As reported by Mail Online, Japanese students are turning to “smile education” to relearn social cues after years of wearing masks due to Covid-19.

Keiko Kawano’s company, Egaoiku, has experienced a significant increase in demand for smile instruction since last year. The cost of a one-hour session is 7,700 yen (equivalent to N43,000), and clients include companies investing in salespeople and local governments supporting the well-being of residents.

Himawari Yoshida, a 20-year-old student, is taking the class as part of her school’s courses aimed at preparing students for the job market. She admitted the need to work on her smile, stating, “I hadn’t used my facial muscles much during COVID, so it’s good exercise.”

Wearing masks in Japan was already commonplace before the pandemic, especially during hay fever season and exams, due to concerns about falling ill during crucial life events. A survey conducted by public broadcaster NHK in May revealed that 55% of Japanese respondents were still wearing masks as frequently as they were two months earlier, with only 8% stating that they had stopped wearing masks altogether.

During a recent smiling class attended by art school students, approximately a quarter of the participants chose to keep their masks on. Kawano mentioned that young people may have become accustomed to wearing masks, and women might find it easier to go out without wearing makeup while men can hide the fact that they haven’t shaved.

Kawano, a former radio host who began offering smile lessons in 2017, has also trained 23 others as smiling coaches to spread the knowledge and technique of crafting the perfect smile across Japan. Her trademarked “Hollywood Style Smiling Technique” includes elements such as “crescent eyes,” “round cheeks,” and shaping the edges of the mouth to reveal eight upper-row pearly whites.