Mask requirement lifted in Japan

The regulation on the use of masks against the Covid-19 epidemic in Japan has been relaxed.
The Japanese government’s advisory mask regulation has been relaxed, although it is not a legal requirement.

Thus, the regulation of the use of face masks in force since 2020 has been left to the choice of the individual throughout the country. Accordingly, people will not be required to wear masks on public transportation vehicles, including airlines, railways, and buses.

Educational institutions, in principle, will terminate requests for masks as of April 1, when the academic year begins.

Customers may be required to wear masks at points of service where close contact is maintained, such as barbershops and beauty salons. At social events such as concerts, participants will be asked to abide by the rules of the organizers of these events.

In Yahoo Japan’s online survey of more than 80,000 people, 46.5% of respondents said they would continue to wear masks. 27 percent of respondents said they will stop wearing masks, and 26 percent of respondents said they will decide based on their location.

The status of Covid-19 in Japan is at the second most serious level of the 5-level scale on which epidemics are evaluated. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s government aims to reduce Covid-19 to level 5, the lowest level, where diseases such as tuberculosis are tested, by early May. (AA)