The purpose of this paper is to elucidate how the rumors and hoaxes surrounding the coronavirus vaccination spread among people in their 20s to 40s as well as the level of their influence on people's decision to be vaccinated through an internet survey. The results of the survey are as follows. – Those who have “read or heard” such rumors/hoaxes account for as much as 71% of the entire respondents. Among rumors/hoaxes, “vaccination causes infertility” has the highest percentage of respondents who have done so. – Of those having “read or heard” rumors/hoaxes, 5% “believed” them while 42% “half believed.” Among rumors/hoaxes, “the safety of vaccines is not confirmed yet because the clinicals trials have not been completed” had the highest percentage of people who “believed” or “half believed” it (60% of those having read or heard about it). – Of those having “read or heard” rumors/hoaxes, 20% told their family members or others any rumors/hoaxes. The most-cited reason for this action is “just as a topic of conversation, and the second is “I wanted to share my anxiety.” – Likewise, 7% have thought about “refusing” vaccination, and 28% “procrastinating” due to rumors/hoaxes. Among the responses to a question on what rumors/hoaxes made them hesitant, the most-cited one is “the safety of vaccines is not confirmed yet because the clinicals trials have not been completed.” – Among people who became hesitant to get vaccinated after reading or hearing rumors/hoaxes, the main factors that made them change their minds were “anxiety about infection” and “peer pressure,” and the effect of counter-rumor/hoax information was only limited. – Many people who once got trapped into vaccine hesitancy changed their mind and took a jab out of the “anxiety about infection” or “peer pressure.” It is found the effect of counter-rumor/hoax information is only limited.

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The global coronavirus pandemic started in the beginning of 2020. Although almost two years have passed since then, we are yet to see the end of it. As of November 2021, “when the sixth wave will hit and to what extent it will spread” continued to be a major concern for both the majority of the Japanese public as well as the Diet and central and local governments, whose responsibility is to protect the people. This article overviews the changes in public attitudes towards politics, focusing on the two years (January 2020 to November 2021) during which three Prime Ministers, Abe Shinzo, Suga Yoshihide, and Kishida Fumio led the fight against coronavirus. Among various aspects of political attitudes, government approval ratings most vividly show us whether changes are occurring. Combining these ratings and the responses to questions regarding government's anti-pandemic measures on NHK's monthly public opinion survey over the past nearly two years, we can see a clear picture of “swaying attitudes towards politics.” On the one hand, the sway—the roller coaster ride of public attitudes towards politics—can be regarded as a sign of soundness, but on the other hand, it highlights the insufficient political and administrative preparedness, which led to a series of haphazard handling of situation. The author believes this reality is an important lesson for the future.

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This two-part series discuss the relationships between people with disabilities and the media, focusing on two themes: the coronavirus pandemic and the Paralympic Games. Both are topics of substantial interest to people with disabilities as relatable ones, which are also aligned with society at large and how it should be. This first part explores how people with disabilities lived in the face of COVID-19 crisis and what information they needed and acquired, based on the results of the “Internet Survey on Access to Information by People with Disabilities under the Coronavirus Pandemic” which was conducted in March 2021. Along with this, the authors also examine their opinions on information accessibility services and broadcast programs. The findings include the following. In terms of “daily life,” working from home became more prevalent while there were not a few people who lost jobs and/or suffered financial hardship. In addition, some were troubled by wearing masks and avoiding touching things because made obtaining information on their surroundings difficult. Regarding “access to information,” while some increased TV viewing hours due to longer home time, others stopped watching television because they were not satisfied with the content. People with hearing difficulties put special emphasis on securing accessibility through subtitles and other services. Acquiring information such as “how to prevent infection” and “overwhelmed hospitals” became all the more imperative for people with disabilities. The authors discuss their true feelings one by one, which will lead to the second part of this series, “Opinion Survey on Paralympic Broadcasting.”

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This paper reports the results of the 2021 Nationwide Survey on Changes in the Japanese Language. Based on the results, the author points out the following. – “Jibungoto” (one's own issue): the majority of respondents “have heard of this expression and do not find it incorrect.” The older, the higher percentage this response gets. – “羽根布団” (feather duvet): the highest percentage of respondents (around 40%) pronounce it as “hane-buton” but write it as “羽根ふとん (hane-futon),” showing a mismatch between pronunciation and writing. – “他人事” (somebody else's business): about two thirds of respondents pronounce it as “tanningoto.” – “一段落”: “ichidanraku” (conventional pronunciation) and “hitodanraku” (newly emerged pronunciation) had almost the same numbers of supporters, which, however, showed a clear generation gap: the younger, the more people pronounce it as “hitodanraku.” – “Ōku no katagata ni kite kudasai mashita” and “Ōku no katagata ga kite itadaki mashita” (We are happy that many people visiting us): both are grammatically incorrect, but more than 30%, respectively, do not find it incorrect. – “Jōkyaku no nakani keganin wa arimasen deshita” (None of the passengers were injured): Almost half of the respondent were comfortable with this.

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