Japan studies giving the HPV vaccine to boys

Japan's health ministry^*1 is studying a big question. Should boys get the HPV^*2 vaccine^*3 as a routine vaccination^*4? On July 22, 2026, a group of experts^*5 at the ministry met to talk about it. They read a report on the history of the idea, the facts that are known, and the questions that are still open.

The vaccine has been approved^*6 for boys and men in Japan step by step. In December 2020, the government approved the 4-valent^*7 HPV vaccine to prevent anal cancer^*8 in men and women, and genital warts^*9 in men. In August 2025, it approved a newer vaccine, Silgard 9, for the same uses. This also covers the early changes in the body that can turn into anal cancer. Boys can get Silgard 9 from age 9. Boys from 9 to 14 years old get two or three shots^*10. Boys and men who are 15 or older get three shots.

The experts looked at what the vaccine does for the boys and men who get it. It is approved to prevent genital warts and anal cancer. It is not approved to prevent cancer around the throat or penile cancer^*11. For these two, there is only a little evidence^*12 so far. Can vaccinating boys also protect women from cervical cancer^*13? There is some evidence for this, but it is only indirect^*14. On safety, the experts said that a fair amount of evidence has been collected.

Money is also part of the question. In March 2024, the experts looked at giving three shots of the 4-valent vaccine to boys. They found that it works and is safe, to a fair degree. But the cost was a problem when they compared it with the benefit^*15. In May 2024, the experts agreed to look at the whole picture, including how the vaccine helps women too.

Now the experts will study the cost and the benefit of giving Silgard 9 to boys. They will look at it from the point of view of public health care^*16. They will also keep collecting data^*17 from Japan to make their calculations more exact.

1. *1 ministry: a part of the government that looks after one area, such as health
2. *2 HPV: a virus that can cause some kinds of cancer and genital warts
3. *3 vaccine: a medicine, usually given as a shot, that stops you from getting a disease
4. *4 routine vaccination: a vaccine that the government gives to everyone of a certain age as part of its regular program
5. *5 experts: people who know a lot about one subject
6. *6 approved: officially allowed by the government
7. *7 4-valent: working against four kinds of the virus
8. *8 anal cancer: cancer in the anus, the opening at the end of the bowel
9. *9 genital warts: small bumps on the skin of the sex organs, caused by a virus
10. *10 shots: injections of a medicine with a needle
11. *11 penile cancer: cancer of the penis, the male sex organ
12. *12 evidence: facts that show something is true
13. *13 cervical cancer: cancer in the cervix, the lower part of a woman's womb
14. *14 indirect: not showing the thing itself, only something connected to it
15. *15 benefit: the good that something does
16. *16 public health care: the health care that the government pays for
17. *17 data: facts and numbers that are collected for study