Weird Japan?: Country Is Still Viewed as a Disney-Like Fantasy … – Bloomberg
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A flurry of media reports on a niche Japanese service show the country is still viewed as a Disney-like fantasy land.
Smiles all around.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
The hottest thing to hit Japan since the 2016 viral sensation Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen is the “smile coach,” a service locals have been flocking to as they struggle to ditch their masks in a post-Covid world.
At least, that’s the impression you’d have from reading the dozens of English-language stories on the supposed phenomenon over the past few weeks. From the New York Times to the Hindustan Times, it has been difficult to avoid the articles about how Japanese are en masse engaging such services, having seemingly “forgotten how to smile” in a country that has only recently ditched masking guidance.
