Sex Trade, ‘Low Status’ of Women in Japan Contributing To Rise in HIV Prevalence
As part of its occasional series on AIDS in Asia, the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday examined the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Japan, where female sex workers are one of the country's highest-risk groups. The adult HIV prevalence rate in Japan was 0.02% in 2001, or 12,000 HIV-positive adults between the ages of 15 and 49 out of a population of 127 million, according to UNAIDS. However, health officials estimate that the number of HIV-positive adults nationwide may rise to as many as 50,000 by 2010 due to "a booming sex trade, declining condom use, increased sexual activity among young people, the lack of an effective government AIDS awareness program and the low status of women in Japanese society," the Chronicle reports (Kakuchi, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/17). The complete article is available online.
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