ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the COVID-19 pandemic trends, vaccination status and peoples' views in Japan. The increasing disinformation around the COVID-19 vaccine has led to some Japanese people attempting to get vaccinated with the call to ‘make the best efforts', which implicitly encourages vaccination. Despite the increase in the first dose vaccination rate, the number of positive COVID-19 cases reached a record high soon after the Tokyo Olympics began. It is not clear whether preventive COVID-19 measures, such as wearing masks, declaring states of emergency and vaccine promotion, are effective measures for ending the COVID-19 crisis. The number of COVID-19 cases and the corresponding mortality rate are lower in Japan than in Europe and the USA, which may be due in large part to Japanese genetics and their unique lifestyle behaviours. This study provides an overview of trends and measures concerning COVID-19 and vaccination in Japan. © TheEditor(s) (ifapplicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021, 2022.