Vaccine Discourse and Vaccine-Induced Sufferings: Discourse analysis of the promotion and hesitation of vaccination in Japan

The pandemic of the new coronavirus and the introduction of coronavirus vaccines prompted the production of vaccines and vaccine discourses around the world. The same situation has been observable in Japan. The purpose of this study is to discuss what I call “the social phenomenon of vaccines” in Japan. The present article will describe the characteristics of the vaccine discourse and consider the relationship between the vaccine discourse and vaccine-induced sufferings, which refer to the experience of social damages and difficulties caused by vaccines. Firstly, I will review the research method of the previous studies of vaccination. It has been shown that both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine existed from the beginning of the history of vaccination, and in that sense, the existence of both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine can be considered as a part of “the social phenomenon of vaccines” from the beginning. Inspired by the Strong Program, I will explain a method which would enable me to describe both pro and anti-vaccine without a priori assumptions. One such method can be found in the repertoire analysis by Gilbert and Mulkey (1984), who analyzed controversies in scientific research. Following their method, I will explore how the vaccine discourse was developed in Japan. The vaccine discourse in Japan is found in three different types of literature, which discuss vaccine promotion, vaccine harms, and vaccine safety. Secondly, I will identify three kinds of repertoires: “componentist repertoire”, “manipulationist repertoire” and “psychologism repertoire”. I will then discuss the features of “the social phenomenon of vaccines” by examining the relationship among these repertoires and how these repertoires work. Finally, I will discuss how vaccine discourse is related to the discourse of vaccine-induced sufferings. In conclusion, vaccination, by its very nature, cannot be separated from the impossibility of direct experience of vaccination. Therefore, the more vaccine develops, the more vaccine discourse flourishes.