It has been surprising that Japan has kept its Covid-19 burden as low as it has given that it hasn’t done broad lockdowns or done a lot of testing. This article gives some insight into how it has done as well as it has.

One thing I can say from my time in Japan is that masks during any hint of illness have been a part of Japanese culture for a long, long time—long before Covid-19. That surely helped. And the Japanese custom of bowing rather than giving a handshake is likely to help a little. But those aren’t the only things.

Hat tip to Gail Kimball.