Risk perceptions and collective emotions about COVID-19 in Japan (2):

To explore temporal changes in risk perception and collective emotions about COVID-19 over time, a web-based to-wave panel survey of men and women aged 18-89 years (M=44.7) nationwide was conducted in January 2021(N=1007), April 2022(N=618) and February 2023 (N=820). The questions on individual/collective emotions asked respondents to answer whether self/society in general had nine emotions (e.g., anxiety) about 12 COVID-19-related targets (e.g., patients). Other questions asked about perceived risk of COVID-19, vaccination frequency, mask use, etc. The results of 2021 and 2023 showed that for individual/collective emotions, the proportion of responses for anxiety about COVID-19 (49%/49 % to 36%/36%) was high in both cases and significantly decreased in 2023. Gratitude for health care workers (84%/80% to 60%/57%) was slightly higher for individuals and significantly decreased in 2023. On the other hand, collective emotions rather than individual emotions was higher for anxiety about patients (35%/43% to 29%/22%) and anger about those who do not use masks (36%/54% to 18%/22%) and the prime minister (29%/40% to 22%/23%). All of these decreased significantly in 2023, and the individual-collective emotions gap also narrowed.