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BACKGROUND: To control the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 infection's disease (COVID-19), appropriate precautionary behaviors by the public should be promoted. There are international differences in public cognitive and behavioral pattern, attitudes toward information sources, and anxiety about COVID-19. Information about these differences could increase understanding of the patterns of epidemic-related anxiety and behavior, and would help optimize future policies for preventing the next wave of the epidemic. METHODS: To examine between-country differences in perception, attitude, and precautionary behaviors toward COVID-19, we conducted a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire survey. Participants were adults who had been registered in Cross Marketing Group Inc. and living in the UK, Spain, or Japan. A total of 8,000 people stratified by age were recruited on a first-come, first-serve basis. Knowledge of and anxiety about COVID-19, the frequency of access and perceived credibility of several information sources, and the frequency of each precautionary behavior were examined on March 27–28, 2020, in Japan and April 17–21, 2020, in the UK and Spain. RESULTS: Knowledge, anxiety, and the frequency of precautionary behaviors were higher in the UK and Spain than in Japan. Participants with infected acquaintances were more concerned about COVID-19. However, participants in the UK rarely wore a medical mask. Participants in the UK and Spain were more eager to obtain information about COVID-19 than those in Japan. Participants in Spain tended not to trust official information and to believe specialists' comments instead. CONCLUSION: The rapidity of the spread of COVID-19, cultural background, and recent political situations seemed to contribute to the international differences here.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to draw lessons for developing community‐university partnerships from experiences in promoting coastal education for sustainable development (ESD).Design/methodology/approachQualitative data collected from two coastal community outreach projects were analyzed.FindingsThe outreach projects improved the relationship between university and community members. It is important to conduct interviews at the early stages of the projects to understand the needs of the community and set project outcomes to meet community‐defined priorities. The most effective means for promoting an ESD program based upon community‐university partnerships is to reach out to and network with local individuals who have been active in community projects and embed the program concept into the activities of those individuals. Mediators who link the academic community with the local community are helpful in promoting the partnerships, and university students were found to be successful mediators.Originality/valueOn the basis of the experiences gained from starting an ESD program in the community, this research provides some clues to initiate service learning or community‐based research based upon community‐university partnerships.