If you pay a visit to Japan, you may find that so many people wear surgical masks on their faces.  For example, Casey Baseel writes an article about the bizarre sight on a website: Why do Japanese people wear surgical masks? It’s not always for health reasons.

And a Japanese book Mask and the Japanese (2012) by HORII Mitsutoshi includes more minute description on the topic from the sociological perspective. An English paper on the topic by the author is also available on the web: Why Do the Japanese Wear Masks? A short historical review. (2015)

For most Japanese, medical explanation for effectiveness of masks is an excuse for hiding one’s face in a legitimate way. Surgical masks are just up to the hope to keep oneself anonymous in the crowd.

Reference:  堀井光俊『マスクと日本人』（秀明出版会、2012年）

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