Nearly 60% of people in Japan are unaware or unclear about government guidance that wearing masks outdoors for protection against the coronavirus is unnecessary in most cases, recent survey results have shown.

Although the guidelines were issued in May and the government's position on mask-wearing has remained unchanged, the survey found that 18.4% of respondents had no knowledge the guidance even existed, while 40% knew of it but not the specific details, according to data by polling firm Laibo.

In the poll, 41.6% said they knew of the guidance and its content.