TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in his policy speech on October 3 that it is unnecessary to wear masks outdoors as he struggles to communicate the government's anti-coronavirus mask policy because of growing complaints in Japan as many countries have ended mask mandates overseas.
The Japanese government believes that it is too soon to shift to a state of no mask because of concerns over a seasonal flu epidemic that has occurred alongside the coronaviruses, but it wants to explain its position that removing masks while outdoors is permitted to ease public discontent.
In May, the national government announced guidelines for outdoor and indoor settings that do not require mask usage in consideration of summer heatstroke risks. It stated that wearing masks was unnecessary outdoors in cases where distance could be maintained between people, or where there was almost no talking involved. However, as the announcement was unclear, it did not become widespread in society, and many people still wear masks, even outside.
There are moves to exit strategies from COVID 19 on a global scale, and more countries, including the US and Europe, have been relaxing mask mandates. Mask usage has become a focal point in Japan.
Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said at a Sept. 26 press conference that people don't need to wear masks outdoors because they received feedback that the original message was unclear. Japan has a relatively low proportion of people with acquired immunity through natural infection compared to countries overseas, and a majority of experts think there is a high risk in a complete removal of masks. A senior health ministry official said it was too much for people to wear masks when they are walking outside alone. This goes for not only summertime, but also autumn and winter, and we'd like to establish the norm of removing masks outside. While the prime minister's speech in May aimed to spread the message that masks can be removed outdoors, he used the expressions as long as no conversation takes place nearby and with some reservations. An individual close to Kishida said: We wanted to go a step further but we were stopped by experts who feared a large influenza outbreak.