Japan to Prevent Economy Class Syndrome among Quake Evacuees

Tokyo, April 19 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed relevant cabinet ministers on Tuesday to take measures immediately to prevent economy class syndrome among people in southwestern areas of the country that were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes since last week. "Preventing economy class syndrome is an urgent task," Abe said at a meeting of the government's emergency headquarters on responses to the quakes in the Kyushu region, including hardest-hit Kumamoto Prefecture. A 51-year-old woman was confirmed dead on Monday due to pulmonary embolism, apparently resulting from economy class syndrome, after she spent the night in a vehicle parked in front of her home in the city of Kumamoto, the capital of the prefecture. Economy class syndrome is caused by the formation of blood clots in veins of people who remain in the same position for a long time, including during airplane flights. Abe said that living conditions in disaster-hit areas should be improved as soon as possible, noting that evacuation could become prolonged. Some 5,000 public and private housing units have already been secured, Abe said, calling for the acceleration of work to allow evacuees requiring special attention, including elderly people, to move to the housing ahead of others. The number of evacuees in Kumamoto Prefecture stood at some 95,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. END