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July 17, 2025
 

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MASKS

Cedar pollen has made its earliest appearance in Tokyo's air, so it's time to start thinking about how wearing face masks and applying other allergy-busting sprays will affect your style for the weeks to come.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 8, 2025
Hay fever beauty: The aesthetics behind Japan’s allergy products
Face-sculpting masks and anti-pollen, makeup-fixing sprays can help you stay beautiful when the pollen starts flying.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 4, 2023
North Korea appears to lift COVID mask mandate, reports say
The isolated country has maintained border lockdowns and other anti-COVID measures long after most other nations ditched such restrictions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2023
Over 60% say they always wear masks when going out
By prefecture, respondents in Hiroshima spend the longest time with their masks on.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2023
Mask use in Japan at 86% despite eased guidelines, AI analysis finds
Revised guidelines that went into effect in March leave it up to individuals to decide on whether to wear a mask.
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2023
Japan firms roll back COVID measures for new recruit welcome events
Businesses are gradually returning to normal after the government revised mask-wearing guidance last month, leaving it up to individuals to decide whether or not to wear masks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2023
COVID measures will be up to Japan's businesses after downgrade
Requests for customers to sanitize their hands or have their temperatures taken are largely based on guidelines created by industries and will likely be less common after May 8.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2023
Japan's school students won't be required to wear masks from April
Students will not be required to wear masks even when singing together, an activity believed to have a relatively high risk of infection, according to new guidelines.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2023
Kishida Cabinet's approval rate rises to 29.9% in latest poll
The disapproval rate also fell 1.3 points to 40.9%, but it still surpassed the approval rate for the seventh month in a row.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2023
Remembering how to smile? Japan training sessions help prepare for life after masks
After three years of life with masks amid the pandemic, some people feel a need to practice their smiles and facial expressions before they take face coverings off in public.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 13, 2023
Japan’s mask rules end — with some caveats
The government started leaving the decision on masking largely up to individuals Monday. But that doesn’t mean that everyone can throw out their face coverings in all situations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 2, 2023
Hong Kong removes mask mandate for residents and travelers
After almost three years, the government decided to ease restrictions on facial coverings. But concern over new variants keeps many people wearing masks.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 28, 2023
Hong Kong to scrap COVID mask mandate from March 1
Hong Kong and Macao both followed China's 'zero-COVID' policy for much of the past three years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 23, 2023
Hong Kong extends mask mandate despite reopening campaigns
The city extended the regulation by two weeks to March 8, according to a government gazette published late Wednesday, meaning the rule will have been place for almost 1,000 days.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Feb 13, 2023
As Japan considers easing virus guidance, Okinawan children fear unmasked life
Even among adults, opinions are divided on how society should handle the coronavirus, including on the issue of whether or not to remove masks — which only adds to unease for children.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2023
Panel says Japan's schools can choose mask rules for graduations
The experts still urged school officials to set specific rules beforehand, especially regarding social distancing, venue ventilation and not attending when feeling sick.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2023
Japanese airline association to make onboard mask-wearing optional
The plan to make passenger mask-wearing a “personal choice” in May has been made in line with the government’s planned revision of mask guidelines.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 2, 2023
Asia is loosening rules on masks. Here’s why people still wear them.
Many other countries dropped pandemic mask requirements months ago. But in places like South Korea, which got rid of its rule this week, masks remain common.
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 29, 2023
What will change when Japan reclassifies COVID-19?
Japan is planning to downgrade the categorization of COVID-19 on May 8. How will that impact residents?
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2023
As Japan moves to downgrade COVID, focus shifts to messaging on risks
People will be encouraged to make their own judgments on the risk from the coronavirus, but experts say scientifically sound advice will remain important.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 20, 2023
Mask mandate lifted everywhere but on public transport in South Korea
Authorities have determined the current COVID-19 wave has peaked, based on the country’s death rate and the number of critical patients.
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
Japan launches government body to address concerns over foreign nationals
The new administrative body would serve as a cross-agency "control tower" to respond to issues such as crime and overtourism involving foreign nationals, according to the government.
Tens of millions of yen found at home of Aum Shinrikyo founder's wife
The house of the wife of the late Chizuo Matsumoto, the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult's founder, in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, in July
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.
Tokyo stocks hit by a perfect storm of tariffs, politics and budget worries
Tokyo stocks are underperforming shares in other large markets globally.
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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