Thanks Koir and Troo for your responses. . . I feel like I'm being silly for worrying, but that response from our friend (how he had to decline) really got to me. It's so silly because I'm not afraid of the actual virus at all, being that it seems to be mild and so many people die from regular influenza every year. I'm more afraid of the social backlash.
Also we're still seeing a lot of Japanese tourists here in Hawaii, so they can't be that scared, right?
Anyway, thanks again. I know Japan will be so awesome that these worries will seem very small.
