How Democracies Weather Crises: Governance, Vigilance, and Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan
Paul J. Kramer, M.A., B.A. in Japanese Studies, B.A. in Sociology (SFB 1369 Vigilance Cultures, LMU Munich)
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Gabriele Vogt (LMU Munich), Prof. Dr. Hanno Jentzsch (University of Vienna)
Expected Publication Date: 2027 (German)
Inquiries: kramer.paul@lmu.de
The COVID-19 pandemic served as a stress test for the crisis management capacities of governments worldwide. In Germany, the strategy of “hammer and dance” was employed to protect the health of vulnerable members of society. However, the drastic restrictions on civil liberties led to significant polarization effects. Japan’s response was remarkable in several respects. Instead of enforcing legally binding measures, the government appealed to the principle of voluntary self-restraint (jishuku). Recommendations for mask-wearing, social distancing, and reduced mobility were followed strictly by the public. Despite its aging population — which is particularly vulnerable to the virus — Japan recorded a lower excess mortality rate than Germany. This was achieved while maintaining public life, without encroaching on individual freedoms, and without significant public resistance or large-scale protests against the government.
One line of explanation attributes this success primarily to Japanese culture. It highlights social conformity pressure (dōchō atsuryoku), anticipatory obedience (sontaku), and the power of social scrutiny and observation. The so-called “self-restraint police” (jishuku keisatsu) — individuals who sanctioned noncompliance with public health recommendations through public shaming — are said to have played a key role. A second perspective emphasizes the importance of social capital, social networks, and social infrastructure as crucial predictors of community resilience. A third approach focuses on the tight-knit networks of local governance, which proved essential for effective and socially acceptable pandemic management.
This research asks how effective, solution-oriented, and democratic crisis governance can function. Through the lens of vigilance, it brings together the three existing research approaches and analyzes how the interaction between governance structures and institutionalized forms of vigilance enabled the activation of democratic resilience. Using an explorative-interpretative research design that draws on a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the dissertation investigates the following three sub-questions: 1) How is vigilance addressed in society? 2) How is vigilance employed in governance? 3) How is resilience produced in everyday practices through vigilance? The dissertation contributes to the ongoing debate on how democracies can govern societal transformations and seeks to expand this debate through the concept of vigilance.