TOKYO - Seventy-three percent of respondents in a Dec. 18 nationwide opinion poll conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun and the Social Survey Research Center said they harbored fears about the spread of the coronaviruses in Japan, well over the 16% who said they weren't worried about it.
66% of respondents said they were worried about a potential sixth wave of the coronaviruses in the previous poll conducted on November 13, before the first case of the omicron variant was confirmed in Japan. The poll results show that there are strong fears among people about the omicron strain.
With regard to the booster shot of the COVID- 19 vaccine, 65% of respondents said they were hoping to receive it at an early date, while 21% said they weren't. About 6% said they had yet to take the second shot, while 8% said they were not sure about getting one.
The government has proposed a plan to shorten the interval between the second and third COVID 19 shots by up to two months from the initial eight months for medical professionals and elderly people.
When asked about plans for traveling and hometown visits during the year-end and New Year holiday season, just 26% said they were planning to make such trips, while 69% said they weren't. Four percent said they were still debating the matter. The results show that many people are cautious about traveling a long distance.
In a December 2020 poll, 15% of the pollees said they planned to travel and visit their hometowns, compared to 78% who said they didn't. Seven percent said they were still considering the option.
Japan lifted the COVID 19 state of emergency at the end of September, with hopes for consumer spending picking up. In the latest poll, only around 37% said that their spending on shopping, dining out, traveling and other activities had increased. Nearly half, at 48%, said their expenses on those activities remained the same, while 15% said their spending had dropped. By age, more than 40% of those in their 40 s and younger said their expenditure had increased, surpassing the figure for people in their 50 s and older.