Journal of Socio-Informatics
Vol.16, No.1

Sep. 2023［Refereed Original Paper］
Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese
Canadian Internment Documentaries

Yasuaki TSUJI
The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against
COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

Hitoshi YAMAMOTO, Takahisa SUZUKI,
Yuki OGAWA, Ryohei UMETANI
Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical researchusing survey experiments

Tsukasa TANIHARA, Shinichi YAMAGUCHIThe Society of Socio-Informatics

Journal of Socio-Informatics
Vol.16, No.1

Sep. 2023◆CONTENTS◆［Refereed Original Paper］
Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese
Canadian Internment Documentaries

Yasuaki TSUJI…   1

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against
COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

Hitoshi YAMAMOTO, Takahisa SUZUKI,
Yuki OGAWA, Ryohei UMETANI…   17

Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical researchusing survey experiments

Tsukasa TANIHARA, Shinichi YAMAGUCHI…   33Refereed Original Paper
Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American
and the Japanese Canadian Internment Documentaries
Keywords:
documentary film, multicultural coexistence, cinema analysis, Japanese internment, cross-national study

Yasuaki TSUJI, University of Tsukuba

Abstract
During the Second World War, the internment of people of Japanese descent occurred in the
U.S.A. and Canada simultaneously. Each country produced a documentary film about theinternment. Although these documentaries were superficially similar, the two countries’ politicaland cultural difference were reflected in them. In this study, a combined qualitative and quantitative
analysis was conducted for the two films for a systematic comparative assessment. Consequently,
substantial differences were observed in the two films on several respects. First, the number of“Frontal view of the internees” shots in the Canadian film exceeded those of Americans where
people looked away from the camera and face the other direction. This phenomenon may beconsidered as a reflection of the cultural difference such as a family-like-co-existence and asymbolic assimilation. Second, when people of Japanese descent and Caucasian are in the same
frame, they face opposite directions in the American film. However, the Japanese Canadians andCaucasians in the Canadian film face the same direction and are placed in an equivalent positionon the screen. Third, based on the outliers, i.e., characteristic shots of the films, descriptions ofJapanese and Western culture coexist in the Canadian film. In contrast, the U. S. documentary has
only Western ones. In general, a reflection of the American way of assimilation and the Canadian
co-existence in the content of the two war-time propaganda documentaries is observed. This
study confirmed by combined qualitative and quantitative analysis the political and culturaldifferences of the two countries as reflected in their documentaries, which appeared similar on
the surface. Although this study focused on documentaries produced during the Second World
War, the method used here may be applied to the analysis of other video contents and contributeto future research in film-video media studies.
Received Jun 25 2022, Accepted Nov 29 2022

1

Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

North American internment and the Nazi

1. Introduction

concentration camps, which sparked the human

1.1 Research Topic
This

comparative

rights question (Gittings, 2002; Pendakis &cross-national

study

Wilson, 2018). The internment camps were

examines two documentary films on Japanese

gradually vacated, and attempts were made tointernment in North America.

assimilate

From the end of the nineteenth century,theresidents

into

the

generalpopulation.

Japanese people immigrated to the U.S.A. andDuring the Second World War, governments

Canada primarily as railroad workers. Many ofaround the world produced propaganda films tothem settled mainly as agricultural workers orincite nationalistic fervor toward their ideologies,

commercial fishers.

thus the politicizing of documentary was a world

After a surprise attack at Pearl Harbor by thephenomenon (Barnouw, 1993). As Jowett andJapanese air force on December 7, 1941, people

O’Donnell stated, “Propaganda itself, as a form ofof Japanese descent were interned in the two

communication, is influenced by the technologicalNorth American countries almost simultaneously.

devices for sending messages that are available

In the U.S.A., on February 19, 1942, the relocation

in a given time” (Jowett & O’Donnell, 2012, p. 15),of Japanese Americans began. Five days later, onmovies were the latest and most powerful tool for

February 24, 1942, that of Japanese Canadians

propaganda at the time.

commenced (Daniels, 1981). In the U.S.A., “justThus, documentary films about the internment

over 125,000” people of Japanese descent were

were produced in both countries. In the U.S.A., A

sent to relocation centers. In Canada, “fewer than

Challenge to Democracy was released in 1944

25,000” Japanese Canadians were evacuated andwhile in Canada, Of Japanese Descent was released

sent to internment camps and farms (Daniels,

in 1945. The U.S. and Canadian films are1982).

approximately

Takeya Mizuno pointed out that Japanese radio

18

and

21

minuteslong,respectively.

broadcast insisted that the American policy of

Their title shots are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

assimilation was hypocritical.
The May 1 broadcast, for example, noted thatthe race-specific policy conflicted with thenation’s long-cherished “melting pot” concept ofdiversity. (Mizuno, 2013, p. 97)

Figure 1: U.S. title

Figure 2: Canadian title

Bothproduced

Although the internees were provided basic
amenities, the camps are sometimes referred toas concentration camps.

films

were

to

providejustification for the Japanese internment andAs the war drew to a close, the governments

promoting assimilation to their own citizens andneeded to manage domestic and international

to the rest of the world (Gittings, 2002; Hayashi,

anxieties around the potential symmetry between2004).
2

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

1.2 Literature Review

Most of the films recording the internment ofJapanese descent is fragmentary news footage,

To the best of our knowledge, no studies have

however these two documentaries are the official

compared American footage with Canadian one.

records put together by the authorities. Both can

However, comparative studies on the immigration

be said to be representative of the Japanesepolicies of the two countries and such studies oninternment documentary films.

the Japanese internment in both countries have

Both were created in almost the same way inbeen conducted. There are also several methods

two countries for the same event at the samefor comparative research on visual content intime. In fact, these two films are quite similar.

general. This study refers to these three in order.

The purpose of production, theme, topics andobjects of these films have close parallels. Both1.2.1 Comparative studies on the immigration

being genuine propaganda films, the sufferings

policies between the U.S.A. with Canada
Thomas E. Kierans stated that Canadians haveof the internees are not shown.
They also have formative similarity. Neither

long used the language of metaphor to describe

film include interviews of the Japanese internees.

their society as a “mosaic” and the United States

Instead, they have narrations and backgroundas a “melting pot” to distinguish the two North

music. The narrations emphasize the legitimacy

American countries. Furthermore, Canadiansof the internment and portray that it was different

think of themselves as being more tolerant offrom the Nazi treatment of the Jews.

racial minorities and more respectful of culturaldifferences than their southern neighbors

With the above points considered, both films(Kierans, 1994).

recording the internment in North America i.e. A

In other words, while American melting pot is

Challenge to Democracy (hereinafter, referred to
Descent

a symbol of its national conformity or assimilation,(hereinafter, referred to as Descent) were underCanadian mosaic is that of ethnic coexistence or

the control of authorities and “the type ofplurality.

as

Challenge)

and

Of

Japanese

propaganda of public information as one of the

In 1994, Jeffrey G. Reitz and Raymond Breton

most powerful forms of directive statesmanship”

reviewed the exhaustive amount of the available

as Gittings points out regarding the latter

public opinion and concluded that there was an(Gittings, 2002, p. 72). Therefore, the intention ofillusion of difference between the United States

the authorities was reflected strongly at the timeand Canada. According to them, there are certainof shooting and editing.

important beliefs about Canada as follows.

The cultural difference between the twocountries should be reflected to some extent in

One of these beliefs is that minority groups inthese two films. If it is possible to clarify how the

Canada are encouraged to maintain theirdifference is expressed by image media, it will be

distinctive cultures, whereas minority groups inmeaningful

the United States are under pressure to abandon

tocontributetointernational

their traditional cultures and “melt” into thecomparative research through video content.

broader society. In short, Canadians show
tolerance for diversity and even encourage it.
3Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

Consequently, minority groups in Canada moretreated its Japanese. In one minor respect, atfreely participate in traditional cultural practices,

least, Canadian policy was less racist.” (p. 185)

and maintain ethnic community institutions andDaniels specifically pointed out differences in

activities, than do minority groups in the United

the degree of involvement of Japanese descent on

States. (Reitz & Breton, 1994, p. 5)

the battlefield.

Milton Gordon describes the term “melting

The U.S. Army and its political leadership, [...]

pot” as follows.

was providing in the 100th Battalion and the442nd Regimental Combat Team, a public means“the melting pot theories had envisaged theby which Japanese Americans could demonstrate

disappearance of the immigrants’ group as atheir loyalty. Only a handful of Japanesecommunal identity and the absorption of the later

Canadians were allowed to perform militaryarrivals to America and their children, as

service in World War II. (Daniels, 1981, p. 193)

individuals, into the existing ‘American’ social
structure.” (Gordon, 1964, p. 132)

Blake Morgan Young also compared thetreatment of Japanese descent in North American

Regarding the term “cultural pluralisms,”

countries and illustrated some of the differences

Gordon describes it as “the acceptance of cultural

between the two.

differences both religiously and in terms of
ethnic and cultural groups.” (Gordon, 1964, p. 17)

The practice in the US camps of having all

These above concepts, metaphors and beliefs

occupants of each block take their meals in a

may also be reflected in the two films, althoughcommon mess hall had a weakening effect on

their visual representation is not clear.

family ties, but in the Canadian camps meals
were prepared and eaten in the individual housing

1.2.2 Comparative studies on the Japaneseunits. (Young, 2004, p. 92)

interment in the U.S.A and Canada
Regardingtheinternment

itself,afew

While the involvement of Japanese Canadianscomparative studies between the internment ofin the war effort was negligible, and almost totally

Japanese Americans and that of Japanese

unreported by the press, Japanese Americans

Canadians have been conducted.

made a contribution that offered unchallengeable

Roger Daniels stated that although theproof of their loyalty and was a major factor inexperience of Japanese Americans and Japanese

their postwar acceptance by American society at

Canadians was both quite similar, there werelarge. (Young, 2004, p. 95)

important differences and most of those depend
much more on institutional differences between

Greg Robinson stated that “a study of thethe two countries (Daniels 1981), and points out

similarities and differences across the borderthat “Despite basic similarities in the approaches

provides a greater and more balanced perspectiveof the two North American democracies there

on any number of overall questions relating towere policy differences in the ways that each

the Japanese Americans” (Robinson, 2009, p. 6)
4

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

and pointed out the differences as follows.

pointed out that while Miyatake ‘s object looked
away from the camera, Manbo’s object was

Despite various self-justifying assertions bylooking straight at the camera. According toPrime Minister King and political leaders in

Alinder, Miyatake’s image brings a symbolic

Ottawa that their arbitrary wartime treatment ofimpression and Manbo’s image has a character

Japanese Canadians was designed to coordinate

as a portrait photograph.

with Washington’s, the two countries’ policies
were quite distinct from the start. The WRA (WarManbo takes a much more straightforward

Relocation Authority of the U.S. government)

approach, setting up the shot to emphasize

provided housing and education for campfrontality through the position of the fence andinmates, sponsored camp newspapers, andhis son. His son’s expression and gaze straightsupported leisure activities and cooperatives.

back at the camera create an image that is more

Japanese Canadians did not receive suchof a portrait than a metaphor. Miyatake’s subjects

assistance and had to rely on religious andlook away from the lens as if they are unaware ofnonprofit groups for aid or use their own funds.

the camera’s presence and their gazes beyond

Furthermore,

the confines of camp function symbolically totheirlarge-scale

official

confiscation and forced sale of properties ofcommunicate injustice. (Alinder, 2012, p. 97)

Japanese Canadians had no parallel south of theborder, while there were no battalions of Nisei

This kind of difference might be identified

soldiers in Canada to demonstrate their loyalty of

between the two internment documentaries as

the group. (Robinson, 2009, p. 286)

movie is composed from a series of still pictures.
There are several methods for comparative

All three mentioned here pointed out thecontent analysis of movies,

degree of participation in military service as a

Among them, one of the most authentic andsignificant difference between the Japanesebasic method is the “Same frame” heuristic.

American and Japanese Canadian internees.

David Bordwell pointed out the presence ofApparently, this point is reflected in the films,

film critics’ routine tactics, which he named thethough it is not clear how it was expressed and“Same frame” heuristic (Bordwell, 1989, p. 178).

what its significance is.

The heuristic is explained as “If two figures areshown in the same frame, a bond is established1.2.3 Comparative analysis methods for visual

between them.” This heuristic can be applied tocontent.

analyze the relationship between the characters

Although no comparative studies have beenin the footage.

conducted on the two films, several analysis

Recently, a new statistical method, named

methods to compare visual content can be applied

Cinemetrics, has been introduced to compare

to compare them.

movies.

In

2012,

JasmineAlindercomparedAs early as in 1974, Barry Salt issued “Statisticalphotographs taken by Toyo Miyatake and Bill

Style Analysis of Motion Pictures” and advocatedManbo at Heartmountain internment camp. She

applying a quantitative approach. Although this5Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

approach had been neglected for a long time, in

Various kinds of data to compare films are

the 21st century, as movies became available onavailable with Cinemetrics.

the internet and able to be analyzed any time

Average shot length (ASL) is frequently used

when necessary, the statistical analysis of visual

to compare the cutting pace of films andmedia studies appeared one after another.

distinguish the creator’s tendency. If ASL of a

In 2001, Salt applied his statistical theory tofilm is lower than the other film, then the cutting

television drama analysis. In 2005, Yuri Tsivian

pace of it is high, and the phenomenon willdeveloped

andindicate the feasibility of creator’s aim ofestablished its website. In 2012, Mike Baxter

cramming more content into the work than the

published “Film statistics: some observation” inlower cutting pace case.

the

Cinemetrics

project

which he summarized and described various

Cinemetrics

features of Cinemetrics.

is

also

usefulto

extract

systematically the characteristic shots which

According to Baxter, “the main purpose ofdetermine the specialty of the film. It focuses on

quantification is to aid (objective) comparison”

the shots which are indicated as outliers in shot

(Baxter, 2012, p. 19). Actually, Cinemetrics as alengths distribution.

tool of quantitative analysis is extremely useful to

There is no disagreement among scholars on

distinguish the difference between two or more

the importance of outliers i.e. extra-long takefilms in an objective manner.

shots as the characteristic shots.

Examplesofcomparative

researchwith

Cinemetrics are provided as follows.

These long take shots could reasonably be

In 2006, Warren Buckland published a bookreferred to as “outliers” in this particular case,about Steven Spielberg. He compared the style ofbut to disregard their existence in an investigation

Poltergeist to that of Spielberg’s and Tobe

is to shut your eyes to the very thing that makes

Hooper’s other films using statistics to determine

this film special. (Salt, 2011)

who directed the film. In 2012, Nick Redfern
examined the impact of sound technology by

Uncontentious outliers may be among theexamining the shot lengths in Hollywood cinema

more interesting aspects of a film’s “style.”

to compare 1920s silent films with early sound(Baxter, 2012)

films and identified significant differences
between them. In 2014, Jeremy Butler analyzed

Outlying shot lengths may be a significant

the editing rhythm of a television program. Butler

element of a film’s style: removing the opening

compared the cutting rates of single-camera

shot from Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) orrecorded shows to multiple cameras shows andthe tracking shot of the traffic scene fromfound a significant difference between the two. In

Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967) from our2019, Taylor Arnold, Lauren Tilton, and Annie

analysis would be to take away the mostBerke examined the visual style in two sitcoms

distinctive (and certainly the most famous)with a statistical approach and illustrated how

aspects of these films’ style. (Redfern, 2012)

formal elements served to differentiate the roleof characters within each series.

Considering these assertions above, outliers
6Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

1.3 Research Purpose

can be a clue to identifying distinctive shots thatmake the film special. Regardless of whether the

From what has been examined so far, previous

cutting pace is higher or lower, the outliers canstudies regard the United States and Canada as

be equally distinguishable to the film because

having differences in both their immigration

they are statistically abnormal to the otherpolicies and the treatment of internment of

average shots. Thus, they can make a strong

people of Japanese descent. These differences

impression on the audience who can memorize

are apparently reflected in the documentaries

them as the characteristic shots.

produced in both countries on the theme of theJapanese internment, though superficially the

Extra-long take shots as outliers in shot length

two films appear to be similar.

distribution exist above the third quartile and can

Nonetheless, no comparative studies havebe calculated by multiplying the interquartile

been

range.

conducted

on

these

documentaries,

So far, Cinemetrics has been mainly used foralthough photographs of the camps have beenfictional content such as dramas and feature

examined. In addition, studies that compare

films, though it can also be applied tomultiple video contents include those based on

documentaries.

traditional content analysis methods and thoseDocumentaries tend to be considered purebased on new statistical methods, both of which

non-fiction, as opposed to dramas and featureare considered effective for comparative study offilms that represent fiction. However, despite

documentaries.

theirapparent

representationof

As a hypothesis, the differences between two

reality,

countries should reflect in their films in visual

documentaries tend to have hidden intention.
Daniel Arijon defines, in his established classic

form. Thus, the purpose of this study is towriting “Grammar of the film language,” threeobjectively clarify the differences inherent in two

types

similar documentaries made during the war

of

film

forms,

namelynewsreel,through combined analysis.

documentary, and fiction. He states that in
documentary “manipulation is necessary” andElucidating this issue is significant as a visual“facts have to be arranged to be shown at their

media approach to comparative research on thebest and an event is often repeated to be filmedinternment of Japanese descent. It is also

several times. Repetition means staging” (Arijon,

supposed that this will contribute to international

1976, p. 13) and “documentaries have profitedcomparative research on video content.

from a dual approach that blends unadulterated

This study is intended to examine how thereality with carefully recomposed fiction” (Arijon,

differences between the two countries are

1976, p. 14).

reflected in the video content as images and does

According to Arijon, as documentaries havenot aim to criticize the policies of the twotraits of recomposed fiction that reflect thecountries or the actual conditions of the camps.

intentions of the creator, Cinemetrics can beapplied to them like in dramas and feature films.

2. Methods
This study uses three approaches described
7

Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

above in a combined way, as it is better to use thetraditional

qualitative

methodandThe shots obtained as a result of the extraction

newly

may include subtitles and shots for simply

quantitative method in tandem rather than treat

introducing scenery. Since these shots are notthem as competing techniques.

deeply relevant to the content, they will not be

In this study, the two documentaries will betreated as subjects in this study.

analyzed in the following three steps.

In addition, various previous studies andFirst, in accordance with Alinder’s study, thismaterials will be used supplementarily forstudy measures the number of “Frontal view ofconsideration, when necessary.

the internees” shots in which the internees were

3. Results

looking at the camera in each film to evaluate thesymbolic or familiar nature in the footage.

3.1 “Frontal view of the internees” shots

Although Alinder’s method was intended for still

Table 1 shows the “Frontal view of thepictures, it can be applied to each shot in movies

internees” shots appearing in the two films.

as each movie is a conglomeration of still shots.
Second, based on the traditional way ofanalyzing, this study measures the number of theTable 1: “Frontal view of the internees” shots“Same frame” shots, that is, the number of shots

Challenge

recording the Japanese internees and Caucasiansupervisors simultaneously in the same frame to

Descent

Number of shots

2

93

Ditto / 500 shots

6103

evaluate the relationship between them.
As for indicators of “Same frame” shots and

The number of “Frontal view of the internees”“Frontal view of the internees” shots, this study

shots per 500 shots in Descent exceeded those of

calculated their number per 500 shots following

Challenge more than 17 times. The two films have

Salt (Salt, 1974, p. 15).

shots in which people just glanced at the camera.

Third, this study adopts a quantitative approach

The number of such shots is 2 in Challenge andi.e. Cinemetrics. After measuring fundamental

10 in Descent. Without those “just a glance” shots,

descriptive statistics of the films such as length inthere are no “Frontal view of the internees” shotseconds, the number of shots, this study

in Challenge.

calculates average shot length, range of shot
lengths,

standard

deviation(S.D.)

3.2 “Same frame” shots

andTable 2 shows the “Same frame” shots

interquartile range. A t-test compared the averageappearing in the two films.

shot lengths of the two films. Then, this study
compares the formula of the films and extracts
outliersascharacteristic

shots

in

Table 2: “Same frame” shots

each

Challenge

documentary.
The greater the length, the more impressive
the shot. Therefore, this study extracts extreme

Descent

Number of Shots

18

7

Ditto / 500 shots

52

8

outliers that lie more than 3.0 times the
In contrast to the case of “Frontal view of theinterquartile range above the third quartile.
8

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

internees” shots, the number of “Same frame”

The plots of the shot length dispersity indicate

shots per 500 shots in Challenge scored 6.5 times

that some data further explode in the righthigher than that in Descent.

direction in both figures. These data are outliers
and represent characteristic shots of the films.

3.3 Statistically characteristic shots
Table 3shows

fundamental

As shown in Table 3, the higher quartile ofdescriptive

Challenge is 7.26, and the interquartile range isstatistics of the films.

4.15. Thus, the outliers as characteristic shots tobe selected for Challenge are those that have a

Table 3: Fundamental descriptive statistics
Challenge

Descent

Lengths

1064

1286

Number of shots

174

451

Average shot lengths

6.1

2.9

(t-Statistics 8.08
1

1

Maximum shot length

41

17

Range

40

16

5.17

1.98

(S.D.)

approximately. Similarly, the data to be selected
for Descent are those that have a value of over
7.01 seconds of shot lengths approximately.
Tables 4 and 5 show these statistically singular

p<.000000)

Minimum shot length

Standard deviation

value of over 19.71 seconds of shot lengths

Lower (First) quartile

3.11

1.73

Higher (Third) quartile

7.26

3.05

Interquartile range

4.15

1.32

and characteristic shots of the two films indescending order.

Table 4: Statisticallycharacteristic

shots(extreme outliers) in Challenge
Shot Description

Length (seconds)

Loyalty questionnaire document of

41

internees
Caucasian supervisor paying wage

Time data are in seconds

32

to Japanese internees

Figures 3 and 4 show the box plots of the shot
length dispersity of the two films.

Internment Camp barracks

23

Inside of a barrack

22

In Tables 4 and 5, both films have common
explanatory shots such as the “pan of internment
camp barracks” and the “image of globe” orordinary landscape shots, such as a lake, pond,

Figure 3: Box Plot of the shot length dispersity

or tree. When these shots are excluded, theof Challenge

genuine characteristic shots of the films remain.
In

Challenge,

those

are

the

“Loyalty

questionnaire document of internees” (Figure 5)
and “Caucasian supervisor paying a wage toJapanese internees” (Figure 6).
In Descent, those are the “Baseball game fieldwith players” (Figure 7), “Two ladies performing

Figure 4: Box Plot of the shot length dispersity

Bon (Japanese summer festival) dance” (Figureof Descent9Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

8), “Smiling faces of Japanese Canadian children”(Figure 9), and “Two ladies in kimonos
performing Bon dance” (Figure 10).

Table 5: Statisticallycharacteristic

shots(extreme outliers) in Descent
Shot Description

Length (seconds)

Image of globe describing the17

spread of war to pacificFigure 5:

Figure 6:“Loyalty questionnaire“Caucasiandocument ofsupervisor paying

Baseball game field with players

14internees” shot inwage to Japanese

Two

12

Challenge

internees” shot inladiesperforming

Bon(Japanese summer festival) danceLandscape of a pond
Smiling

faces

Challenge

11ofJapanese

10

Landscape of a lake near the10

Canadian childreninternment camp
Internment camp barracks

10

Interior of a sawmill

10

Bus arriving at the internment

9

Figure 7:

Figure 8:“Baseball game field “Two ladies
with players” shot in performing Bon

camp
Two ladies in kimonos performing

9

Bon dance (up size)
A tall tree
Internees

Descent

9on

thestreetof

8

Truck with log load in a log camp

8

A man welding a machine8

dance” shot in
Descent

internment camp

Internment camp barracks
Internment

camp

7barracks

7(different shot)
Two

boys

on

the

streetof

7internment camp
Men relaxing under a tree

7

Men cutting a log

7

4. Discussion

Figure 9:

Figure 10:“Smiling faces of“Two ladies inJapanese Canadiankimonos performing

children” shot in

Bon dance” shot in

Descent

Descent

Canadian film. In the dialogue between twopatients in the tuberculosis ward, despite editing

This study first considers the “Frontal view ofwith the shot/reverse shot combination, both are

the internees” shots in the films. As shown infacing the front. It is out of the dialogue axis like

Table 1, the abundance of “Frontal view of thea movie by Yasujiro Ozu. In contrast, in the U.S.

internees” shots is a considerable feature of thefilm, people look away from the camera and face10

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

the other direction.

which characters appear simultaneously indicate

Figures 11 and 12 illustrate a typical contrast of

their unity, the U.S. film depicts the people united

the look in the “Frontal view of the internees”

visibly much more than the Canadian one. Thisshots of the two films.

suggests that the former reflects the ideal policyof assimilation in its visual description more thanthe latter.
Nonetheless, as Bordwell noted (Bordwell
1989, p. 251), even if characters are in the same
shot, one can deliberately say that they are united(by being in the same shot) or separated (by the

Figure 11:

Figure 12:

space between them). Therefore, an elaborate

Typical “Frontal view

Typical “Frontal view

analysis is needed here. Figures 13 and 14 showof the internees” shot of the internees” shotin Challengein Descent

the typical “Same frame” shot of each film.

While the children in the Challenge shot lookaway from the camera, those in Descent directly
look

at

Therefore,

thecameraortheDescent

commemorative

picturecinematographer.

shot

resembles

showingapeoplegathering for a memorial day.
This fact seems to correspond with what

Figure 13:

Figure 14:

Typical “Same frame”

Typical “Same frame”

shot in Challenge

shot in Descent

Alinder stated in her previous study. Alinderconsidered that the shot in which the internee is

As shown in Figure 13, the shot of a guard andlooking out of the screen gives a symbolic

an interned mother holding a baby is a typicalimpression, while the shot in which the internee

composition of the ruler and the ruled. In thisis looking straight back at the camera resembles

shot, a giant image of a guard with a gun facing

a portrait image. From this point of view, thethe right side occupies the foreground on the left

frontal views in the American documentaryside of the frame. In contrast, a small image of arepresents the ideal assimilation as a symbol

mother and a baby walking slowly in thesomewhere far away, and those in the Canadian

background is visible on the right side of the

documentary expresses its tendency of co-frame.

existence in the family-photo-like composition.

Also, in the American film, as in the payment

This study now discusses the second issue ofscene shown in Figure 6 or the shopping scene at

the result: the “Same frame” shots in the films. As

the Purchasing Department, the Caucasian andshown in Table 2, the number of “Same frame”

the Japanese are separated on either side of the

shots in Challenge records is 6.5 times more thancounter. They are classified as rulers and ruled.

those of Descent. If, as Bordwell quoted as a

In 13 shots among 18 “Same frame” shots (72%)

widely used heuristic statement, the shots inin Challenge, the faces of Japanese Americans
11Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

and Caucasians face opposite directions. Even if

items.

they face the same direction, there is a strict

The average shot length for Descent is almost

differentiation between the Caucasian and thetwice of that in Challenge. Comparing theJapanese as the supervisor and the supervised,dispersion, the data of Challenge scatters moreas in the scenes of classroom or workplace forsparsely than those of Descent. In contrast, theexample. These shots of Challenge can bedata of the latter squeezes more densely thanregarded as corresponding to an internee’s

those of the former. This means that Descent iswords as recorded by Mizuno in a temporary

cut more quickly than Challenge. In other words,

assembly center of Japanese descent in the

the Canadian editor tried to cram about twice as

U.S.A...

much content into the film as the American one.
Now, this study considers the characteristic“a profound feeling is developing among theshots extracted as outliers from the descriptive

Japanese at Santa Anita that the Caucasians instatistics.

camp suffered a definite superiority complex.”

For the American film, the loyalty questionnaire(Mizuno, 2003, p. 102)

document shot of Challenge and for the Canadianfilm, ladies performing Bon dance shot of Descent

Meanwhile, in the Canadian film, in thecan be considered as representative of eachconstruction planning scene, as shown in Figure

documentary. This study discusses these two

14, or the scenes at the front of the clinic building,shots in comparison.

the Japanese and the Caucasian face the same

In the American documentary, the loyalty

direction. Both appear to be colleagues. In 6

questionnaire document shot in Challenge has

shots among 7 of the “Same frame” shots (86%) in

the longest duration (41 seconds). It is a close-up

Descent, the faces of the Japanese and Caucasianof a hand leafing through documents entitled theface the same direction, and they are in equivalent“leave clearance docket.” During this shot, thepositions on the screen.

narrator states that “only those evacuees whose

In Challenge, the Japanese and the Caucasianstatements and whose acts leave no question offace opposite directions. However, in Descent,their loyalty to the United States are permitted toJapanese descent and Caucasian face the same

leave.” The docket should record the result of thedirection. Here, the two films contrast visually.

loyalty questionnaire that sought information

This difference is considered to be a visual

allowing the authority to decide whether anreflection of how the American footage representsinternee was loyal enough to be trusted outsidea hierarchy in assimilation, whereas the Canadianof the camp (Muller, 2007, p. 32; Robinson, 2009,

footage represents a parallel coexistence.

pp. 185-188). This shot symbolizes the American

This study finally considers the third issue of

way of assimilation of internees just as Alinder

the result indicated by statistical data.

notes that “the categories of American andFundamental descriptive statistics (Table 3)

Japanese were then aligned with the categories of

revealed that the U.S. and Canadian internment

loyal and disloyal” (Alinder, 2012, p. 91). This candocumentaries were significantly different in

be seen as reflecting the U.S. policy “a sometimes

numbers and ratios. They made clear contrasts incoercive policy of ‘Americanization’, that is,
12

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Japanese assimilation to white American values”

and 12 seconds in the film which has a total(Robinson, 2009, p. 185).

duration of 21 minutes and 26. It begins after 61.6

This shot is regarded as a nodal point of the% of the total duration of the film has elapsed.

film. It begins at 12 minutes and 21 seconds in theAlong with this Japanese cultural shot, Descentfilm that spans a total duration of 17 minutes andhas a shot of baseball game players that lasts 14

43 seconds. It begins after 69.3% of the total

seconds and is the second-longest shot in the

duration of the film has elapsed. Until this shot,

film. It is in the middle of a baseball gamethe film mostly depicts the interior of the campsequence with 54 seconds of duration with otherwith a few exceptions showing seasonal work on

20 shots. This indicates that both the Bon dancea nearby farm. After this shot, the film depicts theand the baseball game are highlight shots of thecamp’s outdoors, i.e. American society where ex-scenes in the point of their length.

internees work in various places. The film thenThis phenomenon, such as the coexistence of

illustrates the training of the Japanese American

Japanese and Western cultures is a vital feature ofsoldiers with a voice-over: “The Americanism of

Descent. This Canadian documentary has otherthe great majority of America’s Japanese finds its

Japanese traditional culture scenes such as Shogi

highest expression in the thousands who are in(Japanese chess) and Japanese bath, along with

the United States Army, almost half of them are

Western activities such as boy scouts and football.

in

These shots reflect the point Pendakis andaJapanese

Americancombatteam….

Hundreds of them volunteered while they were

Wilson noted as follows.

in relocation centers…. They know what they’refighting against and they know what they’reThis called for a re-visioning, quite literally, offighting for -- their country and for the American

the Canadian national imaginary, one no longer

ideals that are part of their upbringing --exclusively grounded in the project of a puredemocracy, freedom, equality of opportunity

white British ideal. Though clearly steeped inregardless of race, creed, or ancestry.” Itmany of the racist, nativist ideals whichfunctions as a gateway to the normal world,

characterized the pre-war period in Canada, “--Of

filtering out those who lack loyalty andJapanese Descent” is at the same instant one of theaccordingly cannot assimilate into American

first attempts on the part of the state to openly

society. Military images exist only in thetransition the Canadian national imaginary

American film, which is consistent with what has

towards a more diverse and tolerant multicultural

been pointed out in previous research on

ideal. (Pendakis & Wilson, 2018, p. 19)

Japanese internment.
In the Canadian documentary, the longest shot

In contrast, the U. S. documentary has only

has two ladies in kimonos performing Bon dance,

Western ones, such as boy scouts, football, andand in combination with the subsequent close-up

baseball. It has no Japanese cultural activity

shot of the ladies, spans for a duration of 21

comparable to Bon dance; instead, it has aseconds. It is the introductory shot for the Bon

Westernized beauty contest winner parade scene.

festival sequence lasting 82 seconds as a whole

It is similar to what Mizuno noted for thewith the other 22 shots. It begins at 13 minutes

newspaper in an assembly center of Japanese13Comparative Analysis between the Japanese American and the Japanese Canadian Internment DocumentariesTSUJI

American.

other direction. These shots may be considered
as symbolic of the American way of assimilation“news that could be associated with Japan orfor internees.

things Japanese, no matter how newsworthy it

Second, the number of “Same frame” shots inmight be, was often ignored or played down. (…)

Challenge is 6.5 times higher than in Descent.

On the other hand, patriotism to the UnitedThis suggests that the former reflects theStates was played up.” (Mizuno, 2003, p. 101)

idealism of assimilation in its visual description
more than the latter. Nevertheless, further

Thus, Japanese and Western cultures coexist

analysis revealed that in Challenge, Japanesein the Canadian film, while Japanese culture is

Americanseliminated from the U.S. film. Here again, a

directions while in Descent, Japanese Canadians

contrasting difference which correspond to

and Caucasians face the same direction. Theseprevious research on policies and camp lifestyles

shots of Challenge place Japanese descent andin the two documentaries is observed. The

Caucasian in the same frame but divide them as

results of the fundamental descriptive statistics

supervisor and supervised. In contrast, in(Table 3) showed that Descent had a shorter ASL

Descent, the Japanese and the Caucasian face thethan Challenge, and that there were approximately

same direction, and they co-exist in equivalent

twice as many shots per unit time in the former

positions on the screen.

andCaucasians

face

oppositethan the latter. This is considered to be a

Third, characteristic shots of the two films

phenomenon that corresponds to the fact thatindicate their difference clearly. While thewhile only Western culture is depicted in the

Canadian film has shots depicting the Western

American film, both Western and Japaneseand Japanese cultures evenly, the American film

cultures are depicted in the Canadian film.

has only those of the Western one. Suchcoexistence of ethnic cultures is a vital feature of

5. Conclusion

the Canadian film and it is similar in crucial shotssuch as “Japanese Canadians play baseball” andThis study compared the documentaries about“Japanese Canadian ladies perform Bon dance.”

the internment of Japanese Canadians andThese shots showing cultural plurality may be

Japanese Americans using combined analysis

considered as metaphorical of Canadian society.

method and visually analyzed the differences

On the other hand, a characteristic shot of the

between the two countries reflected in them.

American film shows a questionnaire on loyalty

Following the analysis, significant differences

to the United States, and this shot is followed by

between the two films were observed.

the process of assimilation into American societyFirst, the number of “Frontal view of theand participation in the military as its ultimate

internees” shots in Descent exceeded those ofform.

Challenge more than 17 times. In the CanadianIn all cases, contrast between American

film, these shots of internees resemble family

idealism of assimilation and Canadian cultural

memorial pictures. In contrast, in the U.S. film,

diversity was observed in the two films. Bothpeople look away from the camera and face thedocumentaries positively reframe the internment
14

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

of Japanese Americans and Canadians and re-Incarnation in World War II (83-91). Chapel Hill:

integrate the Japanese into society, however the

University of North Carolina Press.

visual expressions of the two are different,

Arijon, Daniel. (1976). Grammar of the film language.

reflecting the cultural differences between theLos Angeles: Silman-James Press.

two countries. Thus, the hypothesis that the

Arnold, Taylor, Lauren Tilton, and Annie Berke.

differences exist in the films as a visual(2019). Visual Style in Two Network Era Sitcoms.

description was supported.

Journal of Cultural Analytics 4.2, 1-29.

Through data analysis, this study verified that

Barnouw, Erik. (1993). Documentary: A History of The

the statistical method like Cinemetrics was fairly

Non Fiction Film. Second Revised Ed. London andefficient for analyzing documentaries when

New York: Oxford University Press.

combined with traditional content analysis.

Baxter,This study was intended to be exploratory onlywith

AmericanandCanadianMike.

(2012).

Film

Statistics:

Some

Observations. Retrieved June 24, 2022, frominternment

https://cinemetrics.uchicago.edu/dev/

documentary films. Therefore the footages from

ASLdebate.pdf

other countries were not covered. Despite these

Bordwell, David. (1989). Making Meaning: Inference

data limitations, the comparative method of thisand Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema.

study may offer opportunities to examine theLondon: Harvard University Press.

differential quality of other documentary films

Buckland, Warren. (2006). Directed by Stevenand contribute to assessing characteristics inSpielberg: Poetics of the Contemporary Hollywood

numerous

Blockbuster.

films

and

videos.

Comparative

research on documentaries and propaganda

New

York

and

London:The

Continuum International Group.

films made in countries other than the United

Butler, Jeremy. (2014). Statistical Analysis ofStates and Canada should be a future topic.

Television Style: What Can Numbers Tell Us
about TV Editing? Cinema Journal 54.1, 25-44.

Acknowledgments

Daniels, Roger. (1981). Concentration Camps: North

This study was supported by JSPS Grants-in-

America: Japanese in the United States and Canada

Aid for Scientific Research Grant Number

during World War II. Revised Ed. Florida: Robert

JP18K18327.

E. Krieger.

I would like to express my gratitude to Doctor

Daniels, Roger. (1982). Japanese Relocation and

Chieko Mizoue, Professor Emerita of the

Redress in North America: A Comparative View,

University
informationof

Tsukubaregardinghervaluable

Japanesefor

Canadian

The Pacific Historian 26.1, 2-14.
Gittings, Christopher E. (2002). Canadian National

internment film “Of Japanese Descent.”

Cinema: Ideology, Difference and Representation.
London and New York: Routledge.

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Gordon, Milton M. (1964) Assimilation in American

Alinder, Jasmine. (2012). Camera in Camp: Bill

Life: The Role of Race, Religion and National

Manbo’s Vernacular Scenes of Heart Mountain. In

Origins. Oxford University Press.

Muller, Eric L. (Ed.), Colors of Confinement: Rare

Hayashi, Brian Masaru. (2004). Democratizing theKodachrome Photographs of Japanese American

Enemy: The Japanese American Internment. New

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Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Technology on the Distribution of Shot Lengths in

Jowett, Garth S. and Victoria O’Donnell. (2012).
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andPersuasion.

Fifth

Hollywood Cinema, 1920 to 1933. Cinema Journal

Edition.

2.1, 77-94.

California: SAGE Thousand Oaks.

Reitz, Jeffrey G., and Raymond Breton. 1994. The

Kierans, Thomas E. (1994). Foreword, In Reitz,

Illusion of Difference: Realities of Ethnicity in

Jeffrey G. and Breton, Raymond The Illusion of

Canada and the United States. Toronto: C.D. Howe

Difference: Realities of Ethnicity in Canada and theInstitute.

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Robinson, Greg. (2009). A Tragedy of Democracy:

Mizuno, Takeya. (2003). Journalism Under MilitaryJapanese Confinement in North America. New

Guards and Searchlights: Newspaper Censorship

York: Columbia University Press.

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World War II. Journalism History 29, 98-106.

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Salt, Barry (2001) Practical Film Theory and Its

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Barry.

(2011).

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CINEMETRICS. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from:

Hunt for Japanese American Disloyalty in Worldh t t p : / / w w w. c i n e m e t r i c s . l v / m e t r i c s _ i n _War II. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina

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Pendakis, Andrew and Sheena Wilson. (2018). The

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Nation Dreamt Whole: Mid-Century Canadian

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Redfern, Nick. (2012). The Impact of Sound

16

Refereed Original Paper
The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntarycooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using asocial dilemma framework
Keywords:
COVID-19, Social dilemma, prosocial behavior, public health

Hitoshi YAMAMOTO, Faculty of Business Administration, Rissho University
Takahisa SUZUKI, College of Policy Studies, Tsuda University
Yuki OGAWA, Faculty of Design and Data Science, Tokyo City University
Ryohei UMETANI, Graduate School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba

Abstract
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a global problem, and to prevent the spread of the infections, it is
crucial not only to develop vaccines and therapeutic medications but also to encourage people tochange their behavior. Behavioral change to prevent the spread of infectious diseases has required
people to give up many activities, especially pleasures outside the home. However, it is hoped that
if most people behave cooperatively, individuals’ selfish pursuit of pleasure will have little effecton the spread of infection. This conflict between benefits for individuals and those for thecommunity as a whole can be considered a social dilemma. Clarifying the factors that define
people’s behavior during epidemics is essential for designing social systems after the COVID-19
Pandemic is declared over. Here, we analyze the determinants of people’s behavior in theframework of a social dilemma by conducting a two-wave panel survey in 2020 and 2021. The
results show that in the first wave, psychological attitudes that affect prosocial behavior, such as
reciprocity, positively affect prosocial behavior. However, in the second wave, these effects
disappear, and other factors define people’s behavior. Continuous analysis of the factors
determining people’s behavior under drastically changing circumstances can provide information
for planning measures to promote desirable behavioral changes.

Received May 3 2022, Accepted Jan 23 2023

17

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

YAMAMOTO et alsocial dilemma with the structure of the tragedy

1. Introductionof the commons (Hardin, 1968).
The COVID-19 Pandemic has significantly

The research questions of this paper are

impacted humanity, causing over 200 million

whether the psychological attitudes that haveconfirmed infections and over 4 million deaths

been shown to influence prosocial behavior inworldwide as of October 2021. To overcomesocial dilemma situations have affected people’s

COVID-19, not only medical measures such as

behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Somethe development of vaccines but also behavioral

studies answer this question affirmatively (Vanchanges and restructuring of people’s lifestyles

Hulsen et al., 2020; Van Lange et al., 2021; Harring

are required (Van Bavel et al., 2020). Someet al., 2021; Ling et al., 2020; Johnson et al., 2020).

studies have analyzed behavioral change andFor example, a positive correlation has been

hoarding

pandemic

found between prosociality and COVID-19(Columbus, 2020; Lunn et al., 2020). In many

prevention behaviors (Jordan et al. 2020; Luttrellcountries, people’s behavior has been forcibly& Petty 2020; Pfattheicher et al. 2020; Fischer et

restricted by legally enforceable lockdownal., 2021). However, few studies have analyzed inpolicies. In Japan, however, the constitution does

detail the impact of prosociality and related

not allow for enforceable restrictions on people’s

psychological attitudes on preventive behavior.

behavior

duringthemovements or associations. Therefore, people

In theoretical studies of social dilemmas, twowere encouraged to change their behavior

variables are often used as the individual’s

voluntarily. Although vaccination is progressing

behavioral strategy: 1) the behavioral strategy ofin many countries and behavioral restrictions arecooperation or non-cooperation and 2) the

being relaxed, one significant public health issue

punishment

is to clarify the factors that determine behavioral

punishment or not. The former behavioral

changes to prevent the spread of infections in thestrategy can be measured by whether people

future.

voluntarily refrain from or intend to avoid goingstrategyofwhethertouse

To prevent infections, people have beenout to prevent infection. The latter punishmentencouraged to act less selfishly. For example,

strategy, however, is difficult to measure directly.

enjoying a meal at a restaurant or going to aThis is because, in many cases, direct private

concert is an essential part of people’s welfare,punishment is prohibited in the real world, andbut people have been told that they need topunishment is carried out by public authorities

voluntarily give up these pleasures to control(e.g., the police). Therefore, we adopt a

infections. In Japan, a state of emergency has

punishment

been declared four times, but no enforceable

cooperators should be punished” as a punishment

restrictions were imposed on individuals, andstrategy.

norm

that

considers“non-only voluntary cooperation was requested of

In this study, we focus on three variables ascitizens. We need a framework for analyzing

psychological attitudes that influence COVID-19

people’s behavior in situations where benefits forprevention behaviors. It is well known that these

individuals conflict with the benefits for society

variables have a positive correlation withas a whole. This situation can be considered a

prosocial behavior in social dilemmas. The first is
18

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

generalized reciprocity and generalized trust

have emerged, such as the conflict between(Yamagishi and Yamagishi, 1994; Yamagishi andpeople’s beliefs toward the vaccines. Specifically,

Kiyonari, 2000). Generalized reciprocity andthe cumulative number of confirmed infections ingeneralized trust are typical variables thatJapan as of 1st April, 2020 was 2,502, which is

promote cooperative behavior in social dilemmas.

0.0020% of the Japanese population. At this point,

Second is a belief in a just world (Lerner, 1980).

the maximum number of reported infections per

The literature (Miller, 1977, Zuckerman, 1975)

day was 268. However, as of 1st. Apr. 2021, thehas reported a positive association between the

cumulative number of confirmed infections inbelief in a just world strength and altruistic

Japan was 477,846, which is 0.3810% of the

behavior. The belief in a just world is a cognitive

population. The maximum number of reported

bias in which one believes that the world is still

infections per day before the second-wave survey

fair when exposed to harsh or difficult situations,reached 7,957 on 8th Jan. 2021. As a situationsuch as those faced by people throughout thechanges so significantly, people’s risk perception

world during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Thus, theand determinants of behavior should be expected

belief in a just world is thought to influence

to change.

people’sbehavior

COVID-19

Here, we conducted two waves of panel

Pandemic. Third, we adopt justice sensitivity

surveys, one in April 2020 during the early stages(Schmitt et al., 2010), which measures sensitivityof the COVID-19 Pandemic and the other a year

to various types of injustice. For instance, it

later in April 2021, to investigate whether people’s

consists of sensitivity to unfair losses suffered byprosociality affects preventive behavior andoneself and to unfair losses suffered by others.

whether

Because COVID-19 has had a non-homogeneous

Continuous analysis of the factors determining

and unequal impact on people, sensitivity to thispeople’s behavior under drastically changing

unequalcircumstances can provide information for

impactduringshouldtheinfluencepeople’sthiseffectbehavior. We analyze the impact of these threeplanning

psychological attitudes on infection prevention

behavioral changes.

measureschangedtooverpromotetime.

desirable

behavior and punishment norms during the

The factors that determine people’s behavior

COVID-19 Pandemic. The factors comprising

are not the only ones related to social dilemmas.

justice sensitivity have been shown to promote

Other related factors also need to be controlled.

altruistic behavior (Fetchenhauer & Huang,

On the one hand, prosocial behavior in preventing

2004, Gollwitzer et al., 2009) and third-party

the spread of infections is not necessarily

punishment (Fetchenhauer & Huang, 2004),

altruistically motivated. The self-centered motive

respectively.

of preventing oneself and one’s family members

Additionally, we must consider that the socialfrom being infected should also naturally promoteclimate surrounding COVID-19 continues toinfection prevention behavior (Harper et al. 2020;change rapidly and dynamically. In the early

Wise et al., 2020). On the other hand, the behavior

stages, it was important to focus on the conflictof others strongly influences people’s behavior

between individual and collective benefits, but(Asch, 1951). Information from the mass media

during the vaccination campaign, new problems

and social media is the primary way by which
19

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

YAMAMOTO et alpeople infer the social atmosphere and theJapan. The second-wave survey was conductedbehavior of the majority. Therefore, it is necessary

from 13th to 24th Apr. 2021 and received 987

to consider the influence of media exposure on

valid responses (33.4% female; mean age 49.0).

people’s risk perception and estimation of theComparing the participants who responded tobehavior of others. The relationship between

both Wave 1 and Wave 2 and those who attrited in

COVID-19 prevention behaviors and the media

Wave 2 revealed differences in age (mean = 47.95

has also been researched (Liu et al., 2020; Liu etfor the former, mean = 45.05 for the latter, p<.001).

al., 2021; Chemli et al., 2020;). In today’s society,

There were no significant differences in gender

the influence of not only mass media but also

and the psychological attitudes used in thesocial media is expanding, so the influence offollowing analysis.

social media on COVID-19 prevention behaviors

2-1. Dependent variables

should also be considered (Huynh, L., 2020; Yu,
M. et al., 2021; Allington et al., 2021). It is also

We set the behaviors and norms for dependent

essential to consider what effect each of the twovariables as follows. First, for behavior, we used

types of media will have (Piltch-Loeb et al., 2021).

the responses to the two items “I went out for

Even after controlling for these factors, it isfun” and “I went out for dinner” on the weekend

necessary to examine whether the factors thatof 28th and 29th March 2020, the week before thepromote prosocial behavior in social dilemma

first-wave survey, and set up a dummy variable inenvironments

which those who did either of the two items werestill

affectdeterminantsofdesignated as “not-cooperation” and those who

behavior.
This study has conducted during the first-wave

did neither of the two items were designated assurvey on 3rd Apr. 2020 and the second-wave“cooperation.” Then, in the second-wave survey,

panel survey from 13th to 24th Apr. 2021 to

we set a dummy variable using the same

analyze the changes in the determinants ofmanipulation for the weekend of 10th and 11th

people’s behavior over time. In both two periods,

Apr. 2021.

no state of emergency declaration was in place,For behavioral intentions, we adopted two

so there were minimal restrictions on daily life.

items using a 5-point scale: “Assuming the

However, after both surveys, a state of emergency

current situation continues, will you refrain fromwas declared. In other words, these surveys weregoing out this weekend?” and “If the current

conducted when there were minimal restrictions

situation continues, how much do you plan toon behavior, but the number of reported

refrain from going out on weekends in the next

infections was increasing.

month?” The score of behavioral intention was
obtained by the simple addition of two items.

2. Methods

Previous studies have revealed that punishment
and beliefs about punishment positively affectWe conducted the first-wave survey on 3rd

the promotion of cooperation (Fehr and Gächter,

Apr. 2020 (38.3% female; mean age 46.5) among

2002; Yamamoto and Suzuki, 2018). In this study,

2,000 monitors registered with Yahoo! Crowd

we measured punishment norms because, in the

Sourcing, a major crowdsourcing platform inreal world, institutional punishments (Sigmund et20

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

al., 2010) such as a police are used for non-Concretely, it is the psychological tendency tocooperative behavior, and direct observation ofbelieve that positive outcomes such as future

peer punishment behavior is not suitable.

success and rewards will result from prosocial

Therefore, as a punishment norm, in response to

behaviors such as effort and helping others.

the question, “How do you feel about people who

Alternatively,

go out on unnecessary and not urgent errands?”,

corruption and negligence will result in future

we asked three questions on a five-point scale:

failure and punishment. There is a positive“The public should condemn them,” “Theycorrelation between the belief in a just world andshould be punished with a fine,” and “Theyaltruistic behavior (Miller, 1977; Zuckerman,

should be allowed to do so because of their1975). The belief in a just world is composed ofindividual circumstances” (reversal item). The

two sub-concepts: belief in ultimate justice (BUJ)

score of punishment norm was obtained by theand belief in immanent justice (BIJ). BUJ is thesimple addition of the three items.

belief that present misfortune or bad luck will be

antisocial

behaviorsuchascompensated for positively in the future, while

2-2. Independent variables

BIJ is the belief that present injustice or

We have adopted a representative set of wellknown

psychologicalattitudes

thatwrongdoing will be rewarded negatively in theaffectfuture. Recently, a relationship between mental

prosocial behavior. The first is generalized

health and a belief in a just world has been shown

reciprocity and generalized trust (Yamagishi and(Wang et al., 2021). We adopted the eight items

Yamagishi, 1994; Yamagishi and Kiyonari, 2000).

developed by Murayama and Miura (2015) for

It is known that people with high levels of these

the belief in a just world.

two are more likely to engage in prosocial

Third, we adopt justice sensitivity (Schmitt etbehavior. To measure generalized trust, subjectsal., 2010). The justice sensitivity scale has been

were asked to rate two items: “Most people areused to examine cooperative and non-cooperative

trustworthy” and “Most people trust others.” Abehavior in the real world as well as in thesubject’s score on generalized trust was obtainedlaboratory. There are four sub-concepts of justiceby the simple addition of the two items’ scores.

sensitivity: victim, observer, beneficiary, andTwo statements on a questionnaire were used toperpetrator. Their respective meanings are asmeasure the subjects’ level of reciprocity. Theirfollows: susceptibility to loss from an unfair event,overall score was obtained by the simple addition

susceptibility to knowing about an unfair event asof the scores of the responses to the twoa third party, susceptibility to passively benefiting

statements. The two items used to calculate

from an unfair event, and susceptibility to actively

reciprocity were: “When someone helps me, Icausing an unfair event. For a scale, we adopted

also help someone else,” and “I believe that goodthe shortened version (8 items) created by thethings eventually come back to me when I am

Japanese version of the Justice Sensitivity Scalekind to others.”(Jessica Tham, et al., 2019). In addition to theSecond, we have focused on a belief in a justabove factors, many other variables influenceworld, which is a cognitive bias that leads people

prosocial behavior and punishment norms, but into believe that the world is fair (Lerner, 1980).

this study, we focused on the three factors
21

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

mentioned above, which are well known as

YAMAMOTO et al

3. Results

determinants of prosocial behavior.
Finally, we introduce the influence of media

In the first step of the analysis, we have

exposure. It is natural to think that not only

checked the independent variables. Factor

psychological attitudes but also information fromanalysis of two items each for generalized

the surrounding environment impact people’s

reciprocity and generalized trust revealed a one-behavior. In particular, the COVID-19 Pandemic

factor structure (α=.72 and α=.83, respectively),

has been one of the most important news items

and the simple summary of the two was adopted

worldwide since the beginning of 2020. We asked

as the variable. For belief in a just world, a two-

how much information about COVID-19 people

factor structure, the same as that in previous

had seen or heard in the media, dividing thesestudies (Murayama and Miura, 2015), was

two types of media into mass media and social

confirmed, and BUJ (α=.93) and BIJ (α=.91) weremedia. In the context of public health, it has been

extracted. Since previous research on justice

pointed out that the third-person effect is a factor

sensitivity (Jessica Tham, et al., 2019) has argued

in determining people’s behavior (Lee and Park,

that the validity of the short version is generally2016). The third-person effect refers to therobust, and since the purpose of this study wastendency for people to perceive mass media

not to examine the validity of the scale, the simple

messages as having a more significant impact on

addition of two items from each of the fourothers than on themselves (Davison, 1983).

proposed factors was adopted as the variable.

On the one hand, for mass media exposure,

The alpha coefficients of victim, observer,

subjects were asked how much information

beneficiary, and perpetrator are α=.61, α=.77,

about COVID-19 they had seen or heard in each

α=.75, and α=.77, respectively.

of the following media: newspapers, television,

The distribution of the dependent variable

news websites operated by newspapers, and“behavior” is shown in Table 1. As a result of theYahoo! News. The simple addition of the results

exact binomial test for the values of the first andwas used. On the other hand, subjects weresecond waves, the cooperative behavior of theasked the degree of exposure to social media

first wave was significantly higher (p=0.04).

services such as Facebook, Twitter, LINE, andThus, cooperative behavior decreased between

YouTube for social media exposure.

the two waves. The distribution of the dependent

For the third-person effect, subjects responded

variable “behavioral intention” is shown in Figure

to two items: “How much do you think the

1. The results of the one-factor ANOVA show that

average citizen’s opinion about refraining fromthe intention to go out has also increased

going out is influenced by the media and their(F(1,986)=63.08, p=.00, η2=.06), indicating thatsurroundings?” and “How much of your own

people’s behavioral inhibition has attenuatedopinion is influenced by the media?” The former

over the past year. Finally, the distribution ofminus the latter was adopted as a variable. Thispunishment norms is shown in Figure 2.

variable becomes larger the more the subject

Punishment norms also decreased in the second

thinks that others are more influenced thanwave (F(1,986)=112.66, p=.00, η2=1.03).
What factors determined behavior, behavioral

themselves by the media.
22

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Table 1. Results of first-wave and second-wave behaviors (number of people)

First-wave

Cooperation

Notcooperation

Total

641

72

713

152

122

274

793

194

987

Cooperation (staying
home)
Not-cooperation (went
out)
Total

Second-wave

10
9
8
7
first-wave

6

second-wave

5
4
3
2

behavioral intention

Figure 1. Results of ANOVA (behavioral intentions). The verticalaxis shows simple addition of behavioral intention items.
Minimum value is two; maximum is ten. The error bars
show standard errors.
intention, and punishment norm? Moreover, diddependent

the determinants change over the year? We

observe the determinants of the dependent

conducted multiple regression analysis using thevariable in each period. In Model 3, the second-

first and second waves of data to answer thesewave data were used as the dependent variable,

questions. Since the change in psychologicaland the first wave data were used as the control

attitudes is considered slight, we adopted thevariable. This model enables us to observe

data from the first wave for psychologicalchanges over one year. COVID-19 does not

attitudes (trust, reciprocity, a belief in a justthreaten everyone equally. For example, theworld, and justice sensitivity). Models 1 and 2elderly and those with underlying diseases will

have the first- and second-wave responses as thebe more likely to take proactive preventive
23

variables,

respectively.

We

can

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

YAMAMOTO et al

15
13
11
first-wave

9second-wave

7
5
3

punishment norm

Figure 2. Results of ANOVA (punishment norm). The vertical axis
shows simple addition of punishment norm items.
Minimum value is three; maximum is fifteen. The error
bars show standard errors.
actionsforself-protection.

The

subjective

inhibited from going out than the first wave.

infection risk might have a significant impact on

Since, BIJ is the belief that one will be sanctioned

people’s behavior. Therefore, we introduced thein the future for one’s present wrongful behavior,subjective risk of infection as a control variable.

people avoided going out as reported cases wereTable 2 reports odd ratios (ORs) from logistic

rising because they perceived it as antisocial

regressions with behavior as the dependent

behavior. As for justice sensitivity, “perpetrator

variable. First, women tend to go out less thansensitivity” consistently had a positive effect. The

men. Reciprocity had a positive effect only during

perception of not wanting to be a perpetrator who

the first wave, and BUJ consistently had ainfects others through one’s own going out

negative effect. Furthermore, BUJ has ainhibits one from going out. Naturally, thetransformative effect on curtailment: it is theperception of one’s own risk has a positive effectbelief that present misery will be compensatedon inhibiting going out. However, media contact

for in the future. Therefore, it can be considered

did not affect behavioral change.

that the more people believe that they are

Next, we analyze “behavioral intention.” Table

currently forced to endure hardship, the more

3 reports β from ordinary least squares

they perceive that they are justified in going out.

regressions (OLS). For behavior, the tendency to

The BIJ, on the other hand, has a positive effect

not go out was stronger among women. In

on discouraging going out in the second wave

addition, older people intended not to go out. The

and also has the effect of making people moresame as behavior, reciprocity had a positive effect24

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Table 2. Effects of psychological attitudes and media exposure on behaviors by logistic regressions.

Model 1Model 2Model 3ORs
Behavior in the firstwave (dummy variable:

7.103 ***

cooperation=1)
Control variables

Trust and reciprocity
Belief in a just world

Justice sensitivity

Media exposure

Age

1.008

1.015 *

1.014

Gender (female=1)

2.037 ***

1.462 **

1.177

Subjective infection risk

1.157 ***

1.223 ***

1.240 ***

Generalized trust

1.063

1.075

1.061

Reciprocity

1.148 **

1.011

0.961

BUJ

0.929 ***

0.934 ***

0.947 **

BIJ

1.014

1.065 **

1.071 **

Victim

0.93

0.909 **

0.920 *

Observer0.889 **

1.091 *

1.152 **

Beneficiary

0.983

0.96

0.955

Perpetrator

1.132 **

1.122 ***

1.086 *

Mass media exposure

0.987

0.987

0.994

Social media exposure

0.994

0.989

0.989

Third-person effect

0.962

1.006

0.96

Constant

0.834

0.171 ***

0.041 ***

Pseudo R2

0.07

0.06

0.162

Log likelihood-454.81-547.78-488.52

only in the first wave. However, the effect of astrengthened the intention to go out. Exposure tobelief in a just world was weaker than the effectmass media increased the perception of infection

on behavior; BIJ was not statistically significant,risk and reinforced people’s intention not to go

although BUJ tended to have a negative effect. As

out. The third-person effect also has a negativefor fairness sensitivity, beneficiary sensitivity

effect. This result means that people who thinkstrengthened the intention to reduce going out.

that others are more influenced by the media

Perception of one’s own infection risk alsothan themselves tended to intend to go out.
25

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma framework

YAMAMOTO et al

Table 3. Effects of psychological attitudes and media exposure on behavioral intentions by OLS.

Model 1Model 2Model 3βBehavioral intention in

0.290***

the first-wave
Control variables

Trust and reciprocity
Belief in a just world

Justice sensitivity

Media exposureAge

0.086***

0.064*

0.037

Gender (female=1)

0.062**

0.042

0.016

Subjective infection risk

0.303***

0.268***

0.239***

Generalized trust

0.008

0.002

0.005

Reciprocity

0.077**

0.070*

0.043

BUJ-0.046-0.084**-0.072*

BIJ

0.026

0.022

0.012

Victim-0.048-0.057-0.04

Observer

0.044

0.043

0.031

Beneficiary-0.087**0.058

0.079**

Perpetrator

0.024

0.016

0.005

Mass media exposure

0.057*

0.076**

0.058*

Social media exposure

0.073**

0.057*

0.036

Third-person effect-0.085***-0.102***-0.088***

R2

0.158

0.139

0.217

adj. R2

0.146

0.127

0.205

Finally, we analyze the determinants ofresult means that those who believe that theirpunishment norms. Table 4 also reports β fromcurrent misfortune will eventually be positively

ordinary least squares regressions (OLS).

rewarded will avoid punishing others, while

Gender and age had no significant effect. As in

those who believe that their current injustice will

the previous analyses, reciprocity has a positive

eventually be negatively sanctioned will be more

effect only in the first wave. As for the belief in awilling to punish others. Victim sensitivity had ajust world, BUJ has a negative effect, and BIJ has

positivea positive effect. In addition, both have an effect

Perception of one’s own infection risk had ain the direction of reinforcing the tendency. Thisconsistently strong positive effect on punishment26

effectonthepunishment

norm.

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Table 4. Effects of psychological attitudes and media exposure on punishment norms by OLS.

Model 1Model 2Model 3βPunishment norm in the

0.343***

first-wave
Age

0.02

0.05

0.04

Gender (female=1)-0.008-0.022-0.028

Subjective infection risk

0.285***

0.212***

0.188***

Trust and

Generalized trust

0.019-0.024-0.024

reciprocity

Reciprocity

0.097**-0.019-0.057

Belief in a just

BUJ

-0.106*** -0.119*** -0.086**

world

BIJ

0.04

0.129***

0.113***

Victim0.132***

0.127***

0.085**

Observer-0.090**-0.076*-0.043

Beneficiary

0.023

0.071*

0.057

Perpetrator-0.008-0.044-0.048Mass media exposure

0.013-0.007-0.013Social media exposure

0.073**

0.028

0.002

Third-person effect-0.099*** -0.091*** -0.078***

R2

0.133

0.0982

0.21

adj. R2

0.12

0.0853

0.198

Control variables

Justice sensitivity

Media exposure

4. Summary

norm. Media exposure did not have a significant
effect. The third-person effect has a negative
effect. This means that people who believe thatIn this paper, we analyzed changes in theothers are more influenced by the media thandeterminants of behavior and norms during athemselves have weaker norms for punishingpandemic by surveying the same subjects at twoothers.

time points: early in the COVID-19 Pandemic andone year later. In particular, this paper considers
restraint from going out as prosocial behavior
and attempts to analyze it within the framework
27

The effects of psychological attitudes on voluntary cooperation against COVID-19: an analysis using a social dilemma frameworkof a social dilemma.

YAMAMOTO et al“sensitivity to one’s own loss.” These findings

Generalized trust and reciprocity have beensuggest that emphasizing prosociality andknown to have positive effects on prosocial

altruismbehavior in many studies. However, in the present

cooperation in the early stages of the pandemic

study, reciprocity had positive effects on prosocial

but that policies emphasizing fairness are

behavior, intention of prosocial behavior, andnecessary after the infections have become

punishment norms, in the first wave, but thesewidespread. By continuously researching theeffects disappeared in the second wave. On thefactors that define people’s behavior, it is possible

other hand, psychological attitudes toward

to obtain a comprehensive picture of the social

fairness, such as the belief in a just world andatmosphere surrounding a pandemic. Thisjustice sensitivity, consistently had an effect on

analysis can guide in developing policies thatpeople’s behavior and norms. As for the belief inpromote prosocial behavior.

effectively

encourages

voluntarya just world, BIJ has a positive effect on prosocial

As for media exposure and third-person effects,

behavior and punishment norms. The belief in a

the effects are limited. Since this survey simply

just world has led to blaming the victim (Correia

measured the amount of exposure throughet al., 2007), and the results of this study also

voluntary responses, more quantitative analysis,suggest a risk of unfairly blaming infected people.

such as analyzing actual media consumption

Regarding justice sensitivity, the results are

history, will be necessary in the future. Influentialconsistent with the intuition that the higher

factors for COVID-19 prevention behavior are notsomeone’s perpetrator sensitivity, the less likely

only social dilemmas but also personality. Somethey are to go out, and the higher someone’s

researchers have focused on the effects ofvictim sensitivity, the higher the punishment

personalities on behavior during the COVID-19

norm.

Pandemic (Qian & Yahara, 2020; Nowak et al.

These results indicate that altruistic attitudes

2020; Makhanova & Shepherd, 2020). In thesuch as reciprocity influenced people’s behavior

future, our research will need to explore a widein the early stage of the pandemic, but that

range of factors. That exploration is planned for

influence of altruism changed as the pandemic

the third wave of panel studies.

continued. On the other hand, attitudes regarding
fairness consistently affected people’s behavior,Notes

behavioral intentions, and punishment norms. In1) The all data of this study are stored in an OSF data

particular, BUJ has consistently had a negative

package titled ‘Data of The effects of psychologicaleffect on cooperative behavior and punishment

attitudes and media exposure on voluntarynorms. BUJ is the belief that “present misfortunes

cooperation against COVID-19’ (Yamamoto, 2022),

should eventually be rewarded.” The result

which can be accessed at the below link.

suggests that people who believe they have been
inconvenienced
voluntary

enoughcooperation.

will
In

refrainfrom

addition,victimhttps://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/P7F3C
2) All experiments were approved by the ethics
committee

sensitivity has a consistently positive effect onofRisshoUniversity,

application

number 02-01 and 03-02.

the punishment norm. Victim sensitivity is

3) 
The

28

authors

acknowledge

Grants-in-Aid

forJournal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023
Scientific

Research

18H03498,

19K21570,

Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 999-1005.

19H02376 and 21H01568.

Gürerk, O., Irlenbusch, B., & Rockenbach, B. (2006).
The

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31

Refereed Original Paper
Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An
empirical research using survey experiments
Keywords:
Fact-checking, Media literacy, Information literacy, Backfire effect, Social media

Tsukasa TANIHARA, Kanda University of International Studies
Shinichi YAMAGUCHI, International University of Japan

Abstract
Regarding the impact of fact-checking, extensive research has been conducted on thecorrelation between fact-checking and individuals’ political beliefs, but this issue is difficult toaddress by policy. This study investigates the relationship between the effectiveness of factchecking and literacy, as well as the relationship between the effectiveness of fact-checking andthe types of media used to disseminate this information. These variables can be addressed
through policy measures. We conducted the survey via the internet. Participants were tasked
with making true or false judgments about real instances of misinformation before and after factchecking. The results highlighted the significance of information literacy in achieving accurate
perceptions through fact-checking. Secondly, in the case of COVID-19-related misinformation,fact-checking proved more effective on government websites than on social media. Thirdly, many
individuals incorrectly identified misinformation as true even after fact-checking. These findings
underscore the risk of indiscriminately disseminating fact-check results on social media, as doing
so could potentially have the opposite effect if the recipients lack the requisite literacy.

Received May 20 2022, Accepted Feb 8 2023

33

Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

TANIHARA et al

72% of respondents reported exposure to COVID-19-

1. Introduction

related misinformation (Ministry of Internal Affairs
This study aims to foster the practice of fact-

and Communications, 2020). A separate survey

checking. Specifically, we identify the relationshipcarried out in Japan in 2020 showed that 28.2% of

between fact-checking and literacy of information,

participants

as well as effective media for broadcasting fact-misinformation, while 45.2% had been exposed tochecking. These matters can be addressed

COVID-19-related misinformation (Yamaguchi etthrough policy measures, and their implicationsal., 2020). As indicated, misinformation presents afor society are significant. This study is notpressing concern in both political and COVID-19

intended to recommend that the government

contexts.

reportedencountering

political

actively intervene in fact-checking. The policy

Since the launch of the Fact Check Initiative

responses proposed in this study are primarily

Japan (FIJ) in 2017, numerous media entities andintended

media

experts have cooperated to carry out fact-organizations, platform companies, and non-checking. However, these efforts have not fully

profit organizations.

permeated society. In Japan, 71% of survey

for

implementationbyFact-checking refers to the process of examining

respondents reported never having heard thethe accuracy of information, news, or statements

term “fact-checking” (Yamaguchi et al., 2020).

circulating in society, documenting that process inGiven this situation, it is crucial to contemplatearticles, and sharing accurate information withsuitable policy responses to facilitate smootherpeople. This is an essential initiative in today’s

dissemination of fact-checking results withinsociety as it is inundated with misinformation. The

society.

issue of misinformation gained prominence during

2. Research question

the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Misinformation
supporting Trump was shared a total of 30 million

2.1 Literature review

times, while misinformation supporting Clinton
was shared a total of 8 million times (Allcott andIn recent years, several empirical studies haveGentzkow, 2017). Amid the COVID-19 pandemic,

been conducted on fact-checking and debunking

the World Health Organization (WHO) declared

information (for meta-analyses, see Lewandowsky

misinformation

et al., 2012; Walter et al., 2020; Walter andan“infodemic,”aproblemMurphy).

requiring attention comparable to the infectious

The issues presented are as follows. First, it isdiseases themselves.
Japan grapples with a plethora of misinformation.

related to individuals’ beliefs, particularly political

For instance, during the 2020 U.S. presidential

beliefs. That is, the effect of corrective informationelection, misinformation suggesting that Mr. Biden

depends on whether its content is consistent with

was rigging the election pervaded Japan. Moreover,an individual’s political beliefs (Nyhan andcountering misinformation has evolved into an

Reifler, 2012; Swire et al., 2017; Wood and Porter,

increasingly critical issue amid the pandemic.

2018). Naturally, pro-attitudinal information is

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of

more effective (Walter et al., 2020). This is called

Internal Affairs and Communications, approximately

motivated reasoning (Nyhan and Reifler, 2012). It
34

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

has also been shown that fact-checking is

Vraga et al. (2020) and Tanihara et al. (2022)

sometimes selectively ingested and spread based

conducted two of the few existing studies on thison an individual’s belief (Shin and Thorson,

subject. Vraga et al. (2020) performed an2017).

experiment where subjects were exposed to tweets

Second, the backfire effect was noted in relation

containing misinformation and their corrections,to this point. The backfire effect occurs when

following tweets that invoked news literacy. This

individuals

results

study, however, did not establish that invoking

conflicting with their beliefs, which consequently

news literacy significantly influences information

strengthens

encountertheirfact-checking

original

correction. The authors posited that tweets

Republican

invoking news literacy may have been lost in the

supporters of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003,

timeline noise. Tanihara et al. (2022), employing

even after correcting that the information about

the categorization by Jones-Jang et al. (2021),

the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction

divided literacy into the aforementioned four

(WMD) in Iraq was false, still strengthened theircategories and investigated their influence on themisbelief in the misinformation about theeffect of fact-checking. The results demonstrated

existence of WMD in Iraq (Nyhan and Reifler,that individuals who reconsider their views when2010). The above points are based on a study offact-checking results are presented via mass media

how an individual’s political beliefs (liberal ortend to have higher news literacy. In contrast, those

conservative) relate to the effects of corrective

who change their minds when fact-checking

information. Despite great academic interest,

results are presented through social media exhibit

there are some challenges concerning policy

low information literacy. A significant issue in this

implications. This is because policymakers

study is that media and news literacy were self-

generally cannot manipulate individual beliefs.

reported and not adequately measured. It is also

misinformation.

For

faith

in

example,the

Therefore, the third and fourth points are theperplexing that individuals with low information

focus of this study. The third point relates to literacy,

literacy tend to accept fact-checking results fromas it relates to information. If we can clarify the typesocial media more readily than those with highof literacy involved in accepting fact-checking, it will

information literacy. Given that the survey design

be possible to implement policy responses.

did not explicitly identify the corrected information

Regarding the relationship between misinformation

as fact-checking, Tanihara et al. (2022) suggested

identification and literacy, Jones-Jang et al. (2021)

that individuals who alter their views based on

astutely categorize literacy into four domains—corrected information from social media arenews literacy, media literacy, information literacy,

susceptible to the information and tend to change

and digital literacy—and investigate the effects of

their minds without thorough examination.

each. The results indicate that only information

Fourthly, the medium’s impact differs: in line

literacy significantly contributes to the identification

with McLuhan’s (1964) assertion “the medium isof misinformation.

the message,” reactions may vary based on theOn the other hand, few studies have considered

mediumdeliveringcorrective

information.

literacy as a variable in examining the effect of fact-

Identifying the most effective media for fact-

checking, and the results have been inconsistent.

checking could enable more potent policy
35

Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

TANIHARA et al

responses, focusing on highly effective platforms.

As both RQ1 and RQ2 do not have consistent

Tanihara et al. (2022) offered insights here but

effects in previous studies, we do not set specificonly differentiated between mass and social

hypotheses. We examine the effects of each

media, without inferential statistical analysis ofvariable in an exploratory manner.

the two.

3. Methodology
2.2 Research gaps
Participants

The research gap in related studies, withrespect to policy implications, can be summarizedThis study utilized data from an internet survey

as follows. First, many studies have focused on

conducted in Japan in 2022 by the Center forvariables that are difficult to address in policy

Global Communications at the Internationalterms, such as individual political beliefs. Second,

University of Japan. The survey period spanned

the few studies examining relationship withfrom February 18 to February 23, 2022. The

literacy have produced inconsistent results.

survey was disseminated to 8,394 respondents via

Third, the identification of specific media types

My Voice.com Inc. and its partners, garnering

where fact-checking is effective is lacking.

5,987 responses. After eliminating responses

Therefore, this study contributes to related

from samples that answered cursorily as indicatedresearch and policy by adopting the following

by trap questions, the final sample size was set atapproach. First, we designed a survey experiment5,569. This survey, however, was designed suchthat transforms literacy items into a test format

that about 90% of the respondents had beenand specifies that the presented corrective

exposed to the misinformation presented in theinformation has undergone fact-checking. Second,preliminary survey. Consequently, the analysis

we categorized the media into four groups (online

was weighted according to the percentage ofnews, social media, newspapers, and government

respondents who had encountered misinformation

websites) and randomly divided participants into

in the pre-survey. In the preliminary survey, 40.9%

these groups for the survey experiment. Asof the respondents encountered one or morediscussed below, by incorporating an interaction

pieces of misinformation. Conversely, in the main

term for each medium into the regression model,

survey, they accounted for 90.1%. Therefore,

we can identify individual characteristics thatweighting was employed to adjust for this

respond to fact-checking and the differential

discrepancy. The sample sizes are presented in

effects of each medium. The following research

Table 1.

questions (RQs) were set for this study based on

Table 1 Sample size

the above:
RQ1: How does individual literacy influence theeffectiveness of fact-checking?
RQ2: Are there differences among media
concerning the effectiveness of fact-checking?

36

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Research Design

abolition of plastic bag fees, stating, “There is no

The misinformation utilized in the survey
experimentreflects

actualsuch fact.” In light of this information, how would

misinformation

you reconsider the following news? “The current

circulated in society. We specifically employed thecabinet decided to abolish the plastic bag fee

following two types of misinformation, both ofsystem.”which were determined to be “False” by factchecking conducted by FIJ’s partner organizations:

For the remaining three groups, the questions
were posed by replacing “was published in an
online news article” with “was posted on social

1.The current cabinet decided to abolish themedia,” “was published in a newspaper article,”plastic bag fee system (related to politics).
2.The French government began vaccinatingand “was posted on a government website,”children against the coronavirus without parental

respectively. The options were “1 = It is correctconsent starting in September 2021 (related to

information,” “2 = It is misinformation /COVID-19).

unsubstantiated information,” and “3 = Do notknow / cannot say either.” Those who chose 2

Participants who were already aware of the above

were accurate, indicating that they had arrived at

two news items before the survey were excluded

the correct perception of the information. In thefrom the analysis. Participants encountering theprocess described above, participants werenews items for the first time were asked whether

queried about their opinion on the two pieces ofthey perceived the news to be accurate. The choices

misinformation before and after fact-checking.

were: “1 = It is correct information,” “2 = It is

After the survey’s completion, respondents were

misinformation / unsubstantiated information,” andnotified by email that all listed news were false.

“3 = Do not know / cannot say either.” Subsequently,

Cross tabulation

the respondents were presented with corrective
information regarding the news and asked again

The results of the survey experiment areabout their perception of it. Specifically, we createddepicted in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 indicates the

scenarios in which corrective information was

respondents’ perceptions of the news without theposted on online news, social media, newspapers,

presence of fact-checking. Concerning theand government websites, and assigned the sample

political

to each of the four randomly divided groups. For

respondents selected “It is misinformation /instance, the group for whom the correction

unsubstantiated information,” suggesting that

information was posted on online news responded

over half of the respondents identified theto the following questions:misinformation. In regard to the COVID-19-

news,

approximately

62%

of

the

related news, the distribution of responses prior
The following information was published in an

to the introduction of fact-checking revealed thatonline news article. The Recycling Promotion

over half of the respondents, around 59%,

Office of the Ministry of the Environment, theanswered “Do not know / cannot say either.”department in charge, categorically denied that theThis implies that forming a judgement on thiscurrent cabinet had made a decision regarding thewas more challenging compared to political37

Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

TANIHARA et al

Table 2 Cross-tabulation (before fact-checking)Table 3 Cross-tabulation (after fact-checking)news.

both news categories, even when confronted with

Table 3 depicts the distribution of judgments

fact-check results, some respondents persisted inafter exposure to fact-checking through various

their belief in the original information. While themedia. As for the politics-related news, While thecorrected information seems to have assisted inpercentage of respondents answering “Do notdiscerning the veracity of the information, it did

know / cannot say either” for political news

not necessarily result in correct comprehension.

decreased,

respondents

As it is crucial to elucidate this situation, further

maintaining incorrect beliefs increased. The

analysis will be conducted in subsequent sections.

percentage of respondents attaining correct

In terms of the medium, the percentage ofcomprehension was slightly reduced post-correct responses for political news increased incorrection. In terms of COVID-19-related news,

the sequence of online news < social media <the percentage of those responding “Do notnewspapers < government websites. For COVID-

know / cannot say either” decreased significantly.

19-related news, the percentage of correct

While the number of respondents stating, “It is

responses escalated in the order social media <misinformation / unsubstantiated information”

online news < newspapers < government(indicating correct comprehension) increased,websites. However, in both instances, thethe percentage who answered, “It is correct

difference is minor, and a thorough analysis in

information” also rose.

the upcoming section is required to determine its

theproportionofThis presents the surprising outcome that instatistical significance.
38

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Regression Analysis

The foregoing results reveal an unexpected
increase in the percentage of individuals who

Building on the results from the previous

incorrectly identified misinformation as “correct”

section, we will conduct a regression analysis toin both political and COVID-19-related news, evendiscern the characteristics of those forming

after undergoing fact-checking. To delve further

correct or incorrect perceptions based on fact-

into this issue, Table 4 presents a detailed accountchecking. The method of variable creation is asof the pre-fact-checking decisions made by thosefollows.

who

misidentified

misinformation

post-fact-

checking. For instance, approximately 46.3% ofIndependent Variables

those who initially labelled the COVID-19-related

Media literacy and information literacy

misinformation as “correct information” continued

To address RQ1, we established literacy as an

to do so even after exposure to fact-checking. This

independent variable, incorporating two forms ofphenomenon may be explained by the previously

literacy: media and information. For media literacy,

mentioned backfire effect, wherein respondents

we referenced Kodera (2017), who structured

initially misled by misinformation remain misled,both domestic and international measurements offact-checked information, thereby sustaining their

media literacy. The questions, presented in a test-

original misconception. However, the backfire

like format, gauged respondents’ understanding

effect fails to explain the cases of those respondents

of six properties of media: the constructive nature

who initially identified the news as “misinformation/of media messages, the media’s capacity to shapeunsubstantiated information” or “do not know/“social reality,” the commercial aspects of media,

cannot say either”, but later reversed their decision

the ideological and value-based transmission of

to

In

these

cases,

media, media style and language, and the non-renderedthecorrect

uniform interpretability of the recipient. Media

judgment, but subsequently arrived at an incorrect

literacy measurements are as follows. Respondents

understanding after encountering fact-checking.

were asked to respond to each of the following

We tentatively term this the “adverse effect of fact-

questions using a four-point scale, from “1 =checking”. To illuminate the characteristics ofstrongly agree” to “4 = strongly disagree”. The

individuals who develop incorrect perceptions

questions were presented in random order.

“correct

respondents

information”.
initially

after fact-checking, we proceeded with a regression[1] Online news is neutral and objective.

analysis.

[2] The “average person” depicted in the news
represents an average Japanese individual.

Table 4 Cross-tabulation (before and after fact-checking)39

Literacy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

[3] The range of opinions online closely reflects

TANIHARA et al[2] Restaurant X opened in 2005, [3] Don’t visit

societal reality.

restaurant X because it isn’t good, [4] Restaurant[4] Television programs are produced with

X should discontinue 24-hour operations for theviewer responses in mind (reverse-coded).

health of its employees[5] TV and internet content can be influenced by
the preferences of sponsors (reverse-coded).

(3) Which of the following statements about[6] The media provides viewers with value

Shohei Otani does not include the author’s

judgments of what is “good” and “bad”

opinion? Select one.

(reverse-coded).

[1] Shohei Otani is an exceptional baseball[7] The same event is reported identically inplayer, [2] Shohei Otani improved by moving tomass media (newspapers, TV, etc.) and online

America, [3] Shohei Otani revolutionized thenews.

world of baseball, [4] Shohei Otani declined the[8] Different images used in the same TV news

National Medal of Honor.

broadcast can generate different impressions(reverse-coded).

(4) Here is news about the Amazon rainforest:“In 2019, the total area of the Amazon rainforest[9] If the news is the same, the elements that mostdestruction

people focus on should be identical.

was

9,166

squarekilometers,

marking an 85% increase from the previous year.
The Association for College and ResearchThis sharp increase in deforestation coincides

Libraries (ACRL) defines information literacy aswith a period when the current President of“a set of abilities requiring individuals to

Brazil relaxed restrictions on the development of‘recognize when information is needed and havethe Amazon rainforest, after assuming office.”

the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively

From this news, select two statements we canthe needed information.’” (ACRL 2000: 2). Basedconfidently make.

on this definition from the ACRL, Podgornik et[1] The area of the Amazon rainforest

al. (2016) devised a test-style questionnaire. We

destroyed in 2019 was larger than in 2018, [2]arranged it specifically for Japanese respondents.

The current President of Brazil orchestrated thedestruction of the Amazon rainforest, [3] The(1) From the following options, select one

destruction of the Amazon rainforest significantly

piece of unprocessed, raw data:

impacts climate change, [4] The current[1] The number of UN member states at the

President of Brazil relaxed regulations on theend of 2020, [2] Weather map, [3] Population data

development of the Amazon rainforest, [5] The

presented in a table, [4] Population data

destruction of the Amazon rainforest emerged as

represented in graphs

a major issue for the first time in 2019, [6] One of
the significant global issues is the destruction of(2) Which of the following statements about

the Amazon rainforest.

restaurant X does not include the author’s

Control variables

opinion? Select one.

In addition to the demographic characteristics,[1] Restaurant X is situated far from the station,
40

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

we used trust in the media as a control variable.

checking results.

This is predicated on the assumption thatThe

secondvariablewaswhethertheindividuals with higher levels of trust in a given

respondents were misled after fact-checking. A

medium are more likely to accept fact-checkbinary variable was created by assigning ‘1’ toresults presented through that medium. We

those who chose ‘1’, and ‘0’ to those who selected

established four variables corresponding to the‘2’ or ‘3’ from the given options. For this analysis,four media categories utilized in this study: online

the entire sample was included because those

news, social media, mass media, and government

who

websites. We assessed trust in each of these

subsequently changed their minds after fact-

media types using a five-point scale.

checking, thus leading to incorrect responses,

initially

respondedcorrectly

butshould be considered part of the ‘adverse effectDependent variablesof fact-checking’.

As previously mentioned, we established two

The basic statistics of the variables are listed in

types of dependent variables. The first determined

Table 5.

whether the respondents achieved accurate

Modelperception after fact-checking. A binary variable

The two following models were developed:

was created by assigning a ‘1’ to those who chose‘2’ and a ‘0’ to those who selected ‘1’ or ‘3’ from（－

logit［P（Trueij＝1）］＝log

the three options: “1 = It is correct information,”“2 = It is misinformation / unsubstantiated1=α+β1Charactristicsij+

information,” and “3 = Do not know / cannot say）

P［Trueij］
P［Trueij］

β2 Media_dummyi+β3 Literacyi+β4Trusti

either.” It should be noted that those whodetected misinformation prior to fact-checking
were excluded from the analysis, as the research

… (1)

（－

logit［P（Falesij＝1）］＝log

question appropriately targets those whose
perceptions changed after receiving the fact-1=α+β1Charactristicsij+
β2 Media_dummyi+β3 Literacyi+β4Trusti

Table 5 Basic Statistics

41）

P［Falesij］
P［Falesij］

（－）

P［Fales ］
P［Falesij］

ij
Literacyis（necessary
to understandlogit
Falesij＝1）［P］＝log Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

1=α+β1Charactristicsij+

TANIHARA et al

degree to which individual i trusts each medium

β2 Media_dummyi+β3 Literacyi+β4Trusti… (2)outlet. A vector with four variables— trust in

These are logit models. The right-handgovernment websites. Falseij is a dummy variablevariables were standardized, excluding dummy

indicating whether individual i misidentified

variables. Stata ver. 16.1 was used in the analysis.

misinformation as correct information about topic

Each variable has the following meaning: Trueij is

j despite it being fact-checked. It is set to 1 if

a dummy variable indicating whether individual i

misidentified and 0 if not.

online news, social media, mass media, andwas able to identify the news as misinformation

4. Results

after being fact-checked for topic j. It is 1 if correct,
and 0 if not. P(Trueij=1) is the probability that
Trueij. Charactristicsij is the attribute vector of

Table 6 details the results of Equation (1).

individual i. Specifically, it is a vector with three

Regarding political misinformation, no variations

variables: gender, age, and interest in the topic.

were detected between media conveying fact-

For interest in the topic, we asked about thechecking,

degree of interest on a five-point scale for bothsignificantly positively correlated. For COVID-

topics. Media_dummyi is a dummy variable

19-related misinformation, government websites

indicating that media individual i received fact-

significantly positively impacted the effects,

checking. Social media was used as a reference.

indicating

individual

higherlikelihood

literacyofwascorrect

perception when fact-checking results wereSpecifically, it is a vector with two variables: media

presented on this source compared to social

and information literacy. Trusti indicates themedia. Both media and information literacy

i’sliteracyainformation

vector.

Literacyi

is

while

Table 6 Results of Logit Model Analyses (1)42Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

Table 7 Results of Logit Model Analyses (2)exhibited positive associations.

effective one in identifying misinformation. This

Table 7 lists the results for Equation (2),consistency is fitting as accepting fact-checking

identifying characteristics of individuals who

results essentially involves discerning truth fromcould not identify misinformation despite being

falsehood. Information literacy, which includes

presented with fact-checking results. For politicaldifferentiating facts from opinions and proficientmisinformation,

textual comprehension, proves crucial in suchnovariations

were

noted

between the media conveying fact-checking.

judgments.

However, both media literacy and information

significance of information literacy, suggesting

literacy had significant negative correlations. For

that a more literate public is less susceptible to

COVID-19-related misinformation, the medium

the detrimental impacts of misinformation—aof

key insight for policymakers.

newspapers

significantly

reducedthelikelihood of misperceptions compared to social

This

study

underscores

theSecondly, media literacy fosters the acceptancemedia. Both media and information literacy wereof

negatively associated.

misinterpretation, barring political news infact-checking

resultsandhinders

Equation (1). Despite inconsistent results in

5. Discussion

earlier studies (Vraga et al., 2020; Tanihara et al.,2022), the impact of media literacy became

Our study primarily reveals that information

clearer when measured in a test format.

literacy facilitates the acceptance of fact-checking

As detailed above, literacy fosters acceptanceresults and mitigates misinterpretation. Amongofthe four literacies presented by Jones-Jangmisinterpretation.

(2021), information literacy stands as the soledeveloped over a medium-to-long-term horizon.
43

fact-checking

resultsThese

andskillsmitigates
shouldbeLiteracy is necessary to understand Fact-Checking: An empirical research using survey experiments

TANIHARA et al

Media literacy is the ability to critically interpret

checking results. Although this phenomenon

broadcasted information. In the contemporary

doesn’t align with the scope of the backfire effect,era, where information is disseminated throughour data demonstrate its occurrence. This

diverse media such as websites and social media,

circumstancein addition to traditional outlets like television

policymakers. Once again, media and informationand newspapers, media literacy has become anliteracy emerge as the solutions. This study

increasingly crucial skill. Concurrently, fact-

unequivocally establishes the vital role of both

checkers should recognize that fact-checking

types of literacy in facilitating the societal

results should be subject to critical analysis.

penetration of effective fact-checking.

Moreover, fact-checking results should bechallenge

formedia on fact-checking acceptance. For news

Subsequently, we offer an interpretation of theto

COVID-19,

groupsexposedtogovernment websites were more likely to discern

Recent empirical studies suggest that the backfire

the truth than those exposed to social media.

effect is limited (Wood and Porter, 2018; Swire et

Additionally, the group exposed to newspapersal., 2017) and is observed chiefly when targeted

was less likely to misinterpret information thaninformation and participants exhibit strong

those exposed to social media. These observations

partisanship (Wood and Porter, 2018). The news

underline the inherent vulnerabilities of social

discussed in this study, the abolition of plastic

media as an information medium, as pointed out

bags by the ruling and foreign governments’by Tanihara et al. (2022). In essence, social media

vaccine enforcement for children, may stir strong

has certain limitations as a medium for fact-

partisanship, particularly the latter. Yet, thechecking dissemination. To effectively disseminate

former topic doesn’t incite a high degree offact-checking results, it is necessary to develop acontroversy. Regression analysis results indicate

reliable platform and systematize the dissemination

that, irrespective of the partisanship of specificprocess. These findings underscore the risk

news, individuals with low information literacy

associated with casually broadcasting fact-checkare particularly susceptible to the backfire effect.

results on social media. If the recipients lack

While related studies have considered individual

literacy, the outcomes could be counterproductive.

beliefs

asofrelatedfact-checking.

political

effectsa

The third issue concerns the impact of various

ingeniously disseminated.
counterproductive

presents

explanatory

variables,

6. Contributions and limitations

addressing this policy-wise is challenging.
Contrarily, this study identifies information
literacy, a variable that can be addressed by

The novelty of this study lies in the following:

policy, as the cause of the backfire effect. This

firstly, we revisited the relationship between

presents a substantial contribution to theliteracy and fact-checking, improving the literacy-

discourse, revealing the potential to artificiallymeasuring items. Secondly, we sought to gauge

curtail the backfire effect.

the differential effects of various media byrandomly segmenting the sample, focusing on

The aforementioned observations also apply tothese differences.

individuals who had accurate perceptions orThis study enriches the literature on corrective

suspended judgment before examining fact44

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 16 No. 1 Sep. 2023

information effects. While related research has

online news screens, social media timelines,

primarily centered on individual political beliefs asnewspaper articles, and government website

variables, our study highlights the importance ofscreens, and then solicit respondents’ judgments.

literacyandthedisseminationformediumoffact-checking

Moreover, the research design must acknowledge

effective

fact-checking

that fact-checking is a process. Simply presenting

communication and misperception prevention.

short report results, as done in this study, may

These variables are relatively policy-responsive andfail to encapsulate the essence of fact-checking—ripe for further exploration. Though literacy hasverifying information truthfulness from various

yielded inconsistent outcomes in prior studies, ourperspectives, sharing the process with the public,

findings underscore its significance in counteracting

and leaving the judgment of fact-checking results

misinformation. The study also offers fresh insights

up to the individuals. Capturing this complexity

into the backfire effect. The unfortunate potential

in a survey experiment poses a significant

for fact-checking to mislead individuals with lower

challenge.

literacy represents a new risk in fact-checking that

Acknowledgments

requires acknowledgement.
The policy implications of our study are as

The survey was conducted as part of a researchfollows: information literacy is crucial for bothproject by the GLOCOM. This work was also

political and COVID-19-related news, as it is

supported by JSPS (Japan Society for the

integral to misinformation counteraction. The

Promotion of Science) KAKENHI Grant Number

ability to discern between facts and opinions, andJP21K12586 and Google Japan.

to read and comprehend texts—components of
information literacy used in our study—should

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46

Editor’s Notes
We are very pleased to announce the publication of Volume 16 of Journal of Socio-Informatics.
Through the peer review process, three of the five submitted papers has been accepted as original
paper.
We want to provide a kind of fruitful public space open to every researcher who has interest in socioinformatics from all over the world. New submissions for the next volume in 2024 are being invited. The
Call For Papers of next volume of JSI is available on http://www.ssi.or.jp/eng/index03.html.


The Editor in Chief: Masami Honda

Editorial Board of The Society of Socio-Informatics
Editor in Chief
Masami HONDA, Kanto Gakuin University
Editor in Subchief
Tomoko TAKEMURA, Ritsumeikan University

Editorial Board of The Society of Socio-Informatics
Chair
Kenichi ITO, Gunma University
Sub Chair
Takayoshi KAWAI, Tokai University
Editorial board members
Mihoko AMANO, Tokyo Kasei University
Takehiro INOHARA, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Atsushi IWAI, Gunma University
Mayu URATA, Nagoya University
Shiroh OHNO, University of Tokyo
Kaori OKAMOTO, Tokyo University and Graduate School of Social Welfare
Daisuke KAWAI, University of Tokyo
Yoshinori KISHIKAWA, Ube National College of Technology
Satoshi KITAMURA, Tokyo Keizai University
Yorio KITAMURA, Ritsumeikan University
Reiichi KIMOTO, Sagami Women’s University
Yuko KITORA, Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts
Shigehiro KUBOTA, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University
Keiko KOMAHASHI, Tokyo Keizai University
Yuichi SASAKI, Tokyo Keizai University
Shino SAWAOKA, The Dia Foundation for Research on Ageing Societies
Nahoko SUGIHARA, Niigata University
Tomoko TAKEMURA, Ritsumeikan University
Akeo TABATA, Kobe University
Tsukasa TANIHARA, Kanda University of International Studies
Naomi NEMURA, Nihon University
Mamiko HAYASHIDA, Fukuoka Jo Gakuin University
Masami HONDA, Kanto Gakuin University
Keita MATSUSHITA, Kansai University
Yuji MIZOGUCH, Kansai University
Toshio MORIKAWA, Edogawa University
Shinichi YAMAGUCHI, International University of Japan
Haruka WATANABE, Nippon Institute for Research Advancement

Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol.16, No.1
Sep. 2023
Published
The Society of Socio-Informatics (SSI)
Akuahakusan Bld.5F, 1-13-7, Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
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