Over the past two weeks, the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess has been thrown into the international limelight. During the 14-day quarantine period imposed by the Japanese government, infected cases on the ship continued to grow. This has raised doubt about the effectiveness of the quarantine measures taken on the ship.

Most notably, criticisms have witnessed a marked increase since Professor Kentaro Iwata, a Japanese infectious diseases specialist, published a video after visiting the ship and painted a rather bleak picture of the infection control measures taken on the ship, describing them as "completely chaotic." He hinted that the insufficient quarantine measures on the ship had made it a fertile breeding ground for the spread of the virus.

In an interview with CGTN's Dialogue program, Masuzoe Yōichi, former Japanese minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, who shares a close personal relationship with Iwata, agreed with the professor's assessment.

"The problem is, it is such a big ship; it's almost impossible to clearly define the zone," said Masuzoe, echoing Iwata's observation that uninfected and infected passengers on board were not fully separated. Another issue he brought up in the interview was the inadequate protective measures taken by the crew members who had been serving the passengers throughout the quarantine, which many believe increased the chance of infection.

"There are many problems that (the) Japanese government should have improved, but unfortunately it's too late," he concluded.

Another concern that has emerged as passengers tested negative for the COVID-19 started to disembark from the ship is that some of them may in reality be carrying the virus albeit the negative test results. The fact that they are allowed by the government to take public transport and go about their own businesses after disembarking means they could potentially spread the virus further to the communities.

However, Masuzoe didn't think that posed as the biggest challenge for Japan. The fact that the cases of the COVID-19 have emerged across the country with more than 80 people infected within the country is something more alarming to him. He added that some people may have been infected without the authorities knowing.

Therefore, despite all the challenges and complexity surrounding the disease, Masuzoe believed that the Japanese government should have responded to the outbreak better, a sentiment that has been widely shared among the Japanese public. 

Now, with the current situation, some worry that a crisis might be looming for Japan which is gearing up to host the much-anticipated 2020 Olympics in months' time.

So what measures should be taken next?

Masuzoe said Japan could take a leaf from China's book – one measure he proposed is to distinguish patients with mild symptoms from more severe ones and treat them in different ways. More specifically, he believes patients with more severe symptoms should be treated at hospitals while those with mild symptoms could self-quarantine at home, a policy that was taken in China's Wuhan City, the epicenter of the outbreak in the country. In this way, he believes that the government can make sure that medical facilities do not get overwhelmed.

In contrast to the criticisms that the Japanese government has received domestically, in China, where the COVID-19 originated, over the course of the past month, the medical support given by the Japanese government has made quite a wave on China's social media, with many netizens expressing appreciation for the Japanese government's support. In the wake of the increasing infection cases in Japan, China has now started to donate testing kits and medical supplies to Japan.

Therefore, during the TV discussion, Masuzoe highlighted the importance of international cooperation in fighting this epidemic. "Both countries and the other countries internationally should cooperate to win this 'war'," he said.

"Dialogue with Yang Rui" is a prime time English-language daily talk show on CGTN. The 30-minute program covers a wide range of domestic and international topics, providing a balanced and critical perspective on current affairs and analysis within the framework of cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary comparisons.

Schedule: Monday-Sunday

Time (GMT): 03:30, 11:30, 19:30

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)