The deputy prime minister of Japan Taro Aso has slammed the World Health Organization, saying it should be called the China Health Organization amid speculation the communist government played down the number of people infected by the coronavirus. “People think the World Health Organization should change its name,” Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said while speaking in the Japanese parliament on Wednesday. “Early on, if the WHO had not insisted to the world that China had no pneumonia epidemic, then everybody would have taken precautions,” he said.
Speaking to the Japanese lawmakers in the parliament, Taro referenced a Change.org petition calling for the removal of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.The coronavirus pandemic has led to the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. Japan had invested 35 trillion yen, which is equivalent to $12.35 billion, for the sporting event. Japan has reported more than 2,500 cases of coronavirus, while close to 63 people have died so far.