How Japanese are living with COVID-19

This survey is ancient in terms of the progression of COVID-19, but there’s still interesting figures in this survey from @nifty conducted at the end of March into COVID-19. This survey was conducted before the Olympics were postponed and the state of emergency declared.

So far I’d put myself in the not really worried category; it is of course a serious disease and lockdowns are a justified response, but at the moment in Japan things seem reasonably under control and the collapse of the medical system seems to have been largely avoided, although in-hospital infections are a bit too widespread for my liking.

About the only thing I’ve avoided is going to the ENT clinic for my hayfever this season as I didn’t fancy sitting in a packed waiting room breathing potentially virus-laden air, so luckily first I had a bottle of nose spray left over from last year, and second an OTC version of the identical medicine was approved this year, so I could just visit my much quieter local chemist to replenish my supply.

Research results

Q1: How worried are you about COVID-19?

Totally worried	25.5%
A little worried	50.3%
Can’t say either way	9.7%
Not really worried	12.6%
Not at all worried	1.8%

Q2: What are your worries about COVID-19? (Multiple answer)

Cannot say when the pandemic will be over	69.1%
My family or I might catch it	62.4%
Economy will suffer	53.4%
There’s no medicine or vaccine for it	51.8%
If I caught it I might cause trouble to those around me	48.3%
The disease is still spreading worldwide	42.7%
I might catch it and become a serious case	36.5%
I might end up spreading fake news about the virus	34.5%
The virus cannot be seen	24.6%
Even if I suspect I have the virus I might not be able to get a PCR test	19.6%
My salary, savings might shrink	15.7%
Tokyo Olympics may be postponed or cancelled	8.0%
No particular worries	2.8%

Q3: What measures are you taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19? (Multiple answer)

Sufficient hand washing	84.2%
Wear a mask, cough etiquette	63.5%
Don’t go to crowded places	58.3%
Gargle	46.3%
Live healthy (balanced meals, enough sleep, do exercise, etc)	36.3%
Take care to use sanitiser	34.0%
Air rooms	33.8%
Try not to touch things other people have touched (train straps, lift buttons, etc)	30.2%
Regularly check my temperature	17.3%
Use an air purifier	13.1%
Each family member uses their own towel	5.8%
Commute by train, bus at less crowded times	4.6%
Work from home	4.2%
Don’t take any particular measures	4.4%

Q4: How is COVID-19 affecting your daily life? (Multiple answer)

Cannot obtain necessary items that prevent infection, eg masks, sanitiser	60.8%
Cannot just casually go outside	48.8%
Sports, concerts are being postponed, cancelled	33.7%
Difficult to go to hospital for existing appointments, etc	20.7%
Unable to buy toilet paper, tissues, nappies, etc due to lack of stock	18.2%
Getting depressed by continuing worries	12.9%
Income had dropped worsening my financial situation	11.1%
Had no option other than to revise my way of working	9.1%
Due to school issues (closures, etc) dealing with children, grandchildren, etc has become burdensome	7.0%
No particular effect on my daily life	9.9%

Q5: Since COVID-19 started spreading what have you been buying more of than usual? (Multiple answer)

Masks	17.1%
Alcohol-based sanitising liquid, wipes	13.8%
Toilet paper	10.5%
Tissue paper	6.9%
Instant foods	6.7%
Frozen foods	4.9%
Rice	4.6%
Drinking water	2.8%
Yoghurt, other milk products	2.7%
Natto	1.4%
Sweets	1.4%
Nappies, nursing care goods	0.7%

Q6: Since COVID-19 started spreading what have you been refraining from doing? (Multiple answer)

Going outdoors	44.8%
Going drinking, to parties	32.3%
Eating out	29.7%
Travel	26.1%
Going to cinema, theatre	17.9%
Going shopping	12.9%
Going to the hospital	9.6%
Spectating sports	9.0%
Going to live concerts	8.0%
Going to sports gym	7.7%
Going to karaoke	6.6%
Indulging in my hobbies	5.8%
Going to pachinko, Mahjong	2.6%
Going to weddings, funerals, festivals, etc	2.4%

The figures here exclude the 24.5% who said they hadn’t refrained from doing anything.

Q7: When do you think COVID-19 pandemic will end?

	Japan	Worldwide
March 2020	0.2%	0.0%
April 2020	3.9%	0.4%
May 2020	12.0%	2.2%
June 2020	12.6%	3.3%
July 2020	11.3%	5.2%
August 2020	12.1%	7.9%
September 2020	6.2%	5.4%
October 2020	8.3%	10.1%
November 2020	0.9%	2.4%
December 2020	3.3%	9.3%
2021 or later	17.8%	36.8%
Don’t think it will ever end	11.4%	17.0%

Demographics

Between the 20th and 26th of March 2020 2,760 members of the the @nifty monitor panel competed a private internet-based questionnaire. No further demographics were given.