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Degree of freedom of life falls to 53.3 points in May, the lowest score since May 2020
Anxieties and activity restriction also rise again

Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, a think tank of Hakuhodo Inc., conducted its “Survey of Sei-katsu-sha Concerning COVID-19” to understand sei-katsu-sha’s attitudes and behaviors during the coronavirus again in May 2021. The survey was conducted May 6–10 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: From early to mid-April, the area under the Pre-emergency Measures to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 expanded (with Tokyo and Kyoto, Okinawa, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Aichi Prefectures joining Osaka, Hyogo and Miyagi Prefectures). Amid continuous news reports of soaring cases and a medical system under pressure, particularly in Osaka, a state of emergency was declared for the third time in Tokyo and Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto Prefectures on April 25. The number of cases with severe symptoms nationwide topped 1,000 each day beginning April 30. On May 7, the state of emergency in Tokyo and Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto Prefectures was extended (until May 31), Pre-emergency Measures were extended in the five prefectures where they were in place, and were expanded to include Hokkaido, Gifu and Mie Prefectures (the measures were lifted in Miyagi Prefecture). Thus, the survey was once again conducted amid a flurry of changes.

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