NIRA Forum 2023, “Theme 2: Formulating Policies That Align with Japanese Values: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Policy,” discussed attitudes toward Japan's COVID-19 policy.

When people evaluate policies, they are influenced by their values. In order to convince people to change their behavior in accordance with government policies during an emergency such as a pandemic, policies must be developed that align with their values. The prerequisite for this is that the public form opinions based on scientific findings. It will be essential to improve data literacy,  as it relates to the creation and interpretation of data,  among the public.

At the same time, we should be concerned about the influence of the media. Sensational images and the like can change an individual's thinking even without being backed up by scientific data. Traditional media should play the role of conveying complex information in an easily-understood manner without succumbing to the lure of sensationalism.

Furthermore, in order to communicate the findings of experts to the public and reflect them in policymaking, we need human resources who are able to synthesize those findings, rather than listening to the opinions of a narrow range of experts.

The pandemic should not be treated simply as a one-off event. It is necessary to tenaciously review and analyze such factors as the things that occurred during the pandemic, the processes by which they occurred, and the effects of the policies that were applied. Learning from the pandemic and developing policies aligned with Japanese values can help to increase our ability to respond to risks.


*This is a translation of a paper originally published in Japanese in August, 2023.