TOKYO (AP), Japan will send another 1.1 Million AstraZeneca vaccines to Taiwan this week. This is in support of Taiwan's worst COVID-19 epidemic and a fight to get vaccines.Taiwan, which was hit by a few deaths prior to the outbreak, now has more than 700. Authorities reported 29 new cases on Tuesday, and 17 deaths.Toshimitsu, Japan's Foreign Minister, stated Tuesday that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be shipped to Taiwan on Thursday. This comes a month after Japan donated 1.24 million AstraZeneca dosages.Many countries are having difficulty getting vaccines because manufacturers have been slow in scaling up production. Taiwan blames China for interfering with its efforts to purchase vaccines. Although the self-governing island is working on its own vaccines, approval is still pending.Japan is currently inoculating its citizens with foreign Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, but does not plan to use AstraZenecas. These Japanese-made vaccines are licensed.Japan donated 1,000,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia under bilateral agreements. Similar shipments are planned later in the month for Thailand and Philippines.Motegi stated that Japan will also donate 11 million doses of vaccines to Southeast Asia, Pacific Island nations via COVAX, the global initiative for providing vaccines to low-income countries. This was in addition to Motegi's announcement from mid-July.This is part of Japan’s promise to donate 30,000,000 doses of vaccine via COVAX and other channels.As China puts pressure on Taiwan, Tokyo's donations to Taiwan are also a sign of its support. Japan does not have diplomatic ties with China as part of the one-China strategy, but has increased security and economic ties.Motegi, who spoke Tuesday about Japan's friendship with Taiwan, expressed his gratitude for Taipeis support during the 2011 tsunami.
