Rethinking Japan’s Infallibility Principle for a Better Pandemic Response

Abstract

The "infallibility principle" in Japanese government bureaucracy has led to conservative responses in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, with adherence to initial methods, like the 3Cs (crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined and enclosed spaces), and resistance to policy changes, despite evolving scientific findings on airborne transmission. This inflexible approach resulted in multiple states of emergency, social and economic losses, and increased health challenges. Although claims have been made of near-total control by May 2022, lack of sufficient verification and the record death toll in the eighth wave in the fall of 2022 suggest a reactionary rather than proactive policy approach.