Japan had now been closed to tourists for well over 2 years for fear of Corona. I’ve been here for a week now and I’m impressed with the consistency with which the residents wear masks (inside, outside and even in a restaurant between meals). What annoys me, however, is the “cool” tourists who just can’t put their masks on. Well, on the outside it’s worth discussing (except maybe in Shibuya), but often they don’t even walk around with masks on the inside. As polite as the Japanese are, nothing is said about it. I’m feeling a little bit ashamed on behalf of others.
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So what is the current impression or how has the public opinion changed about tourists after 2 weeks of full opening? Are they starting to regret it?
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/yfgt69/public_opinion_about_tourists_not_wearing_masks/
3 comments
Just as a heads up, I have consistently seen Japanese people not wear their masks.
On top of that the government has been telling people to ***not wear*** their masks.
They actually have been trying to get people to not wear masks for a while.
So firstly, them not wearing masks is kinda exactly what the government has told them and Japanese people wear it as respect, but I have definitely seen Japanese people not wearing masks and only put it on when they see someone or a foreigner.
So it is not ***just*** foreigners by any means. And the problem is definitely a lot more involved than that.
Are you going for some sort of ‘virtue signaling’ award or something? The requirement to wear masks outside has been dropped for some time now.
The last government clarification on this came from Kishida this week. It’s a judgment call. No need indoors or outdoors unless it’s crowded. Then again, no one listens to the government here either so people and businesses just make up their own rules.