MFJ Lunch Seminar : Japanese Economy and Society - Who Trusts the Government to Handle COVID-19? Evidence from Panel Surveys in Japan

With the generous support of CCIFJ. Patronage: French Embassy / Institut Français in Japan

While Japan has recorded fewer casualties from COVID-19 than many other democracies, the government's handling of the pandemic has been routinely criticized. In this presentation,Mr. McElwain explores results from six public opinion surveys that the research team has conducted since March 2020. Themes that will be examined include: 1) differences in the evaluations of central versus local government performance; 2) how views about the relative merits of prioritizing public health versus the economy have evolved over the past year; 3) differences in protective measures, such as social distancing, taken by population subgroups, including differences by gender, educational attainment, SNS usage, and trust in scientific experts.

Intervenant(s)

Kenneth Mori McElwainProfessor of Comparative Politics at the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo