine at the site of a mass vaccination against the new coronavirus at the city hall on March 12.

A pharmacist found a white floating substance when diluting the vaccine and putting it into a syringe, and the city stopped using the vaccine.

According to the city, the floating particles were about 1 mm in size.

The lot number of this vaccine is FF5357, but the other vaccines with the same lot number were used as is because there were no visual abnormalities.

According to the city government, there has been no information of any health hazard so far, and the city contacted Pfizer to request an analysis.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

I feel like I'm living in crazy world over here. With the exception of some of my immediate family, everyone I know has been bewitched by the covid and vax narrative.

I'll admit, back in the start of 2020 I was shit scared. Seeing images of people collapsed in the street in China etc. I was totally sure it was coming for me. But bit by bit the cracks started appearing and with what we all know now, I feel like I'm totally awake, at least in regards to covid/vax shit.

But it doesn't seem to be... enough? There's literally nothing I can say to my asleep friends and colleagues that they don't immediately jump on me for. E.g.:

• If i say "information about Ivermectin is being suppressed, and actually it looks like it has a lot of potential", they say "it's been debunked and nothing is being suppressed, it just doesn't work!". I can show them link after link but they always say it's from an untrustworthy source or the data is being presented in a biased way.

• If I say "the vaccinated people carry just as many viral particles as the unvaccinated according to the CDC", they just say "NO THEY DON'T", and again, links showing it are poo-pooed as being untrustworthy or misrepresented.

• I told a colleague today that lockdowns and restrictions that are based on vax percentage are silly because even vaxxed people get sick and can spread it around, and I was told that 1. it's not true (vaxxed people don't get as sick), 2. there's no viable alternative and 3. that doing it is "prudent public policy".

• My own father told me "Get yourself and your kids vaxxed, I don't want my grandchildren dying from it. Even 38 year olds like yourself are dying from a mild delta covid." (He didn't seem to grasp the fact that he said "dying of a mild covid")

And of course you can't tell them to look anything up themselves because you know as soon as they type something into google (which they'll use, of course), they're bombarded with a billion "fact check" articles.

I'm trying to be brave and trying to be resilient but I feel like there's nothing I can say that they can't just dismiss by saying it's not from trustworthy sources. And then whenever I mention any new stuff they scoff and think I'm a nut job. I'm starting to think "Am I just persisting with the anti-covid-vax narrative because I'm addicted to being David fighting Goliath? Do I just love being the underdog, or just being contrarian? Is that just my identity now? Maybe they're all correct and I'm just trying to make a personality out of being the opposite...". It's getting to the point of intrusive thoughts...

Thanks for reading if you made it to the end of this rant. I'm just tired of trying to wake up the people I care about only to be scoffed at and told I'm the reason people around the world are dying, and that I shouldn't be allowed to work/go out etc. How can I stop feeling so demoralised and let down by the world these days?

Article in Japanese here

While I'm super against the idea of vaccine passports, at least here in Japan they are claiming that the motivation for it is (at least for now) that Japanese businessmen want to be able to go to countries without being forced to quarantine etc.

They have an interesting table there showing the results of a 23,000 person survey:

35.9% - want to get the jab

52.8% - want to wait and see first

11.3% - do not want the jab

As someone who isn't going to get the jab I'm also happy about the quote from Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato:

"I know that there is a debate about 'what to do with preferential treatment for vaccinated people', but it is important that vaccination is carried out based on the judgment of the people. It is not appropriate for compulsory vaccination or unfair discrimination to occur depending on the presence or absence of vaccination. It is necessary to consider incentives, etc., taking these points into consideration."

Preaching to the choir here, I know, but I got a good chuckle at how quickly I got banned. Someone had commented that if the OP didn’t get vaxxed and then got COVID, there’s a good chance that they’d regret it. I said “are you sure about that? Most people without comorbidities recover from it!”

Literally 10s after pressing send I get permabanned for spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation about covid vaccines.

Oh well good fucking riddance!