Fact Check. “Japanese leader” apologized to those who refused vaccination against Covid-19 and said “they were right”? – Observer

Publications recently appeared on social media, with an excerpt from an article on the website The Voice’s People, published on May 31 of this year, which indicate that a “Japanese leader” apologized to those who did not get vaccinated against Covid-19. And he did more than that.

This alleged “leader” said that the unvaccinated were “right” in rejecting the vaccine against Covid-19, which continues to kill “millions of loved ones”. In the descriptions of some publications, it is said that immunizers continue to cause “evil” in humanity and there is even talk of an “orchestrated genocide”.

However, there is no information to this effect on government websites and major Japanese newspapers. There is no indication that a “leader” — be it Prime Minister or even the Emperor — has said anything to this effect.

What actually happened was that politician Kazuhiro Haraguchi, deputy of the Japanese House of Representatives and member of the main opposition party — the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan — actually made statements to this effect during a demonstration.

At that same demonstration in Tokyo, Kazuhiro Haraguchi, who in the past held the position of Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, actually stated, according to the Arab News newspaper belonging to the Japan Times, that there were “lives that should not have been lost and were lost ”, due to the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. “As a member of the House of Representatives, I apologize to all of you.”

However, despite the positions he holds or has held in the past, Kazuhiro Haraguchi is not a Japanese “leader” with executive responsibilities in the country’s political management.

Additionally, the Japanese government continues to advise the administration of vaccines against Covid-19. On the Japanese Ministry of Health website, it is stated that “vaccines are effective in preventing the onset, infection and severe illness of Covid-19”. Japanese public health authorities also recognize the existence of side effects, but none of them that can directly lead to death.

Conclusion

A former Japanese minister and current deputy actually apologized to those who refused vaccination against Covid-19. However, Kazuhiro Haraguchi is not a “leader” of Japan. Public health authorities in the Asian country continue to recommend inoculation, recognizing the positive effects.

Thus, according to the Observer classification system, this content is:

DECEPTIVE

In Facebook’s ranking system, this content is:

PARTLY FALSE: Content claims are a mix of precise and inaccurate facts, or the main claim is misleading or incomplete.