‘Smile Coaches’ Are On Demand In Japan; Here’s Why

After hiding their faces for years due to COVID pandemic, Japanese people have reportedly forgotten how to smile.

New Delhi: “Haso, jeeyo, khush raho, muskuraao…kya pata kal ho naa ho (laugh, live life, be happy and smile as you never know what the future holds),” Aman aka Shah Rukh Khan’s character in the Bollywood blockbuster ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ tells Naina, a role played by Preity Zinta. The next day, Naina is seen practicing the art of smiling in front of a mirror. Like Naina, somewhat similar are the circumstances of people in Japan. After hiding their faces for years due to COVID pandemic, Japanese people have lost touch with how to smile and they are hiring ‘smile coaches’ to master the art.

There has been an increase in the demand for smile tutors in Japan, according to a report by The Guardian. “With mask wearing having become the norm, people have had fewer opportunities to smile, and more and more people have developed a complex about it,” Keiko Kawano, a tutor with the ‘smile education’ company Egaoiku, told Japan-based Asahi Shimbun, as per the Guardian report.

Egaoiku, who has tutored over 4,000 people, said her classes have witnessed a rise of 4.5 times since the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. As per the report, particpants have been using hand-held mirrors to practice their smile and check their progress. The classes, which are mainly popular among women, particularly begin with stretches to relieve facial tension.

Earlier, a Japanese government report stated that an estimated 1.5 million working-age people in Japan suffered from ‘hikikomori’, a form of severe social withdrawal, as they were living in isolation. The phenomenon is characterised by adolescents and young adults who become recluses in their parents’ homes, unable to work or go to school for months or years.

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