Since around December 2019, the pandemic caused by novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread worldwide, and its impact has been felt not only in economic terms but also in mental health. In Japan, serious psychological stress, social isolation, and loneliness persisted during the prolonged pandemic. On the other hand, the response to the pandemic brought about major social changes, such as the way of working (promotion of teleworking), which sometimes had positive effects. The psychosocial effects of the pandemic on people are diverse and complex, and need to be analyzed from multiple perspectives. In this special issue, we have asked leading researchers in various fields to discuss the various changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, from both negative and positive perspectives. The four papers that comprise this special issue are highly suggestive in terms of considering the mental and physical health of people in such a situation with no end in sight or uncontrollable situation, and in considering countermeasures not only for the current pandemic but also for new infectious disease outbreaks that may occur in the future.

This study provides insights into the research and practice of positive psychology in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global pandemic has resulted in a surge of research papers related to stress problems, including positive psychology research. Literature reviews suggest that positive psychological interventions can play a crucial role during pandemics, and empirical studies have demonstrated their effectiveness. However, in Japan, the number of related research papers during the pandemic remained low. Moreover, it is important to acknowledge that solely focusing on individual psychological factors’ positive aspects during unfavorable environmental conditions for many may not be effective. Therefore, advocating for social equality is equally essential along with practicing positive psychological interventions.

This study examines changes in subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and specifies differences in the pattern of changes between socio-economic groups. Specifically, focusing on the effects of teleworking on life satisfaction, this study argues that the COVID-19 pandemic widened social inequality in subjective well-being among individuals in Japan. Data from the Online Panel Surveys of Social Stratification and Psychology in 2020 and 2021 (SSPW2020-Panel and SSPW2021-Panel), conducted in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, were analyzed using logistic and fixed-effects ordinary least squares regression models predicting telework experience and changes in life satisfaction, respectively. Results demonstrated that telework experience during the pandemic had statistically significant and positive effects on life satisfaction; however, individuals did not have equal chances for teleworking. Socially advantaged people were more likely to have chances of teleworking compared to socially disadvantaged people. Consequently, even though implementing telework during the pandemic had positive influences on individual’s subjective well-being, it also had negative influences on social welfare because it widened social inequality in subjective well-being.

The aim of this article is to summarize how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health support in Japan. In the pandemic, the development of telepsychology which is a psychological support approach using information and communication technology (ICT) rapidly accelerated. In particular, smartphone applications for mental health (i.e. mental health apps) were attracting a lot of attention. This article presents an example of the development and research of a mental health app which is based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The usefulness and challenges of mental health apps are discussed.

The field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) examines interactions among psychological and behavioral states, the central autonomic nervous system, and the immune system and the implications of those interactions on mental and physical health. In this review, I consider the effects of stress on multiple levels of the the neuro-immune network in relation to the context of COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, I describe how stress influence the peripheral immune system, and how immune changes triggered by stress can influence the brain with effects on cognition, emotion, and behavior. I also consider how positive psychological states influence inflammatory processes that are closely related to physical and mental health, focusing on positive affect and eudaimonic well-being. I finish with a discussion of interventions that may be effective in improving immune function and mental and physical health.

The purpose of this study was to examine psychosocial factors affecting the mental health of young adults in Tokyo during the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, we conducted an Internet survey of young adults in their 20s living in the 23 wards of Tokyo, asking about their mental health, group-level cognitive social capital in the community, anxiety about COVID-19 (hereafter, “COVID-19 worries”), and economic conditions. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the associations between mental health and other variables for the 377 valid respondents who had no chronic illness. The results reveal that social capital and subjective economic affluence have significant effects on mental health, while COVID-19 worries has no effect on mental health. These findings suggest that in order to improve mental health under the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts should be made to revitalize community ties, keeping in mind that poor subjective economic conditions are a risk factor.

The purposes of the present study were to report a loneliness reduction model using student’s subjective social capital (SSC), computer mediated communication (CMC) or face to face (FTF) behavior and perceptions of the closed spaces, crowded places, close-contacts avoidance (perceptions of the norms of avoiding 3Cs) in COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we focused on subjective social capital as people’s cognition of the psychosocial resource availability accumulated by contact with others. Online cross-section research was conducted at 3th faculties in a Japanese private university, in July 2020, collecting 732 samples. And analyses were done for 659 samples. The results showed that the norms of avoiding 3Cs affected computer mediated or face to face communication behavior, and computer mediated or face to face communication behavior affected SSC, and the SSC reduces loneliness. These results imply that SSC, CMC and FTF are the important factor for student to decrease loneliness in COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aimed to identify factors related to unmasking anxiety, with a focus on the aspect of physical appearance. In this study, body dysmorphic concern and appearance shame were addressed as factors related to unmasking appearance anxiety. In addition, social anxiety and the underlying public self-consciousness and desire to avoid rejection were also addressed. The results of the analysis revealed gender differences, where appearance-related factors were not found to be related to unmasking appearance anxiety for males, but public self-consciousness and social anxiety were related to it. On the other hand, for females, body dysmorphia concerns were found to be related to unmasking appearance anxiety.