Japan: AIDS Awareness Falling By the Wayside

"Kids must be told repeatedly about how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS," said Chizuko Ikegami, executive director of PLACE Tokyo, a community-based organization supporting HIV/AIDS patients. "But currently there isn't sufficient education or backup from the government."

According to Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, 1,199 new cases of HIV/AIDS were reported in 2005. The number of people testing positive for HIV between March 27 and July 2, 2006, was 248. Both figures constitute a record high for Japan, the only industrialized country where HIV infections are growing steadily.

In Tokyo, 309 of last year's 417 reported cases were contracted through sexual contact. Seventy-two percent of the people testing positive for HIV in Tokyo were in their 20s and 30s. Six percent were under 20, according to the city's Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health.

Ikegami said 10 to 20 new clients contact her office each month to access information on living with HIV/AIDS. Most are in their 20s to 50s, and 90 percent are males.

Ikegami blamed government HIV/AIDS spending cuts as a major reason for the crisis, along with the lack of proper sex education in schools.

Condom makers fear the Japanese have begun to prefer unprotected sex. Toshiaki Ishii, director of the condom manufacturers' association Nihon Condom Kogyokai, said the number of condoms produced in Japan peaked in 1997 at 1.23 billion packs. In 2004, output had dropped to 677 million, a nearly 50 percent decrease.

Yorimasa Nagai of the Japanese Foundation for AIDS Prevention said education is essential to preventing the spread of HIV. Although about 12,000 people in Japan have HIV/AIDS, Nagai said, most people consider it a minor problem because they have not had contact with patients.

"There's no way that HIV/AIDS prevention can be taught without proper sex education and promoting prevention," Nagai said. "Enlightenment through campaigning is important, but adequate education in schools, communities, and workplaces is vital as well."

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