As the government prepares to roll out COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday to fight the pandemic, skepticism among some may hamper the effort.
Medical experts say that around 80% of the population must have immunity against COVID-19 through vaccinations or previous infections to reach herd immunity and start turning the tide against the virus.
Yet in a Kyodo News survey conducted on Feb. 6-7, only 63.1% of people in Japan expressed willingness to get a shot while 27.4% said they were unwilling, with women in their 40s and 50s being the most unwilling cohort.