Smile classes flagged for Japan post Covid as masks are dropped

People in Japan who became so used to wearing face masks during the pandemic are signing up for lessons to teach them how to smile again.

People in Japan who became so used to wearing face masks during the pandemic are signing up for lessons to teach them how to smile again.

While masks were already common in the east Asian country before Covid, with many using them to combat seasonal illnesses and hay fever, their use skyrocketed when it became official government guidance to wear them during the worst of the outbreak.

The aim of the classes is to relearn social cues after years of near-universal mask wearing.

One young woman who attends the classes told Reuters: “I haven’t used my facial muscles much during Covid, so it’s good exercise”.

Japan is easing Covid rules. Picture: Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images

The teacher of the class, Keiko Kawano, believes that culturally, Japanese people may be less included to smile than Westerns because of their sense of security as an island nation and as a unitary state.

“Culturally, a smile signifies that I’m not holding a gun, and I’m not a threat to you,” she said, as her students chuckle.

A poll by public broadcaster NHK in May showed 55 per cent of Japanese people were still wearing masks just as often as when a government guidance was in place, with just eight per cent having stopped altogether.