Tetsuya Matsumoto, professor of infectious diseases at the International University of Health and Welfare, suggesting one reason why wearing masks has become a part of everyday life in Japan because of the long coronavirus pandemic.
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Sometimes we overdo it, such as wearing masks all day because we are afraid of what other people think. I think we should review our mask-wearing measures for times when masks are unnecessary.
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virusrex
Japan is well known for overdoing a lot of things that have to do with (at least in appearance) having consideration for others. As long as the risk keeps decreasing there will be a point where most of people will stop taking unnecessary measures even if for some the advantages of wearing a mask continuously outside of their homes outweight the disadvantages and will keep doing it.
Michael Machida
When drinking a beer, I take my mask off.
commanteer
Quite a few I have talked to only wear masks because of social pressure. Especially outdoors, they know it has little meaning otherwise.
vic.M
In simple terms, brain washed. Believing that you will catch a disease while walking the dog at night, while driving the car, doing sports, working on construction sites and road works. For goodness sakes, wake up !
vic.M
If you really had any concern for other people, you should poke a hole in your mask and use a straw.
Sanjinosebleed
Pressure to conform in Japan is huge. As soon as a few tv personalities start saying enough with the masks people will take them off. For most it has never been about covid but more about conforming to social norms. Thankfully Omicron has shown it is not the variant of concern people thought and normality whatever that is post Covid should return soon( or at least after the july election).
When I was living in Japan most people only wore masks when they had the flu not to try and stop contracting it....
Nihon Tora
50,000 cases a day for the last 3 months - multiply that by 5-10 to get something closer to the real figure (I keep saying that, does anyone disagree? I think it's a reasonable assumption considering the amount of testing going on) - and that's with pretty much 100% of the population wearing masks out in public at all times. It seems to me that the masks are doing next to nothing at this point. The latest variants are just too transmissible for them to be effective.
Sven Asai
All those lone drivers with their masks on, they really should be officially exempted from wearing it, because they only harm themselves by keeping and breeding the own virus loads inside their respiratory tract and bodies for no rational or logical reason.
Raw Beer
I agree most Japanese wear masks mainly because of social pressure; they don't want to be the only one out there without a mask.
I am always maskless outdoors. I hope it will make others feel more free to do the same.
Algernon LaCroix
Likewise, and am testing the waters by going maskless indoors more often as well. Have been asked a few times to put it on, but more of the time nobody has said anything. Even when I'm asked to put it on, it barely covers my mouth.
umbrella
Masks are useless as we all know. But I have to wear the damn thing all day at work, if I refused I guess I would be shown the door. It feels like Japanese will wear these prisons for the face forever. I have never worn a mask for daily running and for Taekwondo and Judo practice. When will we be free of these useless face prisons in our daily lives?
virusrex
People wear them because it has been scientifically proved they work reducing the risk of transmission, wearing them outside can be for a variety of reasons, but at least in Japan it is not been actively promoted as necessary by neither the experts nor the media or goverment (except when in close proximity for a lengthy amount of time).
Fortunately this danger is just imaginary and the infection process do not work like this, there is no "harm to themselves" by not spreading the viruses.
The opposite actually, as demonstrated by many different kinds of studies they represent a valuable tool to reduce spreading both for and from the person wearing it. Peer pressure is not always something negative, some people only wash their hands after using the toilet also because they are required to do so if they want to keep their jobs, many also mistakenly think this is useless.
casadeoctane
The masks are permanent here. It will never go away. Even though, as has been pointed out - they don't work! People underestimate the downsides.. there are kids growing up now who see it as the norm. Ask them to draw a picture of a person, they'll probably draw a picture of someone wearing a mask.
Mat
Masks served a valuable purpose in reducing cases, but this disease is clearly never going to leave. It's time to leave the masks in the box.
Strangerland
Yeah it’s not like Japan had extremely low covid deaths or anything. It’s not like they were one of the lowest death rates out there. Right?
…right?
purple_depressed_bacon
Japan is a very conformist society and until someone very influential publicly doesn't wear a mask and/or the government issues an official statement to remove the masks, unfortunately for the people of Japan, mask wearing will continue. It's now less to do with protecting oneself and others from Covid and more because "everyone else is wearing one" mentality.
Strangerland
Yeah it’s not like Japan had extremely low covid deaths or anything. It’s not like they were one of the lowest death rates out there. Right?
…right?
TrevorPeace
One of the most ridiculous things I've witnessed, and photographed, in Japan is a three-year old girl wearing a mask and taking a photo of her mother wearing a mask, under a cherry blossom tree during hanami. First thing I wondered was how could the little girl know it was her mother, later in life? No smiling mother's face, just a pair of eyes and the ubiquitous dark hair. Pretty sad, really.
Alex
If I want to wear a mask I will, what business is it of anyone else?