Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought colossal disruption to everyday lives and massive destruction of health and
wellbeing worldwide, including millions of deaths. This study presents an overview of how the pandemic developed
in Japan. Specifically, it discusses the number of cases of and deaths from COVID-19, the government’s
countermeasures, the transformation of the health care delivery system, the broader health impacts of the
pandemic, and the economic impacts on society. During a period of approximately three years following the first
confirmed case of COVID-19 (reported on January 15, 2020), there were eight waves of COVID-19 and about 34
million confirmed cases. Eventually, the Japanese government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 on May
7, 2023. The government’s measures to combat the pandemic included the so-called “soft lockdown,” active
surveillance, providing evidence-based messaging for the public, and delivering various economic stimulus
packages for individuals and businesses. Overall, government measures together with the public's concerted
efforts were effective; the death toll relative to the population was quite low compared to that in other developed
countries. Nonetheless, there were frictions between the government, businesses, and individuals. During the
soft lockdown, national and local governments imposed various constraints on businesses and residents to limit
the spread of infection; many bars, restaurants, karaoke bars, and tourism and event businesses suffered damages,
which were relatively severe for small businesses. There were also frequent tensions between infection control
and people’s livelihoods among medical professionals, scholars, economists, and politicians over the course of the
pandemic, which potentially delayed decisions about starting or ending specific COVID-19 countermeasures.
Another concern is that the government’s massive spending to alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic has
increased the government debt in Japan. This study identifies that a comprehensive evaluation of how the Japanese
government's COVID-19 policy balanced saving lives and livelihoods is necessary but has yet to be conducted.
