To the Editor:

Re “Japan Can’t Handle the Coronavirus. Can It Host the Olympics?,” by Koichi Nakano (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, Feb. 26):

The Op-Ed’s depiction and characterization of Japan’s fight against the novel coronavirus are unfair. To start with, the government alerted the public about the virus even before the first case of infection in Japan on Jan. 15 and took proactive measures for border control.

To repatriate Japanese citizens in Hubei Province, the government negotiated with the Chinese authorities and dispatched five chartered flights to Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 17.

Since Jan. 30, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has summoned meetings almost every day, and gave instructions to relevant ministers and deputies to take proactive countermeasures.

As for the Diamond Princess, a British-flagged cruise ship, the first case of infection was discovered on Feb. 1, and that was when the ship had not reached Yokohama Port. The Japanese government admitted the ship to anchor in Yokohama on humanitarian grounds. An unprecedented quarantine operation for a ship with around 3,700 people on board took place, and the government has done its utmost despite challenging circumstances.