In a decade or so, women in one city in Tochigi Prefecture will probably have a lower chance of getting cervical cancer, which kills about 3,500 women in Japan every year.
In a first for this country, the Otawara Municipal Government started a group vaccination program in May for 12-year-old girls to prevent cervical cancer. The cost, about ¥50,000 per person, is covered by the city.
According to Kenji Shiiya of Otawara's health policy division, it was former Mayor Kazuo Senbo who approved giving HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccinations to school-age girls.