The return from April of this government recommendation, after eight years of suspension, should relaunch vaccination against human papillomas (HPV), sexually transmitted infections, some of which can lead to cancer of the cervix in women.

The HPV vaccination rate has fallen to 1% in Japan from 70% in 2013.

"Finally, we will be able to protect the lives of young women", but "the last eight years will cost so many lives", notes Junko Mihara, a former actress turned parliamentarian who survived cervical cancer there. about ten years old.

At the time, revealing that she had cancer was shocking in the entertainment world in Japan, and she had to hide her illness in order to be able to stay on stage, she recalls in an interview with AFP.

Once in politics, she became a strong advocate for HPV vaccination and served as Deputy Minister of Health.

MP Junko Mihara, during an interview on the cervical cancer vaccine, December 9, 2021 in Tokyo Kazuhiro NOGI AFP

Each year in Japan, about 10,000 women develop cervical cancer and nearly 3,000 die from it.

Evidence of effectiveness

According to a large study published last year in the medical scientific journal The Lancet, cases of cervical cancer have declined significantly among young women in the UK since the introduction of a national vaccination program in the country in the late 2000s.

Japan approved the HPV vaccine in 2009 and it became free for girls aged 12 to 16 in April 2013.

A syringe of the cervical cancer vaccine, February 15, 2022 in a Tokyo hospital Kazuhiro NOGI AFP

But just two months later, the government had stopped actively recommending it due to doubts about a possible causal link between its injection and "chronic pain" reported by vaccinated people.

The vaccine had been taken in dislike by the Japanese media which multiplied at the time of the articles implying that it could be dangerous.

Most of the country's political leaders and scientific experts had remained silent in the face of criticism, which did not help matters.

Abroad too, in the United States or France for example, vaccines against HPV have aroused the mistrust of part of the population and led to legal proceedings.

In Japan, they have continued to be available free of charge since 2013, but without municipalities sending notifications to those affected.

"I was not afraid"

“The Ministry of Health favored public opinion rather than scientific evidence,” denounces obstetrician-gynecologist Kanako Inaba, who heads an organization providing information on these vaccines.

With more data available on their safety and effectiveness, HPV vaccines have been rehabilitated in Japanese public opinion in recent years.

High school girls in a street in Tokyo, March 15, 2022 Kazuhiro NOGI AFP

"I wasn't scared," Utako Kawakami, a 20-year-old student who received her booster dose of an HPV vaccine last year, told AFP.

"Scientific work supports the safety (of this product, editor's note) and I made my decision based on this data", explains the young woman.

She now shares information on the subject on social media to educate young audiences.

"I get messages on Instagram from girls telling me that they are now considering getting vaccinated. It makes me very happy."

HPV vaccines, however, continue to have opponents in Japan, including women who believe they suffer from chronic pain or fatigue since their injections.

Trials are still ongoing.

Providing accurate information will be crucial in reviving HPV vaccination in Japan, MP Junko Mihara said.

"I don't want young people to experience what I went through."

© 2022 AFP