The Japanese government has delivered around 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to Taiwan on Friday (Jun. 4).

Japan to transport 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Taiwan

Taiwan has been struggling to procure vaccines amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the self-ruled territory.

"There is an urgent need for Taiwan (to procure vaccines) until it can establish a domestic production system in July," Japan's foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Thursday (Jun. 3), announcing the offer to Taiwan during a parliamentary session, reported Kyodo News.

"At a time of trouble, we need to help each other," Motegi said, noting that Taiwan had quickly sent donations to Japan in 2011, following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that badly hit the region a decade ago.

Approved vaccine, but has yet to begin rollout

Japan has ordered 120 million shots of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, enough for 60 million people.

The Japanese government approved the vaccine developed by Britain's AstraZeneca Plc last month in May, but has yet to begin its rollout due to rare cases of blood clots being reported overseas, according to the health ministry, Kyodo reported.

Currently, Japan has approved Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, but the health ministry has decided not to use AstraZeneca's vaccine until the government has finished considering whether or not to introduce age limits, The Japan Times reported.

On the other hand, Moderna's vaccine, which was approved on the same day as AstraZeneca, can be administered to individuals in Japan for those aged 18 and above.

While 120 million shots of AstraZeneca's vaccine has been ordered, it is unclear how many ready vaccines have been made, according to Nikkei.

According to the British pharmaceutical, its completed vaccines can be refrigerated for at least half a year between temperatures of 2 to 8°C.

Taiwan thanks Japan for vaccine

At the moment, the Japanese government has considered sharing part of its AstraZeneca stock with other countries and regions, including Taiwan, who will be receiving the vaccines on Jun. 4.

Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu thanked the Japanese government for the shipment in a videoconference.

"We really appreciate that the Japanese government is seriously considering providing Taiwan with vaccines," Wu said, reported Kyodo.

Taiwan has been experiencing one of the biggest Covid-19 outbreaks since the start of the pandemic, and has been criticised for its slow vaccine rollout.

In May, Taiwanese president Tsai Ing Wen saw her approval rating slip under 50 per cent for the first time since her second inauguration one year ago.

Her approval rating in May stood at 45.7 per cent, down from 54.4 per cent in April.

Taiwan has also accused China of interfering with the Taiwan administration's procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, according to The Guardian.

The administration said that China had intervened in its purchase talks with BioNTech when it had been close to securing a deal for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with the manufacturer.

On Jun. 4, Tsai thanked Japan for the country's assistance, calling them a "partner who adheres to the values of liberal democracy".

Marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident, Tsai urged people not to forget those who died during the June 4 crackdown in Tiananmen Square, and called for Taiwanese people to "hold on to their faith" in democracy.

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