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This basically is what I find difficult to fully realize. Like I get the concept but it's not a concept I'm willing to die for.

Admittedly its more about the principle than the mask for me.

I don't mind the mandates, not at all. Stems from being in an Asian society. I take it, you'd be the odd one out in a Japanese societal setting.

Japan also said not to shame people or discriminate against people that didn't get vaccinated (unlike our gov), they sent back the Moderna vaccines when they were shown to have questionable safety (unlike our gov), allowed the therapeutic use of ivermectin unlike the US, and has almost nobody with a booster shot unlike the US which continued to push them. I'd be far more inclined to follow the suggestions of the Japanese government than my own

You might be surprised that I took 4 years of Japanese in High School, have been to Japan, and have a great deal of respect for their culture. If I lived there, I think I'd feel differently about the masks. You have a different social contract and expectations concerning autonomy, individualism and your obligations to the group. Maybe Japan expects me to conform to the norm rather than be an individual, but look at the lack of homeless people compared to the US, the level of expected obligation to your neighbors higher, and people are taken care of better. There is much more of a sense of 'we' than 'I' in many asian cultures compared to the US. Thats clearly not the arrangement we have here.