Expansion of Self-Defense Police - Social Background in May 2020

Expansion of Self-Defense Police - Social Background in May 2020

In May 2020, Japan was under its first state of emergency declaration, and people's lives were severely restricted. Daily images of infectious explosions in Europe and the U.S. were being reported, and the fear that "Japan might follow the same path" was sweeping over the nation. The government and local governments emphasized "avoiding the three clandestine areas" and "refraining from going out unnecessarily", and a simplistic composition of "self-restraint = good, business = bad" prevailed in society.

In this atmosphere, the "self-restraint police" appeared on the scene. They attacked stores and individuals through postings, graffiti, and even social networking sites. If a restaurant in Kabukicho continued to operate, it was accused of being a "source of infection" or a "nuisance to society," and was sometimes exposed anonymously. There was not so much a sense of justice as a form of social anxiety that turned into aggression.

At the time, there was strong concern about the collapse of medical care, and medical professionals in the field were frantically responding to the situation. Citizens, driven by a sense of urgency that they must protect themselves, tried to find relief by finding and eliminating deviant behavior. However, this action resulted in further isolation of the economically trapped restaurant workers and night workers, and deepened the division of the entire city.

Thus, the activities of the self-restraint police took on the color of a surveillance society reminiscent of the wartime "Tonari Gumi," and are remembered as a phenomenon symbolic of the social psychology of the Corona disaster.