This little piggy (flu) went to America, This little piggy (flu) went to Japan

Back in the Meiji era, before the 20th century, Japan had been closed off to the Western world. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868-1912, Japan's doors opened and have since been open. Unfortunately for Japan, those doors cannot easily be closed any longer. A staggering 200+ cases of the new H1N1 Influenza have been reported and the virus has quickly manifested itself throughout the Kansai area of Japan, which includes the cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.
Never have I heard such grief, shock and troublesome among people before about a strain of an Influenza virus. It is said that the yearly Influenza kills more people than has the new N1H1 strain, however, that has not stopped the world from staying entirely cautious.
Perhaps a little too cautious, as the Japanese have been deemed, thousands of schools have been shut down and others left in panic after the strain entered Japan, supposedly through a few students studying on an exchange at Loyola Secondary High School in Oakville, Canada. It was later noted, by a teacher of mine that this school is approximately 30 minutes from Toronto. What he neglected to realize was that I am actually from Mississauga which is a mere 20 minutes drive from Oakville. But does distance really matter in this case? What bearing does me coming from Mississauga have on one catching the virus... absolutely NOTHING!
With news of the virus spreading out of the Kansai area and into the next prefecture over, the Board of Education was not taking any chances with the virus. Teachers who had visited the States were given a mandatory seven day quarantine, verifying their temperatures twice daily and reporting it to a local health clinic.
I nearly had to drown out the noise of the teachers' room, as I would constantly here these conversations: Japanese, Japanese, Japanese, INFLUENZA, Japanese, Japanese, Michael, Japanese, INFLUENZA. I just didn't want to get involved.
I've gotta hand it to them though, they do a great job at controlling the strain and taking precautions, as quarantines were quickly set up and health checks regularly administered as well.
However, I hear the Japanese have been known to overreact a little, and I will refer you to this article as evidence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake#Post-quake_massacre_against_Koreans

On a related note, the Prime Minister of Isreal has stated he wants a change in the name of Swine Flu to Mexican Flu, as trustworthiness of pork has slipped.