Reasons Why Japanese Wear Masks Even When There's No Outbreak

↑ Click above to follow us!

点击上方 宝安外语协会 关注我们

While in many countries one can only see people wearing surgical masks in the hospitals, it is actually very common to see Japanese people wearing surgical masks in public. Let's see a few main reasons why they wear masks in public, despite the obvious one, i.e. fear of getting infected.

虽然在许多国家人们大部分只能在医院里看到戴着外科口罩的人，但在日本就不一样，在公共场合看到日本人戴着外科口罩非常普遍。让我们了解一下他们在公共场合戴口罩的几个主要原因，尽管有一个显而易见的原因，即害怕被感染。

1. No time for Make-up 没时间化妆

Japanese women are expected to always dress up and put on make-up even if they are just going somewhere near or to the supermarket. Sometimes one just does not have enough time, or is lazy to put on the make up, this is when a mask comes in handy.

日本女性哪怕只是去附近或超市也要打扮和化妆。有时候时间不够，或者懒得化妆，这时只要戴着口罩就可以安心的出门了。

2. Fashion 时尚

While commonly used surgical masks may not be as appealing to be used as a fashion item, in Japan, surgical masks comes in variety of colors and patterns. When used this way, they function as a fashion accessory, just the same way you use a tie, or a watch as a fashion item.

虽然常用的外科口罩不能算是时尚配饰，但在日本，外科口罩也有带有多种颜色和图案。这样使用的时候就当是一个时尚配饰，跟人们把领带或手表当作一个时尚物品一样。

3. Dry Air and Airplanes 干燥空气和飞机上

If you have taken a long flight you must have noticed that the air in airplanes is very dry. Well, if you ever felt uncomfortable but didn't know why, next time try a surgical mask and thank me later. Surgical masks can help to keep your mucous and membrane moisturized when the air is too dry.

如果你曾长途飞行，你一定注意到飞机上的空气是非常干燥。那么，如果你感到不舒服但不知道为什么，下次试着戴上外科口罩，你一定会回访感谢我。当空气过于干燥时，口罩有助于保持粘膜的湿润。

4. Air Pollution 空气污染

When air pollution gets bad, Japanese people will wear surgical masks to protect themselves from the harmful particles. There are some specialized masks to protect from PM2.5 too. 

当空气污染恶化时，日本人会戴上口罩来保护自己免受有害颗粒物的侵害。也有一些专门的防护口罩来防止PM2.5。

5. Hay Fever 花粉症

About a quarter of the Japanese population are allergic to cedar tree or pollen. While there are about 60 types of plants in Japan that are recognized as causing hay fever, the majority of the cases are caused by the native cedar tree. For this reason, wearing a mask during hay fever season is crucial to alleviate the symptoms.

大约四分之一的日本人对雪松或花粉过敏。虽然日本约有60种植物被认为是引起花粉热，但大多数病例是由本土的雪松树引起的。因此，在花粉热季节戴口罩对缓解症状至关重要。

6. Protecting Yourself and Others 保护自己和他人

When one is sick in Japan, it is polite and is expected that they wear a mask in order to prevent germs from spreading. Most of the hospitals will force you to wear a mask if they've confirmed that you have a fever. When you are coughing and sneezing a lot, you are expected to wear a mask in public. Not all masks are uncomfortable though, some masks come with aroma sheets inside that will help you breathe during nighttime, they are only used when one is sleeping.

当一个人在日本生病时，戴口罩算是礼貌的行为也是人们希望为了防止病菌传播你能怎么做。大多数医院当你被确诊有发烧时，都会强迫你戴口罩。如果你咳嗽和打喷嚏很厉害的话，你在公共场合应该戴口罩。最后，并不是所有的口罩都戴的不舒服，有些口罩里面有可以帮助你在夜间呼吸的香味纸，这样的口罩只在睡觉的时候使用的。

References

Mitsutoshi Horii, in Why Do the Japanese Wear Masks? A Short Historical Review

Theweek.com, in Why they wear it: 5 interesting clothing choices explained

Gaijinplot.com, in Hay Fever Season in Tokyo Has Officially Begun

End

Editor's Picks 往期推荐

✨👍👏

***所有文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本站立场*** 

---

邮箱：[e-mail]

扫码关注我们  获取更多公益活动信息

▼Extract the QR code to follow us▼

FLA

Official Account

Follow us

     FLA

QQ Group

815613448

Join  us