All‐cause mortality and Japan's early countermeasures: Authors' reply

Abstract

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the points raised by Søren Roest Korsgaard regarding our paper on the assessment of Japan's early response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 The letter notably emphasizes Japan's mortality outcomes, suggesting a comparative success against global standards based on the direct fatalities from COVID-19. 1 This perspective, while valuable, may overlook the broader spectrum of impacts that cannot be explained without considering aspects such as excess mortality, engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the response measures implemented.The argument posited by Korsgaard, focusing primarily on COVID-19 as a direct cause of death, 1 merits expansion to encompass the nuanced effects of the pandemic response on the broader population.According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's vital statistics,