Watching CNN report on the coronavirus in Tokyo is it fake news?

Claims that the numbers are rising is true only because testing is increasing. Yes CNN, this is obvious and more testing means more cases, but it only gets relevant when hospitals are choked up and fatalities rise dramatically.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, and early on Japanese have instituted a number of measures to suppress the spread; canceling all sporting events, limiting public gatherings, closure of schools, and asking people to work from home.

While they cannot do an official lockdown they have discouraged people from being relaxed about the immediate pressures of being in a large city and trying to control a widespread pandemic.

At the same time, corporate Japan has a mind of its own, almost 25% of the population is 65 years or more, and stuck in their ways, many superstitious or fatalistic. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.

Japan is bracing itself for an “explosion” a word already being used in politics to describe the rising number of cases. But if anyone can handle pressures in difficult times, the Japanese can.

This is a nation of compassionate and respectful people who have a work ethic and a strong sense of cultural dignity. It isn’t helpful when CNN reports information in order to heighten the level of fear.

In times of serious crisis news, the focus should be on helping people understand how to protect themselves, and not inciting raging fear.