Japanese salarymen on front line of AIDS battle

By Ryann Connell
November 3, 2004

Japanese salarymen from their 30s to 50s are the greatest risk group in a country which remains the only industrialized nation where HIV contraction rates continue to rise, according to Asahi Geino.

Figures the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare released late last month showed the number of HIV patients in Japan had reached a record high thanks to another 209 people who have contracted the killer virus.

"What was really noticeable about this quarter's figures was the alarming increase of teens who have contracted HIV. Another 17 new HIV patients were found in their 20s, which means they must have contracted the disease in their teens, too, as it takes about a decade for it develop," a ministry spokesman tells Asahi Geino.

While the young are definitely at risk, Shinya Iwamuro, a celebrity physician and one of Japan's foremost experts on AIDS, warns it's guys who normally wouldn't consider themselves candidates for the deadly illness who are most liable to pick it up.

"It's really hard to tell just using statistics, but the highest risk group would have to be men from their 30s to their 50s," Iwamuro says to Asahi Geino. "Last year, 108 people picked up HIV through heterosexual sex, while homosexuals accounted for another 340 cases. But the number of people who developed fully blown AIDS was 91 apiece for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Homosexuals are constantly encouraged to undergo AIDS testing, but heterosexuals rarely bother to do so. This makes it really hard to get a grasp on exactly how far HIV has spread."

Ministry officials concede this point, admitting they have no idea how many people really have AIDS in Japan and reporting only known HIV cases.

Iwamuro argues that you've got to look behind the stats to see why men in the prime of their lives are Japan's largest AIDS risk group.

"It's much more difficult for men to contract HIV than it is for women, yet they greatly outnumber them among the number of reported cases. A man has a 1 in 1,000 chance of contracting HIV if he has sex with somebody who's infected, but a woman's chances are 1 in 10. Yet the figures for the most recent three months showed only 13 women had picked up HIV, compared to 148 men. If you think about this for a moment, the actual number of middle-aged and elderly men who've contracted HIV is probably three to five times the amount actually being recorded," the AIDS expert says.

Medical experts point out that there are common threads among Japan's HIV patients.

"Nearly all the men who have picked up the virus has done so by having unprotected sex with prostitutes overseas. There aren't too many cases where HIV has been contracted in Japanese sex businesses," a medical industry insider tells Asahi Geino. "Guys can't contract the disease through oral sex and they'll be fine if they use condoms."

Iwamuro adds that promiscuity is also dangerous.

"I see a lot of AIDS patients and nearly all of them have picked up HIV through a lover or spouse. Still, nearly all of them have a history of going through a large amount of partners who they stay with for comparatively short periods of time," Iwamuro says. "Those with two or more partners are really susceptible."

It doesn't require a degree in rocket science to virtually eliminate the chance of picking up the disease.

"Just use a condom," Iwamuro tells Asahi Geino. "First as a means of birth control and then as a means for ensuring the right results in an AIDS test."

Copyright 1999-2004, Mainchi Daily.  All rights reserved.  Ryann Connell is a Staff Writer and Senoir Desk Editor for the Mainchi Daily News. No content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.  Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.