This study analyzed 1910 readers' posts from Japanese newspapers during four emergency declaration periods to understand long-term public opinion shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation, ten topics were identified and categorized into three themes: Life, Awareness of the Emergency, and Policy. Results showed a decrease in awareness of the emergency (r = −0.189, *p* < 0.000) over time, while other topics remained relatively stable. The study highlights the value of newspaper reader posts in capturing everyday public opinion and the need for long-term perspectives in addressing public health challenges.
