Study: Omicron may be less pathogenic than Delta

The group is led by Associate Professor Sato Kei of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Medical Science and Professor Fukuhara Takasuke of Hokkaido University's Graduate School of Medicine.
The research results have been released online.
The group's studies compared Omicron with the Delta variant and an early pandemic coronavirus.
The group says Delta and the early strain in cell cultures broke up infected cells and induced cell-cell fusions, but Omicron did not show such fusions.
The group also infected hamsters with each of the three viruses.
The researchers say those infected with Delta or the early strain showed weight loss, exacerbation of pneumonia or bleeding in the lung.
By contrast, they say hamsters infected with Omicron did not show such weight change, and their pneumonia did not become serious.
The researchers say the findings about Omicron in their study are just those in an experimental animal model. But they say the results suggest that symptoms of the variant may be milder than Delta and others.
Fukuhara warns people to remain on alert for Omicron as well because it can cause pneumonia and the number of people in serious condition may increase if it spreads.

Kyodo - May 22
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 struck Fukushima and other prefectures in Japan's east and northeast on Sunday, but there was no threat of a tsunami, the country's weather agency said.

NHK - May 22
Researchers in Japan say the percentage of people who develop aftereffects from the coronavirus Omicron variant is about one-tenth of the level among those infected with other variants.

Wahoo Newspaper - May 21
Every spring, crowds flock to admire Japan's cherry blossom — a dazzling pink and white bloom that has been revered in the country for more than a thousand years. But the world-famous sakura plants are flowering much earlier than normal due to human-induced climate change, a new study has found.

AsiaNews - May 20
Municipalities in Kanagawa Prefecture are likely to discard a large amount of vaccine for the novel coronavirus, as the expiration date is approaching on some of their Moderna vaccine from the United States.

NHK - May 19
Japan's nuclear regulator has approved a plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.

ONLY in JAPAN - May 17
Japan’s tallest - yet unnamed - building will be completed in 2023 in the Azabudai area of Tokyo.

Nikkei - May 16
Japan, the U.S., South Korea and four other APEC members have agreed to make personal data transfer rules independent of the regional forum's current framework in a move to exclude China and Russia.

ANI News - May 14
Japan's Yaskawa company has developed an industrial robot with artificial intelligence which determines the color and shape of the objects and transports them to their correct position.

NHK - May 13
An international group of astronomers, with the participation of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, says it has captured the first image of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Hazegrayart - May 13
Kankoh-maru is a single-stage reusable orbital passenger aircraft is a proposed vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL), single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO), reusable launch system that has been studied by the Japanese Rocket Society since 1993.

Kyodo - May 11
East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will carry out test runs of automated trains with passengers aboard on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line for two months starting around October.

Japan Timesj - May 08
Around 10% of people admitted to hospitals due to coronavirus symptoms continued to suffer from aftereffects a year after they were discharged, a recent survey compiled by a health ministry research group showed.

Japan Times - May 07
The number of probable cases of children with acute severe hepatitis in Japan has reached seven, the health ministry said Friday.

Kyodo - May 05
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 jolted Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures near Tokyo on Thursday, but no tsunami occurred, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Factsopedia - May 05
Every culture is different. Every country is unique. As a result: Things are commonplace in one corner of the world might seem peculiar to people from another. These are 20 things that can be seen anywhere but in Japan!

medium.com - May 01
From June 2022, revisions to Japan’s Law on Welfare and Management of Animals will go into effect and make microchipping of dogs and cats mandatory.