Many of us have noticed the meticulousness and sensitivity of Asians regarding health. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, the fact that everyone in Japan wore a mask was a challenge to many countries regarding health.
However, although the pandemic is over, people in many Far Eastern countries still continue to wear masks, and this is not just specific to the pandemic. They’ve been doing this for ages! So why do you say?
The main reason why countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan still wear masks is air pollution.
The SARS epidemic, which started in China in 2002 and later spread to other Far Eastern countries, actually laid the groundwork for this mask habit. As you can imagine, air pollution is at the highest level in large countries such as China, so another reason is to be protected from air pollution. For these reasons, people became so accustomed to wearing masks that 10 to 20 million masks began to be produced per month.
Of course, the reasons are not only habits or air pollution left over from the SARS epidemic, but many Far Eastern people actually continue to wear masks to avoid any social interaction with other people, to hide their facial expressions or just to hide their faces. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that many people, especially in China and South Korea, wear them for this reason.
The origin of this habit in Japan dates back to 1918.
With the beginning of the flu epidemic in Japan in 1918, the government of the time gradually began to encourage the public on this issue by hanging posters and informative articles on the streets. Japan tended to be considerate of other people around it, not only today but also in ancient times.
This awareness increased with the increase in the number of people wearing masks. Later, in 1934, the flu epidemic spread throughout the country again, and the Japanese, who wore masks whenever the flu spread, managed to overcome these epidemics in the shortest time possible.
Many Japanese people suffering from hay fever find the remedy by wearing a mask.
There does not need to be a nationwide epidemic for the Japanese to wear their masks. For example; You may see many people wearing masks when they are not feeling well, have allergic reactions, or are sick themselves.
It is very likely that you will see a significant increase in the number of people wearing masks, especially in the spring and autumn months. Approximately 30% of the population suffers from hay fever due to pollen, so the first thing the Japanese do when they experience symptoms such as runny nose and sneezing is to wear a mask.
Apart from diseases, it is also considered a popular fashion item.
All diseases aside, another reason is that they have started to trend towards making masks fashionable as they see them as an item that they have frequently used from past to present. It’s not just fashion, many masks have more functionality than the ones we use on a daily basis.
It’s quite natural for them that you see a variety of mask styles and colors because masks have become a trend there now. Just as we wear our necklaces, bracelets and earrings as accessories, they also wear their masks and leave.
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