Japan, a popular travel destination for Korean tourists, has been seeing a rapid increase in Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS). This bacterial infection has a mortality rate of over 30%.
According to NHK and other media outlets on June 11, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan announced that the number of reported cases of STSS (preliminary figures) until June 2 of this year was 977, which is 2.8 times more than the same period last year.
This already surpasses last year’s annual record of 941 cases, which makes it the highest ever recorded since the current method of counting began in 1999.
STSS is a severe disease that shows a high mortality rate as it quickly worsens into necrotizing fasciitis and multiple organ failure due to infection with group A streptococcus.
Most people who are infected with group A streptococcus typically recover after mild respiratory symptoms. However, if it develops into STSS, it has a high fatality rate with some cases of death within 48 hours in the elderly.
Tokyo Women’s Medical University Professor Ken Kikuchi told NHK, “This increase is unprecedented and there is a sense of crisis.”
Japan’s Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Keizo Takemi stated, “STSS is on the rise not only in Japan but also in many other countries. It would be good to take basic infection prevention measures.”
Meanwhile, the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan continues to increase.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan from January to April this year was 11.6 million, of which Koreans accounted for 2.99 million, ranking first by nationality.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport’s Air Information Portal System, the number of travelers to Japan in April this year was 587,532, an increase of 46.6% from the same period last year (408,091). This is greater than the figure in November 2019, which was just before the COVID-19 pandemic (386,172).
The Japanese government predicted that the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan this year will reach 10 million, the largest number ever.
