Thirty-seven people, including the elderly, took a smiling lesson to prepare for taking off their masks in public following three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The instruction was held in the Akabane district in Tokyo’s Kita Ward on May 7, the day before the reclassification of COVID-19 to a less-severe category that includes the seasonal
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Thirty-seven people, including the elderly, took a smiling lesson to prepare for taking off their masks in public following three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The instruction was held in the Akabane district in Tokyo’s Kita Ward on May 7, the day before the reclassification of COVID-19 to a less-severe category that includes the seasonal flu.
“With mask wearing having become the norm, people have had fewer opportunities to smile, and more and more people have developed a complex about it,” said Keiko Kawano, 49, the smile trainer who served as the instructor for the lesson.
“Moving and relaxing the facial muscles is the key to making a good smile,” she said.
Participants used hand mirrors to check their smiles.
Here is the full story, via John McLennan. Note that the Japanese mask requirement was dropped only in March.
The post Smile markets in everything, Japanese demasking edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
Current Affairs, Law