The government will begin to reconsider whether to resume the strong recommendation of a vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Norihisa Tamura has said.
Government endorsement of the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine was halted eight years ago.
Each year, about 10,000 women in Japan are diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 2,800 die from it. Even if found in the early stages, the disease can cause serious consequences, even necessitating a hysterectomy.
The HPV vaccine was made a regular inoculation in April 2013, available to girls from the sixth grade of primary school through the first year of high school, with all three doses free of charge in principle.
However, after a series of reports of suspected side effects such as total body pain, the government decided to temporarily suspend its recommendation of the vaccine in June of that year.
As a result, the HPV vaccination rate in Japan has remained at extremely low levels. According to the ministry, the rate was only 0.8% as of 2018. In comparison, vaccination rates are very high in other developed countries, reaching 82% in Britain and 80% in Australia.
A working group within the Liberal Democratic Party urging the resumption of active recommendation of the vaccine submitted a written request during visits to the Prime Minister's Office and other locations on Monday. Tamura made the announcement on Tuesday.
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