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Last weekend I was at a Japanese history museum, and part of the exhibit was on 1600s-1800s medical technology. In the 1870s, Japan had vaccine passports and k

Last weekend I was at a Japanese history museum, and part of the exhibit was on 1600s-1800s medical technology. In the 1870s, Japan had vaccine passports and kept logs of unvaccinated people in order to track them down. It was deemed a huge step forward in developing the country. It’s interesting how some people today think mandatory vaccination is some massive, unprecedented destruction of freedom, when it’s historically nothing new and something that was essential to helping your country stay strong.

cbozeman 5y ago
Given Japan was a nation where a certain class could execute summarily anyone below them, for something as germaine as insulting them, and given what Japan did to Chinese civilians during World War II, you'll forgive me if I don't look to their 1870s ideals as inspiration for living in 2021.
- forgotmyoldname 5y ago
  Neither of those were happening in that era. They’re also as irrelevant as bringing up European colonial horrors or ongoing American foreign intervention.
  - areyousure 5y ago
    It's actually directly relevant in this context, because Japan does NOT in fact have vaccine passports today (as opposed to the 1870s as you allege). Furthermore, the reason is causally due to the behavior of Japanese authorities during World War II. See eg https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sciences/covid-19-in-east-asia/japans-covid-19-strategy/ https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sciences/covi... > Unlike in Western countries, it is not possible to carry out lockdowns or forcibly isolate patients. Due to unchecked enforcement measures during World War II, there has been a tendency in Japan to strongly discourage the government from having strong coercive power, especially from interfering in ordinary people’s lives, so as not to repeat what happened during that period. The power of the Japanese government to intervene in individuals’ lives, even during an emergency, is constitutionally and legally limited. The Infectious Diseases Control Law, for example, was enacted with the utmost consideration for individuals’ human rights and it limits the public sector’s power to intervene in a person’s life, even for the purpose of infectious disease control. Besides, tracking infected people has many privacy considerations, and it is legally difficult in Japan to use GPS tracking or credit card histories to track activities, as it is being done in other Asian countries. The government’s ability to access individual citizens’ data is minimal, making infectious disease control difficult.
    - forgotmyoldname 5y ago
      Japan is currently implementing vaccine passports. Some towns already have registration and mine will soon.

cbozeman 5y ago

Given Japan was a nation where a certain class could execute summarily anyone below them, for something as germaine as insulting them, and given what Japan did to Chinese civilians during World War II, you'll forgive me if I don't look to their 1870s ideals as inspiration for living in 2021.

forgotmyoldname 5y ago
Neither of those were happening in that era. They’re also as irrelevant as bringing up European colonial horrors or ongoing American foreign intervention.
- areyousure 5y ago
  It's actually directly relevant in this context, because Japan does NOT in fact have vaccine passports today (as opposed to the 1870s as you allege). Furthermore, the reason is causally due to the behavior of Japanese authorities during World War II. See eg https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sciences/covid-19-in-east-asia/japans-covid-19-strategy/ https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sciences/covi... > Unlike in Western countries, it is not possible to carry out lockdowns or forcibly isolate patients. Due to unchecked enforcement measures during World War II, there has been a tendency in Japan to strongly discourage the government from having strong coercive power, especially from interfering in ordinary people’s lives, so as not to repeat what happened during that period. The power of the Japanese government to intervene in individuals’ lives, even during an emergency, is constitutionally and legally limited. The Infectious Diseases Control Law, for example, was enacted with the utmost consideration for individuals’ human rights and it limits the public sector’s power to intervene in a person’s life, even for the purpose of infectious disease control. Besides, tracking infected people has many privacy considerations, and it is legally difficult in Japan to use GPS tracking or credit card histories to track activities, as it is being done in other Asian countries. The government’s ability to access individual citizens’ data is minimal, making infectious disease control difficult.
  - forgotmyoldname 5y ago
    Japan is currently implementing vaccine passports. Some towns already have registration and mine will soon.