Tokyo has urged Beijing to stop doing anal swab tests for Japanese citizens for Covid-19 because the procedure causes psychological pain, a government spokesman said.
The general secretary of Japan, Katsunobu Kato, said that the government had not received a reply that Beijing would change the testing procedure, so Japan would continue to ask China to change the way of testing.
“Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they had received anal lick tests, which caused a lot of psychological pain,” Kato said at a news conference.
It was not known how many Japanese citizens had received such tests for the coronavirus, he said.
Some Chinese cities use samples taken from the anus to detect potential coronavirus infections, as China has stepped up the investigation to make sure no possible infection is missed. In January, state television said the swindlers were being used to test those who saw China as at high risk of contracting coronavirus.
Asked about the complaint, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing’s testing methods were “scientifically based” and “in line with changes in the epidemic situation as well as applicable laws and regulations”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry last month denied that US diplomats in the country had to conduct anal swab tests for Covid-19, after media reports that some had complained about the procedure.
Tests using anal swabs can avoid missing infections, as viral spores in stool samples or anal swabs can remain detectable longer than in the respiratory tract, Li Tongzeng, a doctor in respiratory diseases in Beijing, told state television in January.
Stool tests can also be more effective in finding infections in children and infants, as their waste has a higher virus load than adults, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said in an article published last year.