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Degree of freedom of life is 58.9 pts in December
Upward trend since September turns down again
Anxiety and activity restriction strengthen again

Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, a think tank of Hakuhodo Inc., in December 2020 conducted its ninth “Survey of Sei-katsu-sha Concerning COVID-19” to understand sei-katsu-sha’s attitudes and behaviors during the coronavirus. The survey was conducted December 3–7, 2020 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.14 for the survey outline.

In early November, COVID-19 infections surged across Japan. The survey was conducted as the Metropolitan government raised Tokyo’s COVID-19 warning level and requested restaurants and bars to shorten their business hours, as travel to Sapporo and Osaka was excluded from the national government’s Go To Travel campaign to promote domestic tourism, and as the media each day reported record COVID-19 infections, sharply increasing numbers of patients with severe symptoms and a medical system under huge strain.

When we asked sei-katsu-sha to rate their freedom of life under current circumstances if their normal life prior to the spread of COVID-19 rated 100 points, the result was 58.9 points, down 2.5 points since November, ending a three-month upward trend.

Scores for Degree of anxiety items were up in almost every item, in line with the increase in infection numbers. Notable were increases in the scores for Feel anxious about the government’s response (75.6%, up 9.1 points) and Feel anxious about the lack and uncertainty of information (67.1%, up 6.0 points). Scores for all Degree of activity restriction items increased. In particular, scores rose significantly for such items as Refrain from meeting friends and socializing (77.3%, up 11.0 points), Refrain from nonessential and nonurgent shopping (71.5%, up 9.2 points) and Refrain from eating out (71.1%, up 9.2 points).

Scores for nearly all Degree of behavioral change items increased, with scores for items related to refraining from going out and taking alternative actions rising, including Refrain from going out and enjoy pastimes I can do at home (66.5%, up 7.3 points), Refrain from going out and use net shopping and food delivery services instead (44.7%, up 7.1 points), Avoid using public transport and drive to places instead (52.5%, up 5.4 points), and Telework (work from home) as much as possible (32.0%, up 5.3 points).

It seems that sei-katsu-sha’s attitudes and behaviors, which had been shifting to “outside” since September, switched back to “inside.”

This survey will be conducted regularly for the time being (The survey content may be changed depending on changes in circumstances).

 

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