Japan is taking lessons on how to smile again after the Covid-19 pandemic

revealed that about 75 percent of respondents cited they would “wear a mask” even if the Covid-19 pandemic was contained. When asked the reasons, 90 percent cited “hygiene.”In Japan, Keiko Kawano is a smiling instructor running a company called Egaoiku – which means “Smile Education” –. Speaking to the, Kawano said the company has seen over a fourfold jump in demand compared to last year.

Her customers range from companies seeking more approachable salespeople and local governments looking to improve their residents’ well-being. In the classes, these customers can be seen holding mirrors in front of their faces and stretching their facial muscles to form a grin. The 43-year-old smiling coach has been teaching long before Covid-19 hit. She believes that Japanese people, compared to Westerners, tend to smile less often due to cultural differences.“Culturally, a smile signifies that I’m not holding a gun and I’m not a threat to you,” said Kawano, who’s trained 23 other people as smiling coaches. Kawano holds a one-day certification course for people who want to teach smiling.

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Japanese get trained in 'Hollywood' smiles as masks slowly come offIn one of Keiko Kawano's recent classes, more than a dozen Tokyo art school students held mirrors to their faces, stretching the sides of their mouths upward with their fingers: they were practising how to smile.
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