EXPLAINER: Japan begins vaccination drive, but why so late?

TOKYO (AP) — Japan rolls out its COVID-19 vaccination campaign Wednesday after the government gave belated first approval to a shot co-developed by Pfizer Inc. that the U.S. and many other countries started using two months ago.

Some in Japan, where relatively rare side effects from vaccines tend to be played up, are in no hurry to get the shot. That reluctance could prove to be a big problem for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for this summer after a year's delay. Vaccinations are considered a key to holding the games.

With domestic vaccine development still in its early stages, import-reliant Japan faces uncertainty in its supply. It's also unclear if the already-strained Japanese health care system will be able to treat the extra visitors during the games as they juggle local patients and the mass inoculations.

The AP looks at why Japan, the world's third-biggest economy, is so late in pursuing coronavirus vaccinations.

___

WHY THE DELAY?

It's mostly because the government asked for clinical testing in Japan in addition to Pfizer's multinational tests, which did not include Japan.

Dozens of countries accepted the results of the Pfizer tests released in November and moved ahead. Pfizer applied for emergency approval in Japan in December, based on the overseas data, but Tokyo waited for results of Japanese tests submitted in late January before giving a green light on Sunday.

This all happened in two months, much faster that the one-year average that is usual for Japan, known for being cautious and bogged down in bureaucracy.

The approval process for another supplier, AstraZeneca, only started recently, while a third, Moderna Inc. hasn't applied yet in Japan.

___

WHY DID JAPAN ASK FOR MORE DATA?

People in Japan are often skeptical about vaccines, and officials felt...