Mask-wearing in Japan to become optional from March 13

33 comments

1. Thank fuck. Personal choice is the best way forward.

   People can keep wearing masks forever if they’d like, but it’d be nice to be able to go into stores without worrying about it.

2. Basically every train in Tokyo is a “crowded train” for the larger part of the day

3. so I still fking have to carry it in my pocket and worry to not forget it…

4. Finally

5. [removed]

6. I doubt this is going to make any difference.
   I bet 90% of people are still going to wear mask outside and basically everywhere.

   Who wants to be the first to go outside without wearing a mask? They already wore it even before all this started. This is really going to take a long time till everyone takes off the mask.

7. I’m most excited for theme parks to finally drop their mask mandates. Most of the masking “rules” in Japan have never actually been enforced and are all just theater, even for private businesses. But weirdly enough theme parks like Disney and USJ have been the strictest places I’ve ever been in Japan when it comes to actively mask policing.

   Regardless I’m sure for 90% of Japanese this is not going to change anything. I think it’s going to take a legit decade for Japanese to stop wearing masks regularly.

8. I’m waiting for the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the “why is everyone still wearing masks” and “why are stores still requiring masks” from the I feel triggered people are showing how selfish I am because I don’t want to suffer a minor inconvenience that’s never been mandatory crowd.

9. Good news, but no real change will take place. People here will keep with the mentality “if everyone still does it, so I will”. We’re talking about Japan in the end.

10. No more masks in the gym? Omg yes.

11. This is great news! Having the option to wear one is the best choice. I just really hope that companies don’t continue to force employees to wear masks, even though I’m sure they will.

12. Can’t wait to be able to go to the gym without a mask. Hate having to do cardio with it on 🙁

    Lol, getting downvoted for wanting to run without a mask? The actual fuck? Cringe doesnt even cut it lol

13. I think I agree with personal choice. I would like to see this change occur in a non-judgemental way as far as possible. Had enough of that with this particular issue. Time to mind our own business again.

14. どうかなぁぁぁ. It was never really illegal so I’m tempted to say things won’t change. Buttttttt I’ve noticed an ever-so-subtle change in people’s behaviour towards mask wearing, so this might be an excuse for a lot of people to tear away the mask. I guess only time will tell.

15. Still not gonna change me wearing shit on public transport. Just dreading it at work because classes have been half empty the last couple of weeks with all the kids getting influenza. My mask has been the one thing stopping me from catching whatevers been going around, COVID-19 and the flu.

16. “Trust the Science!”

    Okay!

    [Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.42; 6 trials, 13,919 participants; moderate‐certainty evidence).](https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full)

    edit – lmao “No! The Science I like!” crowd hard at work.

17. How was it not optional in practice? Has anyone without a mask ever been asked to wear one? I’ve never seen it.

18. It’s kafunsho season so I’ll keep wearing one

19. Maybe all the anti-mask clowns will shut up now.

20. I’m guessing this means we’d be allowed to cheer at concerts again?

21. Don’t imagine this will make much difference if you already work for a company that currently requires you to wear masks.

22. I used to work in Niigata years ago. I noticed my first winter there that the students were basically wearing their regular uniforms without jackets. It was getting pretty cold, and snow generally starts falling around December or earlier and doesn’t stop until spring. I asked one of them why they weren’t wearing a jacket outside and I was told that no one else at school was wearing theirs yet. Basically, nobody wanted to be the first one to look different, even if it was freezing outside.

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24. It’s been optional for years. There’s been a healthy mix of people wearing them and not wearing them all over the place. It would be nice to see less people wearing them, though.

    Personally, my family hasn’t worn one for nearly two years.

25. I’ll be curious to see how everyone behaves.
    My money is on nothing will change.

26. That’s good and all, I suppose, but with the Japanese culture being what it is, you will hardly notice one single difference before/after.

27. I got my driver’s license renewed yesterday and there was one youngish can’t walk without looking at her smart phone type there without a mask for the lecture. She originally sat right in the middle and was reminded to put on a mask when she entered, but obviously either didn’t have one or wasn’t interested in obliging. One of the staff obasans came over and offered her the option of leaving or sitting right by the open doors all by herself in a chair they went ahead and prepared for her. I thought it was a nice compromise of embarrassing her without kicking her out. Dumbass.

28. The funniest part to me about masks in Japan is little kids rarely wear them and it’s always like somehow normal as if they are a different species who can’t transmit disease. Nice to see any news coming out of basic sanity.

29. It doesn’t help that it’s usually gaijin without masks and has become an obvious sign of your gaijiness, which Japanese don’t want any part of, so they’ll just… keep wearing masks to not look like them.

30. Thank god, no more Beauty Inflation.

31. The problem is that private businesses (which are the majority of establishments people visit when going out) can still make you wear masks no?

32. Eh, nothing’s gonna change. Not been wearing masks outside for ages already lol

    Trains, yeah, sure I wear it, everywhere else, fuck it

33. I guess this only applies to governmental facilities?