An interesting perspective shared by Dr. Kentaro Iwata from Kobe University, who is known to be the person who spoke out on what he saw on the “Princess Diamond” cruise ship through YouTube. He thinks that one of the key factors that affected the containment of COVID-19 in Japan is “peer pressure.” Japan made it through the crisis without locking down its cities because Japanese people’s behavior is largely affected by what others are doing. We unconsciously behave and make decisions based on others’ behavior. If you don’t go out, I don’t go out. If you beat the red light, I do the same. Peer pressure can work either way. We could have gone wrong, but it worked right this time.
The article is available only in Japanese