>>512856461 (OP)Japanese Vaccine Excess Deaths Study
There is no credible evidence supporting the claim that Japanese studies have linked COVID-19 vaccines to 20 million excess deaths. Multiple sources promoting such claims have been identified as misleading or false.
A widely circulated claim suggesting that vaccines caused 17 million deaths was analyzed and found to be highly flawed because it ignored the impact of actual COVID-19 mortality surges and incorrectly attributed excess deaths to vaccines without accounting for the pandemic's effects.
Similarly, a claim that a BMJ study linked 3 million excess deaths in 47 countries to the vaccine has been challenged, with experts noting that spikes in mortality closely followed waves of COVID-19 infections, not vaccination campaigns.
Regarding Japan specifically, one study published in the JMA Journal suggested a hypothesis that repeated mRNA vaccinations might be linked to increased excess mortality, citing immunosuppressive effects and other long-term health impacts as potential mechanisms.
However, this remains a hypothesis and has not been conclusively proven. Another ecological study found that while vaccination initially helped suppress excess mortality until mid-2022, a positive correlation emerged afterward, possibly due to immune imprinting from original-strain vaccines against Omicron variants.
In contrast, a study on excess deaths in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, concluded that high vaccination rates may have contributed to low levels of excess mortality in 2022 and 2023, directly contradicting claims that vaccines increased deaths.
The researchers emphasized that excess mortality trends are multifactorial, influenced by aging populations, healthcare access, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic itself.