Students in Japan Take Lessons on How to Smile After Pandemic

VIVA – Students in Japan are taking classes from professional instructors to learn how to smile after wearing mask for too long because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The demand for smile coaching services in the country has urged as more people try to  get used to exposing their faces in public after the government relaxed its mask requirements in March.

"I hadn't used my facial muscles much during Covid so it's good exercise," Himawari Yoshida, a 20-year-old art student said, as reported from Business Insider.

Keiko Kawano becomes the instructor of the smile class in Japan. She was also a radio announcer and now she runs a company called "Egaoiku" or means Smile company.

The cost of a one-hour smile course is US$55 or IDR 800 thousand. The first lesson is to check the student's signature smile.

"A typical smile lesson starts with checking your current smile," Kawano said.

Next, Kawano will show his students a form of smile that he calls a "Hollywood smile", and ask them to imitate it.

Knowing that the facial muscles do not move as expected, Kawano performs exercises to shorten and stretch the cheek muscles and create a beautiful mouth shape for smiling.

For those who want to become a smile course trainer like him, Kawano also offers one-day training workshops for 80,000 Japanese yen.

Her business exploded after the government lifted the mask rule and became profitable.

Kawano stated that her class used to open only one class per year, but now it has increased to four times a year and many people are looking for smile courses.

"I think the importance of a smile in finding a job is increasing," Kawano said.

It is likely that people in Japan are so used to wearing masks that when they are not allowed to wear masks anymore, they become less confident. So, many of them then need smile courses to become more confident again.