50% of COVID experts in Japan have been slandered, some threatened: survey

TOKYO -- Half of Japan's researchers specializing in the coronavirus have experienced slander and other attacks, a survey released in a scientific paper this month has revealed.

The research group led by Mikihito Tanaka, a professor at the Faculty of Political Economics and Science at Waseda University, surveyed the specialists for what is believed to be the first revelation of realities regarding attacks on experts who convey scientific information about the coronavirus in Japan.

The group scoured television and newspapers from between February 2020 and March 2021 for comments by Japanese COVID-19 specialists, from whom they selected 121. Responses were received from 42, a rate of 34.7%.

Regarding the frequency of attacks after they had published COVID-19-related information, 21, or 50% of respondents, said they'd been attacked, with six saying that the attacks took place around when the information was published and another 15 saying the attacks "sometimes" happened.

Regarding the negative effects the attacks, including comments on social media, have had on the specialists themselves or their families, 12, or 29%, said there had been none. Of the 29 who said there was, around 80% maintained there had been psychological and emotional impacts. In severe cases, three specialists had received death threats and two had received threats of physical or sexual violence.

A similar situation is already known to have been faced by COVID-19 researchers overseas. A survey covering seven countries and regions including the United States, Britain and Taiwan found that 47 of 321, or 15%, of specialists whose comments were carried by mass media and other channels had received death threats, while 72, or 22% reported threats of physical or sexual violence.

"Physical and psychological intimidation merely hinders healthy debate in society. We need a system that can, among other things, systematically support and protect those who are willing to openly undertake discussions about science too," Tanaka pointed out.

The findings were published in the May edition of the Journal of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence.

(Japanese original by Sooryeon Kim, Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Department)