Confessions of a mask wearer

Three years on, and the mandate's finally been lifted. You'd never know it.

On Monday, March 13, the Japanese government declared that individuals would have the right to choose whether or not to wear a mask in public. Yes, three years after Corona-chan came into our lives. As the clock ticked over from 11:59 PM on March 12, a strange flock of misshapen nocturnal birds could be seen flying over parts of Tokyo, as foreign residents flung their masks in the air, never to be worn again.

Meanwhile, most Japanese people continued to wear masks. Most non-Japanese in Japan did, too.

On Monday morning, some non-Japanese commentators in Japan expressed amusement and feigned bewilderment at this state of affairs. I suspect those people haven’t been here long. By now, of course, that sentiment has tapered off, and everyone has settled into essentially the same holding pattern as last week, before the mandate was lifted. That is, most everyone is still either wearing a mask, or half-wearing one, whether slung under their nose, or below the chin. Yes, even outdoors.

I’m still wearing one most of the time. Even outdoors, unless it’s late at night, or there’s no one within 50 meters or so. Today it was 20 degrees and sunny, and I still walked around all day with a mask on.

What is happening here?

In a way, choosing to continue to stay masked up, even though the government has explicitly said that you don’t have to, is a mildly subversive act! If people believed in the government and felt that it had their best interests in mind, wouldn’t they be more inclined to follow its gentle nudge toward a mask-free lifestyle?

One reason why many people stay masked up is, admittedly, groupthink. It’s easier to follow the lead of the masses than to stand out for doing something different.

And sure, yes, the scientific evidence in support of wearing masks is spotty, and we all know this. No one is legitimately concerned about getting COVID anymore, and no one believes that a thin sheet of medical-grade polypropylene will make the difference either way. Japan is not a nation of germophobes.

So, what’s going on?

To some extent, it’s psychological comfort. The pandemic upended everything for a lot of us, and strapping on a mask in order to go out in public was one very small way to reclaim a sense of control. For some, it may be hard to let go of that, even now.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve gotten sick a lot less frequently and less severely in the last three years than I did before the days of constant maskery. Could that be because I’ve been wearing a mask the entire time, except when I’m at home? I may no longer be concerned about COVID, but I’m also not really interested in getting a lingering headcold, you know? Being sick sucks!

It’s a way of saying, “I, like you, fellow mask wearer, am visually displaying my willingness to sacrifice for the greater good.” Put another way, opting not to wear a mask when most everyone else still wears one is a visual indicator that you value your own liberty and comfort more than your participation in a societal pact. Sure, it may be a pact made in the name of signifying an unidentifiable and anemic social-performative form of suffering, but we made it together. This is different from groupthink, I swear.

Masks increase anonymity! Don’t want to do the stop-and-chat with the guy from marketing who you happened to run into while out shopping? Just pretend you didn’t recognize him, and grant him the opportunity to do the same in response to you.

Masks decrease the need for facial maintenance. Don’t feel like shaving, or applying extensive makeup, or trimming your nose hairs? Fine!

Having a mask on lets you sing along to your favourite songs or mumble to yourself free of judgment, as long as you do it relatively quietly. For some of us, that’s liberating.

A certain contingent has taken to calling masks “顔パンツ,” or “face underpants.” In other words, we’ve become so accustomed to mask life that venturing outside the house without one feels like going out naked. It’s just part of the wardrobe now. If the government told you that, starting tomorrow, you were no longer required to wear any clothes below the waist, would you take them up on the offer? Your response to that question probably correlates pretty strongly to your current mask policy.

Some speculate that once the hay fever and allergy season comes to an end, we’ll finally see the end of mask culture. I’m still skeptical. Summer may grant a reprieve, but as soon as flu season comes back around in the fall, I’m sure we’ll be right back where we are now.

Personally, I don’t mind it. People’s faces emit all kinds of effluvia, pretty much non-stop, and the more distance I can put between myself and that, the better.