IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i7p6220-d1115994.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pandemic Fatigue in Japan: Factors Affecting the Declining COVID-19 Preventive Measures

Author

Listed:
  • Abdul-Salam Sulemana

    (School of Economics, Hiroshima University, 1-2-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 7398525, Hiroshima, Japan)

  • Sumeet Lal

    (School of Economics, Hiroshima University, 1-2-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 7398525, Hiroshima, Japan)

  • Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen

    (School of Economics, Hiroshima University, 1-2-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 7398525, Hiroshima, Japan)

  • Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan

    (School of Economics, Hiroshima University, 1-2-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 7398525, Hiroshima, Japan)

  • Yoshihiko Kadoya

    (School of Economics, Hiroshima University, 1-2-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima 7398525, Hiroshima, Japan)

Abstract

Pandemic fatigue has threatened the efforts to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide; thus, government-mandated preventive measures have declined. The Japanese government has implemented several methods to address COVID-19′s spread, including hand hygiene, mask requirements, and social distancing. This study is the first to examine the socioeconomic factors affecting Japan’s decline in COVID-19 prevention measures. It utilized the Preference Parameters Study of the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research data of the 2021 and 2022 waves. With approximately 1580 observations, we detected a 10%, 4%, and 13% decline in hand hygiene practice, mask-wearing, and social distancing, respectively, between January 2021 and January 2022. Men were more likely to dislike the hand hygiene practice and mask-wearing and were also more reluctant to maintain social distancing. Moreover, financially satisfied individuals were positively associated with a decrease in the hand hygiene practice, while those with greater assets were more likely to dislike maintaining social distancing. People who exercised regularly were less likely to abandon the hand hygiene practices. Our results highlighted the significance of selective prevention programs targeting specific groups to promote compliance and lead to more effective pandemic management and less fatigue or discontentment.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdul-Salam Sulemana & Sumeet Lal & Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen & Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan & Yoshihiko Kadoya, 2023. "Pandemic Fatigue in Japan: Factors Affecting the Declining COVID-19 Preventive Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:6220-:d:1115994
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/6220/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/6220/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bargain, Olivier & Aminjonov, Ulugbek, 2020. "Trust and compliance to public health policies in times of COVID-19," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    2. Ewen Callaway, 2022. "Fast-evolving COVID variants complicate vaccine updates," Nature, Nature, vol. 607(7917), pages 18-19, July.
    3. Jennifer L. Scheid & Shannon P. Lupien & Gregory S. Ford & Sarah L. West, 2020. "Commentary: Physiological and Psychological Impact of Face Mask Usage during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-12, September.
    4. Emily Waltz, 2021. "COVID vaccine makers brace for a variant worse than Delta," Nature, Nature, vol. 598(7882), pages 552-553, October.
    5. Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan & Yoshihiko Kadoya, 2021. "Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Older and Younger People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Jung Ki Kim & Eileen M Crimmins, 2020. "How does age affect personal and social reactions to COVID-19: Results from the national Understanding America Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hideaki Kasuga & Shota Endo & Yusuke Masuishi & Tomoo Hidaka & Takeyasu Kakamu & Tetsuhito Fukushima, 2023. "Public opinion in Japanese newspaper readers’ posts under the prolonged COVID-19 infection spread 2019–2021: contents analysis using Latent Dirichlet Allocation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grimalda, Gianluca & Murtin, Fabrice & Pipke, David & Putterman, Louis & Sutter, Matthias, 2023. "The politicized pandemic: Ideological polarization and the behavioral response to COVID-19," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    2. Olga Khokhlova & Nishtha Lamba & Aditi Bhatia & Marina Vinogradova, 2021. "Biowarfare conspiracy, faith in government, and compliance with safety guidelines during COVID-19: an international study," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 20(2), pages 235-251, November.
    3. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Neeraj Kaushal & Ashley N. Muchow, 2021. "Timing of social distancing policies and COVID-19 mortality: county-level evidence from the U.S," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1445-1472, October.
    4. Phil-Adrian Klotz, 2022. "Leadership Communication and COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202206, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    5. Francesco Sarracino & Kelsey J. O’Connor, 2023. "Neo-humanism and COVID-19: Opportunities for a socially and environmentally sustainable world," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 9-41, February.
    6. Deopa, Neha & Fortunato, Piergiuseppe, 2021. "Coronagraben in Switzerland: Culture and social distancing in times of COVID-19," GLO Discussion Paper Series 857, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Arda Gitmez & Konstantine Sonin & Austin L. Wright, 2020. "Political Economy of Crisis Response," Working Papers 2020-68, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    8. Gebka, Bartosz & Kanungo, Rama Prasad & Wildman, John, 2024. "The transition from COVID-19 infections to deaths: Do governance quality and corruption affect it?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 235-253.
    9. William J. Luther, 2021. "Behavioral and Policy Responses to COVID-19: Evidence from Google Mobility Data on State- Level Stay-at-Home Orders," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 36(Fall 2021), pages 67-89.
    10. Alfano, Vincenzo, 2023. "God or good health? Evidence on belief in God in relation to public health during a pandemic," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. Laliotis, Ioannis & Minos, Dimitrios, 2022. "Religion, social interactions, and COVID-19 incidence in Western Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    12. Pronkina, Elizaveta & Berniell, Inés & Fawaz, Yarine & Laferrère, Anne & Mira, Pedro, 2023. "The COVID-19 curtain: Can past communist regimes explain the vaccination divide in Europe?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    13. Liana R Woskie & Jonathan Hennessy & Valeria Espinosa & Thomas C Tsai & Swapnil Vispute & Benjamin H Jacobson & Ciro Cattuto & Laetitia Gauvin & Michele Tizzoni & Alex Fabrikant & Krishna Gadepalli & , 2021. "Early social distancing policies in Europe, changes in mobility & COVID-19 case trajectories: Insights from Spring 2020," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-12, June.
    14. Yan Yu, 2022. "Analyst Earnings Forecast Optimism during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Abel Brodeur & David Gray & Anik Islam & Suraiya Bhuiyan, 2021. "A literature review of the economics of COVID‐19," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1007-1044, September.
    16. Loiacono, Luisa & Puglisi, Riccardo & Rizzo, Leonzio & Secomandi, Riccardo, 2022. "Pandemic knowledge and regulation effectiveness: Evidence from COVID-19," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 768-783.
    17. Hamza Umer, 2023. "Stability of pro-sociality and trust amid the Covid-19: panel data from the Netherlands," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 255-287, February.
    18. Monica Martinez-Bravo & Carlos Sanz, 2022. "The Management of the Pandemic and its Effects on Trust and Accountability," Working Papers wp2022_2207, CEMFI.
    19. Borau, Sylvie & Couprie, Hélène & Hopfensitz, Astrid, 2022. "The prosociality of married people: Evidence from a large multinational sample," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    20. Timothy Besley & Sacha Dray, 2022. "Trust as state capacity: The political economy of compliance," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-135, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:6220-:d:1115994. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.