Japan, still wearing masks?

The Corona pandemic is still ongoing, but in many countries, the stringent lockdown policies are a thing of the past.
As the percentage of vaccinated people increases, and the measures are loosened, one of the issues has been mask-wearing.

In April, many European countries removed the restrictions on face masks and coverings.
Although some venues are still requiring them in scattered places.

However, in Japan, the face mask rule is still in place...
Actually, to be specific, there was no official rule making mask-wearing mandatory in Japan, but there were some "strong recommendations" and denial of service options for businesses for people not complying.
But in Japan, almost everyone complied with the government recommendations and thereby making it unnecessary to make a mandatory ruling.

But now, with the pandemic numbers reducing, and the hot summer months around the corner, the government is trying to get people to stop wearing masks unnecessarily.

These are the new guidelines for mask-wearing in Japan.

■Heatstroke: Remove your mask if you do not need it outdoors, to prevent heat stroke in summer.
■Outdoors： You do not need to wear a mask outdoors when you are approximately 2 meters apart from others, or when you are not talking at a distance of less than 2 meters.
■Indoors： You do not need to wear a mask indoors when you are approximately 2 meters apart from others and when you are not talking.
■For Children： Children don’t need to wear masks at a distance of approximately 2 meters from others. All preschool children are not required to wear a mask.

If you are planning to travel to Japan, please make a note of the guidelines above.