Japanese people ‘have forgotten how to smile’

Japan sees proliferation of seminars and workshops on how to smile in country’s post-pandemic, mask-free era

People march along a road with a large Tengu mask during the Tengu Parade, a traditional event held to drive away evil spirits and to bring good luck, at the Shimokitazawa shopping district in Tokyo on 28 January (AFP via Getty Images)

In post-pandemic Japan, some people may have forgotten how to smile – as evidenced by “smile practice seminars” that have cropped up and reportedly gained traction across the country.

Japan had eased its mask mandate for the first time only in March ever since the Covid pandemic struck the world in 2020. The government said it is now up to individuals to decide whether they want to mask up or not.

Having spent so long behind masks, several Japanese people are reportedly attending workshops and seminars on how to smile in the new, mask-free era.

According to Mainichi Shimbun, a senior care centre in Tokyo had earlier this month held a workshop to help seniors learn how to smile again. About 30 people attended the seminar organised by Egaoiku, a Japanese company based in Zushi, Kanagawa prefecture, that organises such seminars.

Seventy-nine-year-old Akiko Takizawa, who attended the smile practice seminar was quoted as saying that she “didn’t have opportunities to see people during the coronavirus crisis and didn’t show my smile to others”.

“I am reminded how important smiles can be,” she chimed in.

Egaoiku – which means “smile education” in English – also reportedly organised these seminars online before the mask mandate was eased, but its spokesperson noted that between February and April this year, the number of attendees “grew 4.5 times” compared to the same period in 2022.

Japan became one of the last countries across the world to relax its mask mandate recently.

‘Mask-wearing was part of our culture even before Covid-19,’ says Hitoshi Oshitani, a Tohoku University professor who was an architect of Japan’s Covid response (Getty Images)

Keiko Kawano, the founder of Egaoiku’s “school of smiles” who organised a smile training seminar in March, told her students: “A smile is only a smile if it’s conveyed.”

“Even if you’re thinking about smiling or that you’re happy if you have no expression it won’t reach the audience,” she said, according to Japan Times.

Ms Kawano, who runs another company called Egao Trainer Association – Egao translates to “smiling face” – has trained at least 4,000 people how to smile so far. Local reports credit her with training over 700 people in becoming certified “smile specialists”.

Kyoko Miyamoto, 74, who attended Ms Kawano’s seminar in March, was quoted as saying: “I think there’s some fear and shyness with the movement to take masks off.”

“Plus, people have been wearing masks for so long that they might have even forgotten what their friends’ faces looked like, and sometimes when you see someone and they take their masks off after a while, the bottom half is so unexpected.”

Ms Kawano said that “when the pandemic started, it felt as if smiling was just decreasing. There was just this feeling of disappointment”.

A woman wearing a Tengu mask takes part in the Tengu Parade, a traditional event held to drive away evil spirits and to bring good luck (AFP via Getty Images)

There is reportedly also a boom in private smile coaching.

“We are extremely busy now because people want to be seen smiling again,” Miho Kitano, the owner of yet another company that organises smile seminars – Egao Hyojokin Kyokai or the Smile Expression Muscle Association – told the Telegraph.

“Japanese people have been wearing masks for more than three years now and some say they have almost forgotten how to smile,” he said.

Ms Kitano started her company five years ago, but saw a jump in inquiries for workshops and classes to teach how to smile since the Japanese government announced the easing of mask restrictions. Reports said her one-hour one-on-one class costs about £64.

“A smile has to be natural to get through to the other person, but for anyone who does not smile much, the brain forgets how to use the facial muscles,” she said.

Even though masks are no longer compulsory in public places in Japan, experts suggest people will not easily give up.

“Mask-wearing was part of our culture even before Covid-19,” said Hitoshi Oshitani, a Tohoku University professor who was an architect of Japan’s Covid response told Reuters in March. “I think many people will be wearing masks even after the rules are relaxed.”

But that is not stopping the proliferation of smile classes. Ms Kitano told Japan Times: “We have to use and train them [the facial muscles] in order to get good at it [smiling].

“Just as you might exercise your arms, exercising your expressive muscles is so important.”