Number of HIV carriers from the AIDS Control Promotion Council's report. The number of carriers is the accumulated total from 1985 to November 2009. 21% of HIV carriers and 20% of AIDS patients in Japan are foreigners living in Japan. Please also refer to Japanese HIV Carriers.

From Wikipedia:

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. It is often referred to as "AIDS virus" but this is not its official name.

By using HIV vaccines properly, it is possible to suppress the growth of HIV and it effective, to a certain degree, in recovering the patient's immune system and to delay the progression of the disease. Today, HIV infection is becoming a disease that can be controlled over a long period of time.

As above, the situation in which HIV progresses and opportunistic infections appear from decline in the number of immune cells is referred to as AIDS. It was once said to be a deadly disease but due to the progress in therapeutic drugs, patients are able to experience longer life expectancy.

The number of HIV carriers per 100 thousand population is greatest in Tokyo with 34.7. Following Tokyo are Ibaraki (14.9), Osaka (14.5), Nagano (11.7), Yamanashi (10.6) and Tochigi (9.3). Tokyo, ranked first, has more than twice the number of HIV carriers per 100 thousand population compared to Ibaraki ranked second.

The correlative ranking shows that it is highly correlated with urban-type rankings, such as average commercial land prices, Railway Passenger Transport and artists and talents, indicating that HIV is prevalent in urban areas.

Nagano, Yamanashi and Tochigi, ranked high, are ranked lower in Japanese HIV Carriers. The number of foreign HIV carriers in Japan seems to be boosting the total number of HIV carriers.