Group dynamics of “self-discipline” under COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Abstract

Japanese society was notable for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by exercising ji-shuku, or self-discipline. In this paper, we argue that, as implied by phrases such as “self-discipline mood,” this form of self-discipline appears to be a phenomenon in which people act, on the one hand, voluntarily according to their own will and, on the other hand, in response to coercion from others. In other words, exercising self-discipline is an act that mixes dependence and independence in an ambivalent manner. However, this mixture is not a unique phenomenon observed only in the exceptional case of self-discipline. Indeed, there is a specific background—a “mild individualism”—in contemporary Japanese society that makes it tempting to adopt this particular style of self-discipline. The dominance of this style in Japanese society is supported by the fact that, apart from the self-discipline exercised during the COVID-19 pandemic, a great deal of social attention has been paid to concepts such as “middle voice” and “nudges.”