Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Licence needed for work use Learn More

Search

 

Cablegate: Japan's Annual Report On Hiv/Aids for 2005

VZCZCXRO2153
RR RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #4425/01 2190806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070806Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5079
INFO RUEHZN/EST COLLECTIVE
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0847
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 0112
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 8649
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 7372
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 7534
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 004425

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/J, OES/IHA AND S/GAC
DEPT PASS TO NIH/NIAID WESTERN
HHS FOR OGHA BHAT AND ELVANDER

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SOCI KHIV AMED KSCA JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN'S ANNUAL REPORT ON HIV/AIDS FOR 2005


TOKYO 00004425 001.2 OF 003


-------
SUMMARY
-------

1. According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and
Welfare (MHLW) AIDS Surveillance Committee Annual Report
on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic for 2005, a total of 832 new HIV-
positive cases and 367 new AIDS cases were reported in
Japan during the year. While the number of new HIV
positive cases increased by 52, the number of new AIDS
cases decreased by 18 from the previous year. The
cumulative number of HIV and AIDS cases in Japan for a two
decade period covering 1985-2005 totaled 7,392 and 3,644
respectively. HIV has been spreading particularly among
Japanese males, with sexual contact as the major route of
infection for both HIV and AIDS. Infections of HIV
through mother-to-child transmission accounted for less
than one percent of the total cases. However, cases of
AIDS stemming from drug use hit a record high of 1.9
percent of total cases in 2005.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

2. As transmission through same-sex intercourse was the
major HIV/AIDS infection route in 2005, the AIDS
Surveillance Committee warned the government again that it
would be necessary to promote active countermeasures to
prevent further HIV infections in the homosexual
population. The committee also stressed the importance of
education, especially for young females. In addition to
Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures, Osaka, Aichi,
Fukuoka and Okinawa reported an increase in the number of
HIV/AIDS cases. The committee warned that local
governments should take appropriate actions to prevent HIV
from further spreading in their areas of responsibility.
End summary.

---------------------------
HIV-positive Cases in 2005
---------------------------

3. The number of HIV-positive cases has been increasing
in Japan since 1996. In 2005, 832 new HIV-positive cases
were reported, up 52 cases from the previous year. The
total broke the record 780 new cases reported in 2004.
Eighty-eight percent of the cases were contracted through
sexual contact -- 63.6 percent through homosexual and 24.4
percent through heterosexual intercourse. Japanese males
accounted for 85.2 percent of the total number of cases
reported. The routes of infection for the remaining cases
were divided into the following categories: intravenous
drug use (0.4 percent), mother-to-child transmission (0.1
percent), unknown (10.2 percent) and other (1.3 percent).

-------------------
AIDS Cases in 2005
-------------------

4. In 2005, 367 new AIDS cases with fully developed
symptoms were reported, down 18 cases from the previous
year. Japanese males accounted for 79.3 percent of the
total number of AIDS cases reported. 73.3 percent of the
AIDS cases were contracted via sexual contact - 36.8
percent through homosexual contact and 36.5 percent
through heterosexual intercourse. The remaining cases
were divided among the following categories: intravenous
drug use (1.9 percent), mother-to-child transmission (0.0
percent), unknown (22.3 percent) and other (2.5 percent).

-------------------------
Cumulative HIV/AIDS Cases
-------------------------

5. Since the start of the national survey in 1984, a
cumulative total of 7,392 HIV cases and 3,644 AIDS cases
have been logged in Japan. However, those HIV and AIDS
patients (approximately 1,431) who contracted the virus
through contaminated blood products for hemophilia
patients in the 1980s are not included in these numbers.
The following are the cumulative percentages of HIV cases,
listed by infection routes: 37.5 percent through
heterosexual contact, 42.2 percent through homosexual
contact, 0.5 percent through intravenous drug use, 0.4
percent through mother-to-child transmission, 1.9 percent

TOKYO 00004425 002.2 OF 003


through other routes and 17.4 percent through unknown
routes. AIDS cases also yielded similar figures: 42.8
percent through heterosexual contact, 27.0 percent through
homosexual contact, 0.8 percent through intravenous drug
use, 0.5 percent through mother-to-child transmission, 2.6
percent through other routes and 26.3 percent through
unknown routes.

6. Among the HIV cases, Japanese males accounted for 66.0
percent followed by non-Japanese females (16.2 percent),
non-Japanese males (10.6 percent), and Japanese females
(7.2 percent). Among the AIDS cases, Japanese males
accounted for 71.0 percent followed by non-Japanese males
(16.0 percent), non-Japanese females (7.5 percent), and
Japanese females (5.5 percent). Although the number of
Japanese female HIV cases has stabilized since around
2001, the survey showed that more Japanese females in the
15-19 year-old and 20-24 year-old age brackets were
infected with the HIV virus through heterosexual contact
than their Japanese male counterparts.

7. Infections in the areas of Kanto and Koshinetsu which
includes Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures such as
Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa,
Niigata, Yamanashi, and Nagano accounted for 68.9 percent
and 68.4 percent of the total numbers of the nation's HIV
and AIDS cases respectively. The number of HIV cases in
Tokyo has markedly increased since 1996, reaching 38.6
percent and 29.8 percent of Japan's total HIV and AIDS
cases respectively. Though centered in Tokyo and its
neighboring prefectures, infections have been also
spreading in other areas such as Osaka, Aichi, Fukuoka and
Okinawa.

--------------------------------------
MHLW's Response to the Growing Problem
--------------------------------------

8. Although new AIDS cases in 2005 decreased from 2004,
Japan's HIV/AIDS epidemic trend in 2005 did not change
much from the previous year. The number of new HIV/AIDS
cases hit a record high once again. MHLW has requested a
Yen 8.9 billion (USD 76 million) budget to cope with the
spread of HIV/AIDS for JFY 2006. This amount is in line
with what the Ministry requested the previous year.

9. MHLW has also established a liaison council for the 16
prefectures and cities that have reported a considerable
number of new infections. Its first meeting took place on
June 26. The council includes prefectural officials from
Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi,
Nagano, Aichi, Osaka and Okinawa and metropolitan
government officials from their respective capitol cities.
The council was established in accordance to MHLW's
revised AIDS prevention guidelines, which took effect in
April 2006. These require the central and local
governments to clarify their roles and responsibilities
and to strengthen countermeasures taken by local
authorities to fight the further spread of AIDS.

--------------------------------------------- --------
International Community Urges More Public and Private
Action
--------------------------------------------- --------

10. The international community has been critical of the
lack of concern shown by the GOJ about the spread of
HIV/AIDS domestically, even though the number of new HIV
infections is increasing every year in Japan. In a report
released by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
(IAVI) entitled "AIDS Vaccine Development in Japan" in May
2006, IAVI pointed out the contradictory nature of Japan's
remarkable lack of interest in domestic HIV/AIDS issues
even though the country is a major supporter of the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. IAVI
encouraged Japanese officials to consider policies and
measures beyond the simple provision of information and
education mostly targeted at the general public. The
international community has also requested greater
commitment from Japanese private companies to the fight
against HIV/AIDS. On May 31, Richard Holbrooke, former
United States Ambassador and President of the Global

TOKYO 00004425 003.2 OF 003


Business Coalition (GBC), urged Japanese companies to join
the GBC during a press conference held at the United
Nations. The GBC is an organization that is leading the
fight against HIV/AIDS in the business world, and has over
200 member companies. However, not one of those companies
is Japanese.

SCHIEFFER

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
World Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.