Taiwanese entertainer Big S (Dee Hsu) passed away suddenly in Japan due to the flu, a piece of news that not only skyrocketed to the top of search rankings in mainland China but also prompted a massive wave of coverage from mainland media on the seriousness of the flu in Japan. The question “Just how serious is the flu in Japan?” also made its way to the top of search lists. Chinese travel operators have stated that this incident has not yet impacted the willingness of mainland tourists to travel to Japan.
Big S is highly recognized in China, and news of her sudden passing on February 2 was quickly spread and ignited discussions on mainland Chinese social media.
Her death from pneumonia due to complications from the flu has captured the attention of mainland netizens, with many expressing disbelief.
Reports of Big S’s passing began circulating on the evening of February 2 but had not been confirmed. Big S’s younger sister Little S (Barbie Hsu) confirmed the news of Big S’s passing on February 3 through their agent, stating that the family had traveled to Japan over the Lunar New Year holiday and Big S passed away due to complications from the flu and pneumonia.
Following the confirmation of Big S’s passing, the topic surged to the top five on Baidu News, topped Weibo’s hot search list, and ranked in the top five on the entertainment hot search list, accumulating nearly 1.5 billion views.
As Big S succumbed to the flu in Japan, mainland media extensively covered the serious flu outbreak in Japan since January, pushing the topics of “How serious is the flu in Japan?” and Big S’s passing to the forefront of the search rankings. Discussions on the shortage of flu medications in Japan have also been a hot topic among Chinese netizens.
Mainland media’s reports on the flu in Japan mostly gather information previously disclosed by Japanese media. For instance, Red Star News cited Xinhua News Agency’s report that on January 9, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare declared that in the last week of December 2024, the number of flu patients reported by designated medical institutions nationwide reached 318,000 – exceeding 300,000 for the first time and more than three times the number from the same period last year, marking the highest record since the current statistical methods were introduced in 1999.
Other media quoted CCTV’s report stating that after the surge in flu patients in late December 2024, some hospitals and pharmacies in Japan experienced a shortage of flu medications due to uneven distribution caused by over-purchasing by some medical institutions.
Recent reports highlighted that according to data released by Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases on January 31, from September 2, 2024, to January 26, 2025, the cumulative number of flu cases in Japan has reached approximately 9.523 million, accounting for around 7.7% of Japan’s population.
On mainland Chinese social media, the topic of “flu medication shortage in Japan” has become a focal point of discussion among netizens. With the deliberate emphasis of some online writers, photos of pharmacies with empty shelves, previously taken by Japanese media, circulated widely online, prompting many mainland netizens to comment, “Japan also faces medication shortages,” “China and Japan are facing difficulties together,” “Looks like we can’t rely on others to buy medication anymore.”
Does the severity of the flu outbreak in Japan affect Chinese tourists’ willingness to travel to Japan? A Beijing travel operator told the Central News Agency that from the morning of February 3 when news of Big S’s sudden passing emerged until the afternoon, there hasn’t been much change in the number of people consulting, processing paperwork, and buying tickets for trips to Japan. As the Lunar New Year holiday comes to an end, despite the peak period for travel to Japan passing, there has not been a noticeable decline due to issues such as Big S’s passing and the flu, unlike the impact seen on Thai tourism willingness following the Wangxing incident.
However, the operator mentioned that among mainland Chinese people inquiring about trips to Japan, there has been a noticeable increase in questions about the current flu situation in Japan. Many are asking whether it’s safe to go now, inquiring about insurance coverage, what medications to bring, and even comparing it to the previous wave of flu in China.