Dec. 1 marked the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. While there may be more to celebrate now than two decades ago, 25 million people have died of AIDS since then. UNAIDS/WHO estimates 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, while Africa alone has 11 million AIDS orphans. During 2007, an estimated 2.5 million adults and children became infected with HIV, most of them under 25, while 2 million died of complications related to AIDS.
In Japan, the percentage of people infected with HIV is one of the world's lowest, estimated at around 0.02 percent by the United Nations. However, Japan is not yet a country that has slowed the annual rise in infections. The numbers are steadily increasing, though reliable figures are hard to come by. Japan may be one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, yet is falling far behind in testing, information and consistent government response.
In 2006, 952 new HIV cases and 406 new AIDS cases were reported in Japan, according to the health and welfare ministry, the highest number ever. Current estimates show 10,000 to 12,000 PHA (people with HIV/AIDS) in Japan. This may seem manageable, but experts warn that the number of PHA could jump to 50,000 in the next two years alone. The nature of AIDS transmission and infection means that numbers can increase exponentially very quickly.