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April Degree of freedom of life is 57.5 points, up for the second consecutive month
Degree of activity restriction also eases for the second month in a row

Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, a think tank of Hakuhodo Inc., in April 2021 conducted its “Survey of Sei-katsu-sha Concerning COVID-19” to understand sei-katsu-sha’s attitudes and behaviors during the coronavirus. The survey was conducted April 1–5, 2021 in the Greater Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama and Ibaraki Prefectures), Greater Nagoya (Aichi, Mie and Gifu Prefectures) and Hanshin (Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara Prefectures) areas, targeting 1,500 males and females aged 20–69. See p. 8 for the survey outline.

Conditions prior to the survey being conducted: The number of cases in Tokyo and nearby prefectures Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama did not fall as much as hoped and, even after the state of emergency was lifted on March 21, restaurants and bars continued to be requested to shorten their business hours, and people asked not to gather for seasonal events such as cherry blossom viewing parties and parties to farewell and welcome new colleagues. Infections were creeping up in regional centers like Sendai and Yamagata, and mutant variants were spreading around Japan.

Of the six prefectures where the state of emergency was lifted early on March 1, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo Prefectures, all in the Kansai region, were seeing cases skyrocket again. On April 1, the decision was made to apply the Pre-emergency Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 for the first time, in six cities in Osaka Hyogo and Miyagi Prefectures (April 5–May 5). It was against the background of this flurry of activity that the survey was conducted.

 

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