VZCZCXRO3009
OO RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKO #1086/01 1330905
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 130905Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2916
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO CITY 0627
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5254
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9236
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 3960
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 1590
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 6290
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7762
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 4491
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3526
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 5023
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 8628
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 001086 
 
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 JAPAN'S RESPONSE TO H1N1 OUTBREAK 
 
REF: TOKYO 1072 and previous 
 
TOKYO 00001086  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please handle accordingly. 
 
¶1.  This message contains an Action Request, please see para. 9. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary: Four human cases of Type A H1N1 influenza have 
been confirmed in Japan.  While no Americans were among the 
infected, four Americans who had been confined to their Kyoto hotel 
rooms because of their suspected proximity to an infected passenger 
were released from voluntary confinement May 13 after authorities 
confirmed that the persons involved had indeed changed seats and 
were not in fact seated near the infected person.  No flu symptoms 
have been detected among ten Japanese who had been seated on a 
flight near a Chinese passenger who later tested positive for H1N1 
in China.  The GOJ may recommend less stringent measures to respond 
to a potential spread of H1N1 cases within Japan.  Japan plans to 
begin production of an H1N1 vaccine in June 2009.  Some air carriers 
noted sharp drops in travel to and from Japan.  Several universities 
have taken measures to limit contact with foreign visitors.  Action 
Request: Embassy would appreciate information about the status of a 
GOJ request to the CDC to use a CDC-origin H1N1 virus strain in 
intensified H1N1 surveillance among Japan's swine population.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶3.  (U) As of May 13, 2009 1700 local time, four human cases of the 
novel Type A H1N1 influenza have been confirmed in Japan.  The four 
Japanese citizens continue to undergo treatment in isolation at 
medical facilities near Narita Airport. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Kyoto City Health officials told Consulate General Osaka 
officers May 13 that four Americans, who agreed to remain confined 
to their Kyoto hotel rooms May 10 because their ticket stubs showed 
their sitting close to an H1N1 infected passenger, were now free to 
leave their hotel rooms.  The four Americans from the May 8 
Northwest Airlines flight from Detroit to Narita had, in fact, 
changed seats before the flight's departure.  Kyoto municipal 
officials agreed this was the case May 13.  Media report Kyoto city 
offered an apology to the four American tourists and will continue 
to monitor their health conditions.  The Health Ministry and local 
governments had also told the press May 11 that flu symptoms have 
not been detected among the ten Japanese passengers who were seated 
on a May 8 flight near a Chinese passenger who later tested positive 
for H1N1 in China.  In line with GOJ procedures, United States 
Forces Japan and U.S. military bases in Japan continue to coordinate 
with the GOJ and local governments to contact and monitor the health 
of SOFA personnel determined to have arrived in Japan on flights 
with infected passengers. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Media report the GOJ may recommend less stringent measures 
in response to a possible spread of the current H1N1 virus.  For 
example, while the initial plan was to close schools and cancel 
public events if there were even a simple occurrence in a 
prefecture, the GOJ may no longer recommend this course of action. 
Health Minister Masuzoe told the press the GOJ plans to shorten 
somewhat the current ten-day isolation period for individuals 
determined to have come into close contact with H1N1 cases.  A 
committee of experts will determine the details of the change. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Japan's National Institute for Infectious Diseases (NIID), 
according to press reports, plans to distribute H1N1 virus stock to 
pharmaceutical manufacturers in June to begin production of an H1N1 
flu vaccine.  An NIID official said the Institute is considering 
using both traditional egg-based techniques as well as advanced 
genetic technology to develop the seed virus for the vaccine.  Japan 
 
TOKYO 00001086  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
currently has four production facilities that produce seasonal 
influenza vaccine.  Health Minister Masuzoe told the press May 12 
his Ministry will decide in June on the allocation of Japan's 
production capacity to seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccine. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Officials at U.S. and Japanese airlines have told emboffs 
passenger air travel to/from Japan is down significantly since the 
start of the H1N1 outbreak.  Airline officials said screening 
procedures at Japan's airports have resulted in 30-50 minute delays 
for disembarkation and are producing a "ripple effect" that holds up 
other operations such as baggage handling and cleaning aircraft. 
Officials from one U.S. airline said the impact on operations has 
been greater in Japan than elsewhere in Asia, such as Hong Kong and 
China.  Another U.S. airline representative noted the Japanese media 
seem to focus their reporting on suspected H1N1 cases arriving on 
U.S. carrier flights, rather than on flights from the U.S. operated 
by Japanese carriers. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Keio University officials told emboffs a number of the 
University's departments have advised staff to be cautious in 
contacts with foreigners and to limit foreign visitors to Keio 
facilities due to H1N1 concerns.  A professor at Kurume University 
who returned from Belgium and the Netherlands earlier this week was 
told not to come to work for ten days, as he had visited a country 
with an H1N1 outbreak. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In a May 11 letter to CDC's WHO Collaborating Center, the 
Director-General of Japan's National Institute of Animal Health 
(NIAH) requested approval to use the H1N1 virus strain 
(A/California/04/2009(H1N1)) initially provided by the CDC to 
Japan's NIID.  The Ministry of Agriculture's Chief Veterinary 
Officer also sent letters to USDA and CDC May 11 referencing the 
request and noting the GOJ intends to use the virus strain to 
intensify H1N1 surveillance among Japan's pig population.  Action 
Request: Embassy would appreciate information on the status of 
NIAH's request. 
 
ZUMWALT