Does Japan have an investigation into COVID-19 vaccine related deaths?

No, there is no evidence or documentation that Japan has an investigation into COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths. The government of Japan recommends COVID-19 vaccines to all citizens who are eligible claiming that any risks are outweighed by the vaccine’s benefits.

The main site making this claim, “Reignite Democracy Australia,” primarily puts out content about the harms of COVID-19 vaccines that are not based on real data. They also share baseless content rooted in other myths such as the “efficacy of Ivermectin,” which is unproven, the “inefficacy of lockdowns,” which is false, and ballot election fraud” in Brazil and the U.S., which is also unproven.

Are there widespread deaths from the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan?

No, there is no evidence to suggest that there have been widespread deaths due to the vaccine in Japan. The WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines have been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy in humans in controlled trials and now in the global vaccinated population (in a non-controlled setting). These large studies have not found any evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause excess deaths.

The article claims that a Japanese researcher found that people who had been vaccinated and died soon after had higher body temperatures detected in an autopsy. There is no existing evidence that this was the case or that a study of this nature was even conducted.

Some of the other claims the article makes is that the same researcher and one another “dermatology expert” found that “there were significant changes to the genetic makeup of vaccinated autopsied patients’ immune systems,” that “the vaccine causes immune system abnormalities that prompt inflammation,” and that “the spike protein derived from the vaccine was found in the skin.”

There is no evidence for any of these claims. In addition, the only research I can identify by researchers with these names and affiliations about the COVID-19 vaccines are case reports, which are not controlled, rigorous studies and cannot prove causality.

Regarding the first claim, there is no evidence that any WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines impact our immune systems other than in training our immune systems to respond to the COVID-19 virus if we are exposed. mRNA is not the same as DNA, and it can’t combine with our DNA to change anything about our genetic code.

Regarding the second claim, there is no evidence that the vaccine causes immune system abnormalities or that it causes inflammation. Heart muscle inflammation, specifically, known as "myocarditis," has appeared in a small group of people, mostly men under 30, who recently received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. However, this number is very small and is the only instance of inflammation actually likely caused by COVID-19 vaccines.

Regarding the third claim, there is no evidence that mRNA stays in the body. mRNA is actually very fragile and breaks down very quickly. The WHO-approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccines introduce mRNA into muscle cells that make copies of the spike protein. The mRNA then quickly degrades within a few days. There is no evidence of spike proteins remaining on skin or of causing any harm.

Finally, if there were harmful side effects or high rates of death from COVID-19 vaccines in Japan, these side effects or deaths would be extremely likely to be detected elsewhere, which they have not been. 

Much of the false information that spread about widespread COVID-19 vaccine deaths in Japan stemmed from a questionable scientific article that was published that implied that there were widespread deaths from the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan. Below we answer some of the main questions around this article:

1. What were the results of their study regarding the genome of the autopsied patients?

The article being referenced in these false claims is "Four cases of cytokine storm after COVID-19 vaccination: Case report." Dr. Masataka Nagao is actually listed as the last author. 

The article uses RNA sequencing to look at gene expression in four patients who had recently died after getting a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (with no clear cause of death from the autopsy), compared to a control group that died of blood loss and strangulation. The authors found some genes to be upregulated and some genes to be downregulated in the "treatment" group, which the authors concluded indicated what is known as immune dysregulation following vaccination. 

2. What were the causes of the patients' deaths the researchers were able to determine?

The authors do not make any conclusions about the cause of death. In fact, in the methods section they state "Autopsies revealed no information about the cause of death for any patient, and pathologic analysis showed findings of sudden death, such as congestion of primary organs, and no information about the cause of death, including myocarditis."

Rather, the authors state that they observed this immune dysregulation in four people who died that also happen to have just received a COVID-19 vaccine, therefore implying that the COVID-19 vaccination could have been the cause. 

3. Is it possible to conclude that the vaccinations have changed the genome of the patients, as claimed in the postings?

The problem with this study is that it is just a case study with no rigorous design involved, in addition to a very, very small sample size. Case studies are, in fact, one of the least rigorous study designs As a result, it's impossible to establish causality. Consider, for instance, if the four individuals who died for an unknown reason all did, indeed, die from cytokine release syndrome (CRS_ but as a result of infection or a certain type of immunotherapy? It makes sense, then, that the authors would have found the immune dysregulation that they did, and it may have nothing to do at all with their second COVID-19 vaccination. 

So no, it is not possible to conclude that the vaccinations have changed the genome of the patients. We cannot draw any definitive conclusions from this study or this type of study (case study), they only provide us some more information to build stronger study designs off of. Across the rigorous, randomized control trials that have been conducted on vaccines and adverse outcomes (including deaths), there is no evidence of COVID-19 vaccines causing CRS.