People in Japan who have become accustomed to wearing a face mask have turned to the help of a professional -- enrolling in smiling lessons.

True to its moniker the “City of Smiles,” Bacolod has a festival of masks aptly named “MassKara” — but the masks have smiles. No sad faces, no Money Heist type of masks.

It's not something most people would think to pay for but Kawano's services as a smile instructor are seeing a surge in demand in Japan, where mask-wearing was near universal during the pandemic.

Students who became so used to wearing face masks during the coronavirus pandemic are signing up for lessons to teach them how to smile again. Smile coach Koike Kawano who runs 'Smile Education ...

People in Japan who became so used to wearing face masks during the pandemic are signing up for lessons to teach them how to smile again.

Students in a Tokyo art school have been undergoing 'smile education', relearning their social cues after years of near-universal mask wearing. Keiko Kawano's company, Egaoiku, has seen a more ...

An hourlong one-on-one ‘Smile Education’ course will set you back US$55. Mask-wearing was near-universal in Japan over the past three years and many continue to wear them on daily basis.

DULCIE PEARCE Smile will make you forever freaked out by smiling strangers and longing for face masks to return ...