Ryonosuke Akimoto, a graduate student at The University of Tokyo (who conducted this research at Aoyama Gakuin University), and Associate Professor Yuji Ogihara at Aoyama Gakuin University have revealed that the extraversion of Japanese people declined from 2010 to 2021 (Figure 1).

In Japanese media and social commentary, it has frequently been pointed out that Japanese people are becoming more "inward-looking." However, the extent to which it reflects an actual psychological shift in personality traits among the Japanese population has not been adequately examined. Therefore, an empirical examination was required.

In this study, we comprehensively collected previous research that measured the extraversion of Japanese participants. We statistically controlled for attributes such as participants' age and gender, and analyzed the trends over a 12-year period.

As a result, it became clear that the extraversion of Japanese people has consistently declined in recent years. This downward trend occurred equally in both men and women, and the extent of change was similar between them. Furthermore, we conducted an analysis limited to data up to 2019 to account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis also confirmed a similar decline. These findings provide empirical evidence for the long-standing discourse of an "inward-looking" trend among Japanese people.

A research team has computationally designed a synthetic peptide that enables modular detection of the enzymatic activity of coronavirus 3C-like protease (3CLPro), an enzyme essential for viral replication and maturation. 

Positive-strand RNA viruses extensively remodel the cellular endomembrane system to form specialized viral replication organelles (ROs). Coronaviruses generate double membrane vesicles (DMVs) that function as platforms for viral RNA (vRNA) synthesis and protect vRNA from detection by the host innate immune system. Coronaviruses hijack the host GBF1-ARF1-COPI vesicle transport pathway to utilize Golgi-derived membranes for promoting DMV formation.

Optimal containment measures exhibit a clear threshold depending on the severity of the disease

UCLA researchers discovered that a lesser-known SARS-CoV-2 protein called nucleocapsid can amplify inflammatory signals in macrophages, immune cells that help detect viruses and coordinate the body’s early response.

A research team led by Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto of Rissho University analyzed five years of longitudinal panel survey data collected between 2020 and 2024 and examined how vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs were associated with media skepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study's results appeared in Scientific Reports on August 8, 2026.