College graduates and higher income adults in Japan unmasked faster after the government relaxed its mask guidance

Abstract We aim to shed light on the society’s normalization process after a pandemic by documenting the process of unmasking in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis in Japan. For that purpose, we conducted a weekly or biweekly survey of masking wearing behaviors from Summer 2022 to Spring 2024. Japanese citizens had worn masks at a high rate until mid-March 2023—three years after the onset of the pandemic—when the Prime Minister announced that mask-wearing would become up to individuals. After the announcement, Japanese citizens gradually unmasked themselves. However, the process of unmasking was uneven; some segments of the population unmasked themselves more gradually than others.