A Report on Changes in the Lifestyle of Buddhist Temple Priests Before and After the Spread of the New Coronavirus Infection in Japan

Abstract

Hiromi Ariyoshi and Kiyoshi Yoshimizu

Japan has been taking measures to prevent new-type coronavirus infection by promoting the spread of vaccination, testing, and therapeutic drugs, and by further strengthening the flow from detection to early treatment, as well as by improving and strengthening the medical care delivery system, including the securing of hospital beds, in anticipation of a worst-case scenario. However, on January 27, 2023, the Infectious Diseases Subcommittee of the Health Sciences Council summarized that new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) should be placed in category 5 infectious diseases because it is not considered a condition that meets the private rights restrictions under the Infectious Diseases Act. On May 8, the status was changed to a category 5 infectious disease1). In accordance with this change, workers were subjected to environmental changes, such as behavioral restrictions, the recommendation to wear masks, and ventilation, which had been introduced in FY 2020 due to the coronary disaster. In addition, as far as the authors researched, they could not find any articles that clarified the actual working conditions of priests working at temples in Japan. Therefore, in this study, the authors clarified the working conditions of monks and the changes in their lifestyle before and after the Corona disaster.

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