Syphilis Cases in Japan Have Already Exceeded 10,000 in 2023, on Track to Surpass Last Year’s Record Number

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:50 JST, September 12, 2023

The number of patients diagnosed with syphilis this year has exceeded 10,000, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases announced Tuesday.

Cases reached 10,000 two months earlier than in 2022, when the patient number exceeded the mark for the first time since the current survey method was adopted in 1999.

As of Sept. 3, cases totaled 10,110, according to preliminary figures being released weekly by the institute. The figure for the same period in 2022 was 8,155.

So far this year, Tokyo marked the highest number of patients at 2,490, followed by Osaka Prefecture’s 1,365, Aichi Prefecture’s 590 and Fukuoka Prefecture’s 588.

The number of syphilis cases is on the rise, breaking the record every year with 7,978 patients in 2021 and 13,228 in 2022’s preliminary figures.