Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association proposed that infection control measures, including wearing face masks in Japan, gradually lifted as the post-corona pandemic began.

Haruo Ozaki, chairman of the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Association, told local media on June 10th that with the temperature and humidity rising with the coming summer, there is an increased risk of people experiencing heat stroke, and he requested that masks be removed outdoors; while maintaining social distancing to some extent.

Ozaki suggested some situations where masks can be removed, such as playing outdoors at recess in schools, physical education or training, activities in parks, mountains, rivers, the seaside, walking, and jogging.

With the rate for third vaccinations in Tokyo now exceeding 80% among the elderly, he said that relaxing the mask rules is necessary. 

Ozaki mentioned that droplet and aerosol infections have been the main transmission routes but went on to point out that “outdoors and in well-ventilated places, these transmission routes are not very infectious,” so that, he concluded, “it’s okay now to reconsider not having to wear masks outdoors.” 

As a courtesy and mark of social responsibility or fearing infection, the Japanese are well known to be a people accustomed for generations to the use of masks to prevent spreading colds or influenza, long before Covid-19. 

Recently, in certain public spaces like restaurants, patrons are not required to wear masks while eating or drinking but dutifully put their masks back on as soon as they finish. And as such, Japan has largely avoided the controversy surrounding the mandatory use of masks seen in other countries. When someone has run out of masks or forgotten them at home, strangers on a bus or train or staff at offices and businesses will graciously offer them one of their own spare (unopened and unused) masks.