Photo/Illutration Shoppers in Tokyo’s posh Ginza district on Nov. 8. (AP Photo)

A bombshell study based on COVID-19 antibody estimates found that the number of Tokyo residents infected with the novel coronavirus may be close to four times as high as the official figure given out by the metropolitan government.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science’s study up until March this year found that close to half a million residents in the capital may have COVID-19, but never turned up in official counts because they showed no symptoms.

The study looked at 23,234 individuals who underwent outpatient care at 14 hospitals in the capital between September 2020 and March 2021.

After gaining the consent of the individuals, a check was made for the presence of the COVID-19 antibody which would indicate whether the individual had been infected.

The study found that 3.4 percent of the test subjects had the antibody. Because those who had run fevers or been vaccinated were excluded from the study, the figure represents the ratio of those who were likely infected with the virus but had no tell-tale symptoms.

Taking Tokyo’s population of about 14 million into account, the ratio suggests that around 470,000 residents might have been infected without showing any symptoms.

The figure is 3.9 times higher than the official figure of about 120,000 confirmed by the metropolitan government to have contracted COVID-19 up until March.

“We found out that there were a considerable number of asymptomatic patients who stayed under the radar despite testing,” said Michinori Kohara, a special visiting researcher at the institute.

He called for measures to be implemented due to the high possibility that there are almost certainly many more infected people than the authorities realize. 

Kohara said the public needed to be aware of the high possibility of asymptomatic patients spreading the illness.

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