Japanese officials asked China to stop taking anal swab tests on its citizens after some complaints that the tests were causing “great psychological pain,” the BBC reported.
Anal swabs were adopted in some Chinese cities in January after medical authorities suggested they would “increase the detection rate” of COVID-19, experts told the BBC.
Tokyo asks China to stop anal swab tests for COVID-19 on Japanese citizens https://t.co/lAftVhJIJy pic.twitter.com/KYQ6isdAhI
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 1, 2021
“Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they received anal swab tests, which caused great psychological pain,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said, according to the BBC.
The tests are used on people quarantined or entering China, and the practice “has not been confirmed [to be effective] anywhere else in the world,” Kato said, according to ABC. He said that it was not known how many Japanese citizens recieved the anal swab test, according to the BBC.
The test involves inserting a one to two inch cotton swab into the anus and rotating it.
“The Chinese side will make science-based adjustments to its relevant epidemic control measures in accordance with the changes in the epidemic situation as well as relevant laws and regulations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbi told Japanese broadcaster NHK, according to ABC.
In late February, China denied requiring U.S. diplomats take anal swab tests after U.S. personnel had complained to the U.S. State Department that they were subjected to the anal testing the previous week. (RELATED: China Denies Forcing ‘Anal Swab Tests’ On US Diplomats)
An official from the State Department said China claimed the test was given “in error,” suggesting that it was a mistake, according to Vice. China said it would avoid these types of tests on U.S. diplomats.
In response to the the claim, a State Department spokesperson reportedly said the U.S. was “committed to guaranteeing the safety and security of American diplomats and their families while preserving their dignity, consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as well as other relevant diplomatic law provisions,” according to ABC.