Uneven Normalization from the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from a Mask Survey in Japan

Kei Shimazawa, Reo Takaku and Taisuke Nakata
Additional contact information
Kei Shimazawa: Bioinformatics Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Reo Takaku: Hitotsubashi University
Taisuke Nakata: The University of Tokyo

No CARF-F-611, CARF F-Series from Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo

Abstract: We aim to shed light on the society’s normalization process after a pandemic by documenting the process of unmasking in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis in Japan. For that purpose, we conducted a weekly or biweekly survey of masking wearing behaviors from Summer 2022 to Spring 2024. Japanese citizens had worn masks at a high rate until mid-March 2023—three years after the onset of the pandemic—when the Prime Minister announced that mask-wearing would become up to individuals. After the announcement, Japanese citizens gradually unmasked themselves. However, the process of unmasking was uneven; some segments of the population unmasked themselves more gradually than others.

Pages: 18
Date: 2025-12
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.carf.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/F611.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cfi:fseres:cf611

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CARF F-Series from Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().