This book elucidates state-society relations in East Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic from a comparative perspective.

Based on the findings of cross-national surveys in Japan, South Korea, and China, the book scrutinizes the dynamics of the state–society relationships in each country, examining trends of change in this relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Citizens’ attitudes toward individual freedom, the state’s anti-pandemic policies, vaccine hesitancy, and income redistribution policies across the three counties are compared revealing how public opinion in Japan, South Korea, and China during the COVID-19 pandemic provides a basis for understanding the complex relationship between state and society in East Asia.

Transcending national boundaries and uncovering citizens’ evaluations of their domestic and neighbouring countries’ pandemic responses in East Asia, this book will be an indispensable resource for anyone interested in East Asian society and politics.