Exploring the Japanese Grey Digital Divide in the Pandemic Era

This paper discusses an empirical study undertaken of a sample of Japanese people across the digital divide, focusing on their perception of both connectivity and being informed as the pandemic unfolds. The aim is to identify common themes regarding how digital technology is used to support information and interaction during the pandemic. These are used to propose changes which might halt the grey digital divide becoming the grey digital chasm and improve support through fit-for-purpose digital technology to the most vulnerable in times of emergency. To achieve the aim, questionnaire surveys were conducted and 136 valid responses including ones from grey digital natives and outcasts were analysed. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the grey digital divide did not seem to exist in terms of the acquisition of information about COVID-19, and that both grey digital natives and outcasts preferred to receive such information via low- and no-tech media. However, Japanese grey digital outcasts may receive a low priority regarding COVID-19 vaccination which began in April 2021, due to Japanese local governments’ adopting online systems to administer the vaccination programme.