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Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide implemented public health interventions. However, national and cultural factors resulted in varying compliance rates with infection prevention measures. Additionally, social polarizations surfaced around practices like mask-wearing and vaccine administration. This study aims to explore people's justifications for complying or not complying with infection prevention measures recommended by governments and healthcare organizations. By delving into the socio-psychological mechanisms of individuals with distinct cultural backgrounds, this research will aid in creating new risk communication strategies for public health interventions.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a longitudinal analysis, focusing on individual difference factors, to examine how Japanese citizens' risk perceptions and infection prevention behaviors related to COVID-19 have changed in response to the Japanese government's downgrading the legal status of COVID-19. On May 8, 2023, the Japanese government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to "Class 5", the same as other common infectious diseases, for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. We believe that the downgrading will mark a turning point in people's perception of COVID-19. To date, the first and last authors have conducted regular longitudinal panel surveys since January 2020 to examine changes in Japanese citizens' psychological and behavioral responses to the spread of COVID-19 (Yamagata, Teraguchi, & Miura, 2021). Therefore, we plan to conduct the panel survey in late May 2023 and analyze it longitudinally to test this downgrading effect. Humans have a psychological and behavioral response system to prevent the invasion of pathogens and viruses by avoiding contact with things (environment, objects, people) related to illness (Behavioral immune system: Schaller & Park, 2011). Sensing the possibility of illness includes not only direct contact with objects but also viewing news reports about them. Such a system makes it easier to take hygienic and avoidance behaviors for infection prevention (Haidt, 2012). However, when policies promote the relaxation of infection control measures, people may become more likely to neglect these behaviors. Previous studies have examined the effects of policies based on strict restrictions such as lockdowns on a number of COVID-19 cases and mental health (e.g., Eguchi et al., 2021; Fang, Nie, & Penny, 2020; Le & Nguyen, 2021). On the other hand, the impact of policies aimed at relaxation may not follow the patterns shown by these research findings. Furthermore, there is a lack of research examining the impact of policies on changes in infection prevention behavior and cognitions of disease necessary to manage public health. Understanding the relationship between the effects of specific policies and behavioral immune responses, such as infection prevention behaviors and perceptions of disease, is important to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in the future. In addition to estimating changes in people's attitudes towards policies, identifying individual characteristics that are more susceptible to changes could provide policymakers with useful guidance for infection prevention and economic recovery. As an unpublished study, we examined the impact of policies based on strict regulations (Japan's first state of emergency declaration) from April 7, 2020, to May 25, 2020, on risk perception of COVID-19 and infection prevention behavior in prefectures subject to and not subject to the policies. In addition to the primary findings, the study also showed that gender, age, and pathogen-avoidance tendency were related to risk perception of COVID-19 and infection prevention behavior. These findings are consistent with previous studies, which showed that individuals with a high pathogen-avoidance tendency or women are more likely to show psychological and behavioral responses related to infection prevention (Duncan, Schaller, & Park, 2009; Kitamura & Matsuo, 2021; Lieberman, Tybur, & Latner, 2012). Additionally, it is reasonable to assume that there are age differences in risk perception and infection prevention behavior because older adults infected with COVID-19 are at higher risk of severe illness compared to younger adults. Therefore, after the downgrading, it is possible that men, younger adults, and those with a lower pathogen-avoidance tendency may change their risk perception of COVID-19 and infection prevention behavior. Conversely, women and older adults, those with a higher pathogen-avoidance tendency may maintain their high levels of perception and behavior. Therefore, this study will examine whether the impact of the downgrading on risk perception of COVID-19 and infection prevention behavior varies by individual differences in gender, age, and pathogen-avoidance tendency.

The purpose of this study was to identify the needs of stakeholders in developing a mobile application (MP) to be used by returning residents and providers of healthcare and medical/social services. The needs assessment of the residents revealed that among the elderly, ownership of smartphones and tablets was low and they were less likely to use the applications themselves.

With the recent tensions between Japan, Korea, and surrounding countries, Korea has begun to raise questions about the safety of radiation doses in foods and at Olympic venues in Fukushima (1). However, these allegations are not based on scientific evidence; the international scientific community has already resolved that radiation doses from the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 are limited (2, 3). The current doses in Fukushima residents from external exposures are comparable to or lower than exposures in other countries (4), and additional doses from internal exposures are also negligible (

It is crucial to examine how risk perception, risk trade-off view, and provision of risk information affect demands for countermeasures against multiple risks after a nuclear disaster. We investigated factors associated with the perceived dread risk of radiation exposure or diabetes and the self-rated risk trade-off view. We examined how the risk perception, self-rated risk trade-off view, and provision of risk information affected the perceived magnitude of the risks and the demands for countermeasures. We distributed an online questionnaire to 2806 panelists aged 20–69 years in the Fukushima Prefecture in 2018 and received 1044 valid responses. Both the perceived dread risk of radiation exposure and diabetes was associated with evacuation experience and trustworthy sources of information. The self-rated risk trade-off view was associated with gender, occupation, educational background, trustworthy sources of information, and a diabetes diagnosis. The perceived magnitude of radiation risk and the demand for countermeasures were governed by the perceived dread risk of radiation rather than the types of information provided or the self-rated risk trade-off view. Conversely, the perceived magnitude of diabetes risk and the demand for countermeasures were associated with both the perceived dread risk of diabetes and the self-rated risk trade-off view. The provision of risk comparison information slightly enhanced the demand for societal countermeasures against diabetes. The perceived dread risk is more strongly associated with the perceived magnitude of the risk and the demands for countermeasures than provided information. Development of a self-rated risk trade-off view is useful for encouraging countermeasures against diabetes.

Adaptive behaviour has become a crucial aspect in current flood risk management strategies across the globe, especially in response to potential consequences of flood hazards and facing challenges of climate change. There are several factors which influence the motivation to implement flood risk management strategies such as property-level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures. This paper assesses and evaluates the role of risk communication, which is a vital and overarching driver or barrier in the successful implementation of PLFRA measures. We explored this issue through a bootstrapped Q-methodology with 20 residents in the urban area of Graz, Austria, who have been affected by flood events in the past. Additionally, semi-structured interviews concerning risk communication were conducted with the participants to understand the preferred risk communication modes. The results show that respondents have a high level of perceived self-efficacy (most have implemented PLFRA measures), that there is general distrust in public protection measures and that there is a high understanding of residual risk. Considering the communication modes preferred by a majority of respondents, face-to-face interaction with unbiased experts is more attractive than online applications. Additionally, citizens want to be engaged in decision-making processes concerning public protection measures in their area. This calls for participatory processes in flood risk management which involve mutual knowledge transfer and social learning.