TOKYO: Japan on Monday relaxed its guidelines for people on wearing masks after three years, but hardly anything changed in the East Asian country that has had an extremely high regard for their effectiveness at antivirus protection.

Most commuters exiting Tokyo's main train station in the morning were wearing masks as they headed to work. So were people on the streets. During a televised budget committee meeting at parliament, some lawmakers still wore masks, though Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wasn't wearing one when he arrived at his office on Monday.