Lack of legal effectiveness of Japan’s measures against COVID

Abstract

Most Japan’s measures against COVID lack legal effectiveness. There are two kinds of measures to tackle with the spread of the virus. One is the control of negative externalities by the reduction of infection such as the promotion of vaccination and restriction of the contact between the infected and the rest of the population. The other is to cope with the asymmetry of information to reduce the risk of unknowing infection through the absence of manifestation of information about the risk. Japan’s measures are not effective because the vaccination is slow, for one thing, the legal system about the restriction of face-to-face contact is either deficient or inviable as it depends on unenforceable requests, for another. The disclosure of information about COVID is also quite inadequate. The point of effective measures against COVID is to scientifically and medically understand the reality without any bias and, upon the understanding of the reality, to viably implement vaccination, enforce mask-wearing, and restrict social contact and others by coercion if necessary.