A 42-year-old mayor in Ibaraki Prefecture came under scrutiny Thursday after being inoculated against COVID-19 ahead of older people, in the latest such incident that could raise questions about the fairness of vaccine distribution amid the country's sluggish rollout.
Shirosato Mayor Osamu Katono told a news conference he received his first dose on April 28 along with other town officials, explaining that appointments for health care workers had been canceled that day and that the doses would otherwise have gone to waste.
Katono also said he was "equivalent" to a health care worker because he oversees the vaccination site located next to the town hall. "If the mayor, the one who gives the orders, gets infected, it would cause confusion. I don't see a problem with it," he said.