Tao Liu, School of International Trade and Economics, Central University of Finance and Economics: The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed a grave challenge for policymakers around the world, who are often caught in the dilemma between saving lives and preserving livelihoods. Countries like China contained the spread of COVID-19 with extensive and protracted lockdowns, stringent hygiene measures, and comprehensive monitoring with testing and tracking. China saved thousands of lives easily but its measures also caused a drastic drop in GDP. Countries like the United Kingdom, on the other hand, opted for the controversial strategy of herd immunity and to keep the economy running throughout the pandemic, thus leading to an ever-growing number of infections and death cases.
Among all these choices and debates, Japan stands out and strikes a satisfactory balance between lives and livelihoods. Japan achieved a relatively low mortality rate with only a semi-lockdown and other modest measures...