The mask frenzy is getting worse, and I heard from store staff that people line up at drugstores to buy masks as early as 3am.
Not just with masks, but whenever food, shops, or other things are reported on TV, many Japanese people start lining up at that store after the news is released.
It seems that when someone is queuing, many Japanese people think that lining up is normal.
I don’t have this Japanese temperament at all.
Since it was impossible to buy a mask, I decided to go about my day without one.
However, there were very few people without masks at the time.
As I walked down the street, many Japanese people wearing masks avoided me.
Many people glared at me.
It was common to be hesitant to enter a store without a mask.
I really don’t like this closed-off Japanese society.
People like me who don’t wear masks are treated like criminals.
I was terrified by the number of Japanese people who wear masks even in the summer, even though their faces are bright red.
As some of you may know, Japan has been hotter in the summer than Southeast Asia or Africa in recent years, with daytime temperatures often reaching over 40 degrees Celsius.
As a result, the number of people collapsing from heatstroke has skyrocketed, and the number of people being taken to the hospital by ambulance every day has also increased dramatically.
Many of those who collapse are wearing masks.
I believe there is a deeper reason behind Japanese people’s obsession with masks than infection control.
I have traveled to many countries, but I have never seen a country where wearing masks on a daily basis is so common.
Japanese society has long tended to view not asserting oneself and taking a step back as a virtue.
In other words, it means hiding one’s true feelings.
Wearing a mask makes it possible to hide one’s true self.
When wearing a mask, one cannot see the other person’s facial expression at all, so it is impossible to tell whether they understand or are convinced.
As a teacher, when many of my students are wearing masks, it is very difficult to understand their true feelings.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to gauge their situation by observing their expressions and behavior.
Even though it has been more than five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, many students still wear masks.
Female students in particular say they can no longer show their true faces.
I strongly feel that Japan is a tough place, with the generation with the future saying things like this.
