Hitoshi Oshitani

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Hitoshi Oshitani
Born (1959-04-29) 29 April 1959 (age 62)
Tokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materTohoku University
University of Texas System
Occupationprofessor, medical doctor and scientist

Hitoshi Oshitani (born 29 April 1959) is a Japanese university professor, virologist, medical doctor, public health expert and scientist who currently serves as the professor of virology, Department of Microbiology at Tohoku University.[1][2] He is acclaimed and accredited with the crafting of the successful pandemic strategy of Japan called the "Three C's": Avoiding closed spaces, crowds and contact situations.[3] He has been dubbed as the global ambassador of the "Japanese Model". He is also an integral member of the expert panel advising the Government of Japan in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Despite being regarded as a prominent figure in Japanese health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, he maintains a low profile.

Career[]

Hitoshi initially intended to pursue his career in the field of anthropology in which he had a firm interest. However, he later decided to embark on a different field choosing medicine. After practicing and specialising in the field of medicine, he became a paediatrician. He obtained PhD in microbiology from the Tohoku University in Sendai. He also received a masters in public health in 1996 from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.[4]

He gained his first experience working for Japan International Cooperation Agency in Zambia as a virologist for a period of three years between 1991 and 1994. He also worked as a regional advisor in Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response at the Western Pacific regional office of the World Health Organization in Manila between 1999 and 2005.[5] He also served as an advisor to WHO during the SARS pandemic in China which emerged in the early 2000s.

In July 2017, he became a member of the Miyagi Prefecture Infectious Disease Control Committee.[6] He also became a member of the New Infectious Disease Control Advisor Team in 2018.[7] In May 2018, he became the chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Advisory Council on Countermeasures against New Influenza.[8] Since August 2018, he has been a member of the Advisory Council on Countermeasures against New Influenza.[9] In February 2020, he was appointed as a member of the Expert Council for Countermeasures against New Coronavirus Infectious Diseases, which was established under the government's Headquarters for Countermeasures against New Coronavirus Infectious Diseases.[10]

During early parts of March 2020, during the first wave of the global coronavirus pandemic he repeatedly called for implementation of the Three C's (3つの密, Mittsu no Mitsu) method as a safety precautionary measure in contrast to the other leading public health experts who were more focused on advising people regarding the wearing masks and washing hands on regular basis.[11][12] His strategy effectively succeeded well in Japan during the first few months of 2020 ever since the outbreak of the pandemic.[13] Japan was able to control the number of fatalities to a considerable number without even implementing a lockdown but the strategy later became ineffective due to the beginning of winter season in Japan which resulted in rapid surge of COVID-19 cases.[14] Hitoshi initially received widespread criticism and backlash globally for his theories and research work regarding the spread of the COVID-19 but his theories were later accepted by many of the public health experts in the world.

He also conducted various webinars and interviews giving awareness about the impact of COVID-19 and has also been an active regular speaker on the public health sector of Japan. He has also been a vocal critic of Japanese organisers over the conducting of the 2020 Summer Olympics as he publicly raised his objections over the lead up to the Olympics stating "its 100% impossible to have an Olympics with zero risks".[15][16][17]

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.jsph.jp/covid/menu1/index.html
  2. ^ "Virology | Tohoku University School of Medicine". www.med.tohoku.ac.jp. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  3. ^ Du, Lisa (20 November 2020). "He saved Japan from worst of the coronavirus. But has the magic worn off?". The Japan Times. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  4. ^ Stafford, Ned (5 November 2005). "Hitoshi Oshitani: watching out for an influenza pandemic". The Lancet. 366 (9497): 1601. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67650-7. ISSN 0140-6736. PMC 7138026. PMID 16271633.
  5. ^ Bartlett, Duncan (4 December 2020). "INTERVIEW | 'Cluster Busting' – Not Vaccine – is Japan's Immediate Medical Priority, Says Leading Scientist | JAPAN Forward". japan-forward.com. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. ^ https://researchmap.jp/read0122052
  7. ^ "宮城県の新型インフルエンザ等対策について - 宮城県公式ウェブサイト". www.pref.miyagi.jp. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  8. ^ "平成30年度東京都新型インフルエンザ等対策有識者会議（平成30年5月22日）". 東京都防災ホームページ (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  9. ^ https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/ful/yusikisyakaigi.html
  10. ^ "新型コロナウイルス クラスター対策班の設置について". www.mhlw.go.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  11. ^ Reidy, Gearoid (10 June 2020). "An architect of Japan's virus strategy sees flaw in West's approach". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ^ "'In Japan, we identified common risk factors for virus spread, the 3 Cs, basically a closed environment'". Times of India Blog. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Scientist Hitoshi Oshitani who saved Japan once battles a new virus surge". The Indian Express. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Doctor who saved Japan once faces new Covid-19 fight without lockdowns". South China Morning Post. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Virologist says Olympics could not be held in current coronavirus climate". www.insidethegames.biz. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Top Japanese virologist warns of risks of Tokyo Games during pandemic-paper". Reuters. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  17. ^ Tokyo, Richard Lloyd Parry. "Tokyo Olympics cannot be safe, says Japan Covid adviser". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 July 2021.

External links[]

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