VZCZCXRO9379
OO RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKO #1057/01 1280727
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080727Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2805
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO CITY 0623
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5169
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9152
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 3869
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 1516
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 6202
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7671
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 4405
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3522
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4946
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 8624
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/USFJ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001057 
 
DEPT FOR OES/IHB AMBASSADOR LOFTIS 
DEPT FOR EAP/J, EAP/EX, CA 
USDA PASS TO APHIS, FAS FOR BURDETT 
HHS PASS TO CDC 
HHS FOR OGHA 
DEPT PASS TO AID/GH/HIDN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU AEMR AESC CASC KFLO TBIO KSAF KPAO PREL PINR
AMGT, MG, EAGR, JA 
SUBJECT: MGSF01 May 8 UPDATE ON JAPAN'S RESPONSE TO H1N1 OUTBREAK 
 
REF: A) TOKYO 965; B) TOKYO 982; C) TOKYO 993; D)TOKYO 1008; E)TOKYO 
1024; F)TOKYO 1030; G)TOKYO 1043 
 
TOKYO 00001057  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
This Message is Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please handle 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: No human cases of Type A H1N1 influenza have been 
confirmed in Japan.  The Chief Cabinet Secretary said the GOJ has no 
current plans to take additional steps should the WHO raise its 
pandemic alert level to Phase Six.  A 6-year-old boy living in 
Chicago is the first Japanese citizen confirmed to have been 
infected with the H1N1 virus.  A Japanese boy in Hokkaido who 
visited the U.S. in April and showed flu symptoms May 7 was later 
determined not to be infected with H1N1.  Some local health centers 
are having difficulty contacting passengers who arrived from the 
U.S., Canada, and Mexico in the past 10 days to monitor their health 
per Health Ministry instructions.  A public event at Marine Corps 
Air Station Iwakuni attracted a record crowd despite H1N1 concerns. 
The Agriculture Minister said Japan is not considering closing its 
market to pork imports in the wake of reports H1N1 has infected pigs 
in Canada.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) As of May 8, 2009 1700 local time, no human cases of the 
novel Type A H1N1 influenza have been confirmed in Japan. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Asked about Japan's reaction to the possibility of the WHO 
raising its pandemic alert level to Phase Six, Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Kawamura told the press "the GOJ has no plans at this 
moment to take additional steps in such an event" and added the GOJ 
will continue the current enhanced quarantine procedures in place at 
ports of entry.  An official at Japan's National Institute for 
Infectious Diseases (NIID) said May 8 that the GOJ should prepare 
hospitals and other facilities for an eventual H1N1 outbreak in 
Japan.  The NIID official also noted the institute received the H1N1 
virus stock from the CDC and passed genetic exam kits to local 
health research institutes to enable local confirmation of the H1N1 
virus. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Foreign Minister Nakasone told the press May 8 that a 
6-year-old Japanese boy living in Chicago is the first Japanese 
national confirmed to have been infected with the H1N1 virus.  The 
boy was hospitalized in Chicago May 5 and was confirmed with the 
H1N1 virus May 7.  Media reported the boy is recovering and none of 
his family members are infected with the H1N1 virus. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A Japanese boy who was hospitalized in Hokkaido May 7 with 
serious flu symptoms and had visited the U.S. April 17 to 30, later 
tested negative for H1N1 infection, according to media reports. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Health Ministry officials confirmed they are requiring 
local health centers to contact passengers who arrived from the 
U.S., Canada, and Mexico within the past 10 days to monitor their 
health condition.  According to officials, arriving passengers are 
required to complete questionnaires that include contact information 
in Japan.  However, some local health offices report they are having 
difficulty implementing the policy. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Officers at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni said a 
May 5 public event attracted a record 275,000 attendees, despite 
calls from a local organization for the Marine Corps to cancel the 
event due to H1N1 concerns.  Some local reports attribute the 
increase in visitors to discounted expressway tolls established for 
the recent Golden Week holiday as part of the GOJ's economic 
stimulus measures. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001057  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Responding to reports Canadian pigs have been infected 
with the H1N1 virus, Agriculture Minister Ishiba told the press May 
8 that "Japan is not considering closing its market to pork imports 
at the moment."  Fifteen pigs imported to Japan from Canada are 
currently undergoing testing at an animal quarantine station, 
according to media reports. 
 
ZUMWALT