“Cluster busting”: why Japan has been so successful in fighting Covid-19

Japan has had one of the lowest rates of death from Covid-19, despite its densely-packed, elderly population. Merryn Somerset Webb looks explains the secret of its success.

Deserted shopping street in Japan ©
Japan: more than just social distancing
(Image credit: Deserted shopping street in Japan ©)

As of 28 April, despite being densely populated, jammed with super cities, and late to put in place only a sort-of-non-compulsory lockdown, Japan had recorded a mere 376 deaths caused by Covid-19. It’s a death rate so low that it even looks good next to Germany – which has been much praised for the mildness of its outbreak. What’s its secret?

Mike Bird of the Wall Street Journal asked this on Twitter this week. Everyone seemed to have an answer: the masks; the culture of rule following; the early closure of schools and universities; genetics; something in the water; the fact that most of the population have had the BCG vaccine; the low levels of obesity; the lack of vitamin D deficiency; the high number of smokers; etc, etc.

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Merryn Somerset Webb

Merryn Somerset Webb started her career in Tokyo at public broadcaster NHK before becoming a Japanese equity broker at what was then Warburgs. She went on to work at SBC and UBS without moving from her desk in Kamiyacho (it was the age of mergers).

After five years in Japan she returned to work in the UK at Paribas. This soon became BNP Paribas. Again, no desk move was required. On leaving the City, Merryn helped The Week magazine with its City pages before becoming the launch editor of MoneyWeek in 2000 and taking on columns first in the Sunday Times and then in 2009 in the Financial Times

Twenty years on, MoneyWeek is the best-selling financial magazine in the UK. Merryn was its Editor in Chief until 2022. She is now a senior columnist at Bloomberg and host of the Merryn Talks Money podcast -  but still writes for Moneyweek monthly. 

Merryn is also is a non executive director of two investment trusts – BlackRock Throgmorton, and the Murray Income Investment Trust.