Why Do Japanese People Still Wear Masks? "Putting It On Was Never the Effort — Taking It Off Is": 11,939 Comments on Japan's Mask Habit

What locals said (excerpted from 11939)

• I hate my own face so much that I can no longer take off the mask that hides it.

  自分の顔が嫌いすぎて顔を隠してくれるマスクを外せなくなった

  — @aa_aaaaaab8,684 likes

• "I look cuter with a mask on…", "With a mask I can go out with no makeup!" — there have to be a fair few people keeping them on for reasons that have nothing to do with COVID.

  「マスクをしてた方が可愛く見える…」「マスクしていればすっぴんで行ける！」など、コロナ以外での理由で外さない人も結構いるはず…。

  — @らあ-d5e2,910 likes

• Sitting at uni with my mates looking around, every girl looks beautiful. I reckon that's the reason.

  大学で女子を友達と見てて思うけど全員美人に見えるんよな。だからやと思う

  — @かきふらいごん1,421 likes

• It hides my nose hair, which is a real help…

  鼻毛隠れるから助かるんよなぁ・・

  — @姓名-y3y669 likes

• · By now there's resistance to taking it off · Take it off and you get noticed · Taking it off is a pain · Wearing it just in case. That's about the whole list.

  ・もはや外すことに抵抗が生まれてしまった ・外すと注目される ・外すのがめんどくさい ・念の為つけてる だいたいここら辺

  — @WhyYouLife1,905 likes

• · Putting it on and taking it off over and over is a pain · I've got used to cutting corners on grooming because of the mask · Without one I'm scared of getting cold looks.

  ・マスクを付けたり外したりが面倒 ・マスクする事による身嗜みの手抜きに慣れた ・マスクしてないと冷たい視線を浴びそうで怖い

  — @SPIKE_ONSEN1,233 likes

• Even if you try to go mask-free, you get told to put one on in the train or when you walk into a shop — so the only window is the moment you're walking outside. Then you have to stow it and pull it out again, and carrying it in your hand is annoying. Until it's fine to be mask-free on transport and indoors too, it's just easier to think "eh, I'll leave it on."

  脱マスクしようとしても、電車の中とかお店に入った時とかマスク付けろと言われるから「外で徒歩」の一瞬だけ外すようにも外したマスクしまったり、また取り出したりするのも面倒だし、手で持ち歩くのも邪魔だし交通手段や室内でも脱マスクオッケーにならない限り面倒くさいしそのまま付けておくか〜になるんだよな

  — @S95すぐ夫977 likes

• Japan already wore masks day to day far more than other countries did (flu season and so on), but "mask dependency" was already becoming a bit of an issue before COVID, so I think there are a lot of people in that category too.

  日本は元々日常的にマスクすることが海外と比べて多かった(インフルの時期など)のもあると思うけど、コロナ前からマスク依存症がちょっと問題になってたからそういう人も多いと思う

  — @ななし-v2y1,711 likes

• Wearing a mask was never a burden for Japanese people to begin with — loads of us have hay fever. Just let us do as we like.

  日本人て元々マスクするの苦じゃないよね、花粉症の人も多いし。好きにさせてくれ。

  — @kishibeshiro1,121 likes

• In winter there were plenty of people wearing masks before COVID as well, so I don't mind that — but anyone wearing one outdoors in summer has insane endurance.

  冬はコロナ前もマスクしてるやつ多かったから別にいいと思うけど、夏に外でマスクしてるやつ忍耐力えぐいなって思う。

  — @user-xr1ly9xn4v904 likes

• I had my mask off walking to high school, and at the year assembly we were told "we've had complaints about students taking their masks off outdoors." Then a teacher snapped at me — "why aren't you wearing a mask? Are you stupid?" So no, I can't take it off lol

  高校に登校中、マスク外してたら「外でマスクを外していると、苦情がありました」って学年集会で言われたし、先生に「なんでマスクしないの？アホちゃうん？」ってキレられたからマスク外せん笑

  — @kigatiru1,677 likes

• The way the other person's expression changes when you take your mask off — that one hurts.

  マスク外した時の相手の表情変わってくるの辛い

  — @shibaschan1,054 likes

• I hate the thought of someone going "oof" when I take it off, so I'd rather show my real face constantly and get recognised as that face as fast as possible. It's stuffy and it makes my face oily — I want it off…

  マスク外した時にうわあって思われるの嫌だから逆に元の顔晒しまくって早くそっちの顔で認知されたいし、苦しいし顔テカるからマスク取りたい…

  — @S本けずる-f8x638 likes

• In the West the image is "sunglasses are normal, a mask means you're seriously ill," so they dropped masks straight away. Japan is the exact mirror image: a certain number of people wore them all year round anyway, and everyone wore them once winter came, so it doesn't feel odd here.

  欧米だと「サングラスは普通だけどマスクは重病人」ってイメージだからすぐ脱マスクしてるけど、その真逆で日本は元々一定数通年マスクしてる人とかいたし冬になったらみんなしてたから違和感ないんよな

  — @ri._.303 likes

• If there's obviously nobody around I don't wear one, but the moment I'm out where people are, on it goes.

  明らかに人いなけりゃマスクしないけど人がいるところに出たらマスクはしちゃうね

  — @覚悟の準備をしておいて下さい500 likes

• We went from "you're not allowed out without a mask" → so you wear one, to "you may take your mask off!" (which isn't "you must") → it hides your face and it stops flu and colds, so let's keep wearing it. That's just how it normally reads, so honestly, do whichever you like…

  「マスクをつけてないとダメ」 　→マスクつける っていう状況から 「マスク外してもいいですよ！」 　（外さないとダメではない） 　→顔隠れるしインフルとか風邪とか予防になるしつけよう！ になってるのがふつうだからどっちでも好きにしたらいいと思うけどなぁ…

  — @あきと-b5s283 likes

• Anyone who wants to wear a mask should, anyone who doesn't shouldn't — isn't that all there is to it? It's free choice now ✨

  別にマスクしたい人はすればいいし、したくない人はしなきゃいいんじゃない？もう自由なんだから✨

  — @mitococo220 likes

• I've basically not worn one this whole time. Maybe I'm just oblivious, but I've never once caught a cold stare and nobody has ever complained to me.

  今まで基本的にマスクしてなかったけど自分が鈍感なのもあるかも知らんが一回も冷たい視線は浴びたこともないし文句言われたこともない

  — @er441428 likes

Do Japanese people still wear masks?

Plenty do, and in this thread the reasons are mostly not medical. The top reason (8,684 likes) is a face the writer would rather keep hidden, and 7,075 likes describe the flipped default: putting a mask on was never the effort, taking it off is. A comment with 1,711 likes notes Japan already masked routinely for flu season long before 2020, so the habit had somewhere to land.

Do I need to wear a mask in Japan as a tourist?

Commenters answer that themselves: 220 likes for "anyone who wants to wear one should, anyone who doesn't shouldn't — it's free choice now," and 283 likes spelling out that the switch was from "you must" to "you may." One commenter who has mostly skipped masks the whole time says he has never once caught a cold stare or had anyone complain (28 likes).

Why do Japanese people wear masks when they're not sick?

Two clusters dominate the thread. Appearance: 2,910 likes for "I look cuter with a mask on" and "with a mask I can go out with no makeup," plus 669 likes for the one that hides his nose hair. And season: 1,121 likes point out that a lot of people have hay fever and never minded masks, with spring and autumn pollen and winter dryness cited as the reason to keep one handy.

Is it rude to take your mask off in Japan?

In the thread the pressure comes from institutions rather than strangers — 1,677 likes describe a school assembly announcing complaints about students unmasking outdoors, and a teacher snapping at the writer. The practical rule commenters describe for themselves (500 likes) is simple: if there's obviously nobody around, off; the moment you're out among people, on.

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