Japan has avoided severe lockdowns in favor of voluntary self-restraint measures. The result has been the lowest level of COVID-related deaths (230 per million) among all the nations in the OECD. Even large-scale events such as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics took place with no upsurge in cases. There have been some downsides, however. With a near total ban on immigration and tourism, foreign companies in Japan have seen their plans disrupted and the previously fast-growing tourism sector has suffered from a severe downturn. To explore the story behind Japan’s COVID countermeasures, we brought together a panel of experts to better understand what the world could learn from Japan’s experience.

MODERATOR: KAZUTO SUZUKI[Professor of Science and Technology Policy at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo Senior Fellow of Asia Pacific Initiative (API)]

PANELIST: HITOSHI OSHITANI[Professor at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine]

PANELIST: GEAROID REIDY[Senior Editor, Bloomberg News]

PANELIST: ZEYNEP TUFEKCI[Visiting associate professor at Columbia University and a columnist at the New York Times]