Category Klaus Schwab A Clear & Present Danger

Apr 7 2023

Donald Trump Will Be Convicted


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Apr 7, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the Democrats would have stooped to such a low position as they have indicted Trump. This is so in-your-face political and I can GUARANTEE that Trump will be convicted and the facts will NEVER matter. New York is the MOST corrupt legal system in perhaps the entire world. While the charges are a joke, the Judge is as corrupt as they come. He scheduled the next hearing for December 4th in clear violation of the Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial. They will be roughly two months before the official start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary calendar.  It is now clear that the Judge intends to disrupt the 2024 election by constantly haunting Trump back to court to tie him up for the election.

                                                                                                                                                  Judge Richard Owen

In my own case, at first, I thought I was perhaps under stress and forgot things in court. They tried to throw me in prison on contempt to stop my Speed Trial Act motion claiming I went to my office where they had guards posted. I got past the guards and grabbed all the incriminating evidence, the guards chase me through a parking lot while I was carrying all these boxes, loaded them into my car in the middle of the chase, and go away. My lawyer, Richard Altman, was a friend. He called and said we had a contempt hearing tomorrow and told me these allegations and asked if I was crazy. I told him I was in New York, never went to the office, and to get in I would have had to use my security card twice. If it had been any other lawyer, they would never have believed me. The government is always right. I told him to call the security company. Richard called me back within 30 minutes and said do not worry, they confirmed nobody entered the building the night before.

We went to the contempt hearing and as the judge was still walking out, the government started claiming there was a mistake, someone moved boxes from one room to the next but nothing was taken. How that got to guards chasing me through parking lots and me outrunning them carrying all these boxes, somehow vanished. They spent 20 to 30 minutes back-tracking. They had been illegally tapping even my lawyer’s phones. So they knew we could prove their allegations were all false. That is when I got the transcript and 99% of all their explanation was removed. I asked the lawyer what was going on. He said welcome to New York. The judges can commit felonies by altering the court records and nobody will prosecute them. Even the Court of Appeals admitted that this was taking place and claimed they lacked the power to tell judges to obey the law.

They took my lawyers away and then they rig the game with court-appointed lawyers who lose every case to keep the government’s 99% conviction rate. The only “innocent” people are those who die before trial under mysterious circumstances. NEVER trust ANY court-appointed lawyer. I have NEVER met one who EVER defends a person. Knowing the law myself, I would submit my own briefs. I went through all the transcripts and submitted under penalty of perjury all the things the judge removed from the transcripts. When I went to court that day, there were hundreds of people there. When I asked what was going on, the court-appointed lawyers said it’s you. You cannot accuse a judge of committing a felony. I said you all admit this is taking place. They said, yes, but you cannot accuse a judge. There were so many people there, Judge Owen got scared. He admitted to changing my transcripts which is a felony and refused to recuse himself. When I tried to appeal. the Second Circuit Court of Appeals which is no better lost my appearance three times and refuse to ever docket the case.

5) SDNY Practice

The problem in the instant case has led lawyers on both sides to highlight a problematic practice in the Southern District of New York and has prompted one of them to ask this court to order that the practice be eliminated. See Leiwant Decl. at 2. According to lawyers for both the government and defense, as well as Bologna, the “standard practice” in the Southern District is for a court reporter to submit the transcript of jury instructions to the district court before releasing it to the parties. See id.; Pomerantz Affirm. ¶ 11; Bologna 4/99499 Aff. ¶ 3. The district court is free to alter the transcript, and any changes are incorporated in the “official” transcript without disclosing such changes to the parties. See Bologna 4/99499 Aff. ¶ 3. According to counsel, the Southern District is somewhat unique in this practice. See Leiwant Decl. at 2.

Courts do not have power to alter transcripts in camera and to conceal the alterations from the parties.11  Given the issues that arose in this case as a direct result of this practice, there appears to be little justification for continuing the practice in its present form. To be sure, a procedure that corrects obvious mistakes in transmission is useful, and the parties have little interest in closely monitoring such a procedure so long as the alterations are cosmetic. Monitoring by the parties, however, provides some assurance that only cosmetic changes will be made or, if not, that changes will correctly reflect what transpired in the particular proceeding. Moreover, there is little cost in informing the parties of cosmetic changes or at least of directing court reporters to give parties access to the original transcript when they request it.

Nevertheless, whether we have the power to order a change in such a practice is unclear.12  We review judgments, and our review of the convictions and sentences here may not be an appropriate vehicle for the fine tuning of this practice. However, we invite the judges of the Southern District to consider revision.

This is what Trump will face. New York is the most corrupt court in the United States if not the entire world. The Constitution means NOTHING to these people. This is April, and the Judge ignored the Speedy Trial Constitutional Right and made his next appearance on December 4th which is clearly to interfere with his running for president.

There is NO WAY this prosecution would have taken place WITHOUT the approval of the Democrats. This is total BS that they did not interfere. What is likely to now unfold is a political civil war. Every Republican Prosecutor should start indicting Pelosi, Hillary, Hunter, and Biden and keep going. Maybe this is what our computer has been forecasting with massive civil unrest.

The computer has called all the shots. It projected Trump would win in 2016 and even BRIXT would win when everyone forecast the opposite. We are looking at serious civil unrest. Quite frankly, this trial of Trump may expose how bad the courts really are and I am surprised the minorities have not stormed the courthouses in New York yet as the French did on Bastille Day in 1789. It will problem come in the not-too-distant future.

When the world sees firsthand how the American “JUS US” system really works, this will contribute to the collapse of governments in 2032.

Apr 7 2023

Who is Funding Ukraine? 


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Apr 7, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Every week, there is a new announcement of the US pledging additional aid to Ukraine. Biden has provided Zelensky with a blank check to fund this war while his own country’s infrastructure crumbles. The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative led by the Department of Defense is providing Ukraine with another $2.1 billion for funding. The announcement came the same day that Finland joined NATO, and Russia promised retaliation. This means Zelensky will have both hands out begging for more at your expense.

“Russia alone could end its war today,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement. “Until Russia does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes.” Longtime warmonger Blinken knows that Russia will never retreat. The war will go on until something catastrophic occurs. It is hard to determine how much the US has spent on Ukraine but the CBO estimated the amount was around $113 in 2022. If there are 131.2 million households in America, that means each household paid around $861 to fund a war that does not involve America or any of America’s allegiances. Obviously some pay more and some pay less based on the constantly changing tax brackets. Those who read this blog understand, but for those who think the money is coming out of the politicians’ pockets…

YOU ARE FUNDING UKRAINE! Your name is on the blank check! When you file your taxes this year, know that a portion of what the government withheld went directly to a foreign war. In fact, every day you work, you’re giving a piece to Zelensky. There is no account of exactly how they are using these funds. Meanwhile, American infrastructure is crumbling. Our schools are underfunded, homelessness is rampant, shelter costs have soared, poverty rates are rising, our medical system bankrupts families daily, millions of unaccounted aliens are crossing into our country, and your taxes are rising to pay for it all!

You will pay more money every year that this senseless war wages on. So if someone with no personal connections to Ukraine waves their yellow and blue flag and claims Biden is defeating big bad Russia, ask them if they’d like to pay your portion of the proxy war effort. The people never voted for these measures that have gone far beyond any aid we have sent to a foreign war effort.

Apr 7 2023

Protests Continue in France Against Macron’s Unilateral Decision to Raise Worker Retirement Age


April 6, 2023 | Sundance

The labor unions are trying to maintain the momentum against French President Emmanuel Macron’s unilateral decision to raise the retirement age.  However, despite nationwide majority support, on the 11th day of a national strike there are fewer protests disrupting commerce.

On the positive side, the offices of Blackrock were targeted and torched.  So, we know the focus is generally on the right multinational target.  Meanwhile, President Macron is in Beijing, China, getting slapped around by the panda paw.

.

PARIS (Reuters) -Clashes erupted in Paris next to a Left Bank brasserie favoured by French President Emmanuel Macron during a day of nationwide protests against a pension bill that he has pushed through despite widespread opposition.

La Rotonde, whose awning was briefly on fire as protesters threw bottles and paint at police, is well known in France for hosting a much-criticised celebratory dinner for Macron when he led the first round of the 2017 presidential election.

Protests since January have gathered huge crowds against the flagship reform of Macron’s second term, which lifts the retirement age by two years to 64.

But the rallies and strikes have also coalesced widespread anger against the president, who is often the target of banners and chants.

“Strike, blockade, Macron walk away!” protesters chanted in the western city of Rennes, where police fired tear gas at protesters who threw projectiles at them and set bins on fire.

The protests have otherwise been largely peaceful, though violence has broken out on the fringes in cities across France. On Thursday, a Credit Agricole bank branch was ransacked in Paris.

Polls show a wide majority of voters oppose the pension legislation and the government’s decision to push it through parliament without a vote. But a source close to Macron said that was not what mattered.  (read more)

Apr 6 2023

“His Kind” Is YOU !


Posted originally on the CTH on April 5, 2023 | Sundance

Now it’s Glen Youngkin.  Virginia Governor Youngkin said in a release on Tuesday that he will lead a Virginia delegation to Taipei City, Taiwan, Tokyo, and Seoul, South Korea, from April 24-29.

Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, John Bolton, Asa Hutchinson, Glen Youngkin… The Republican wing of the UniParty is throwing everything possible and pulling every level within their control, including last night’s outcome in Wisconsin, in order to retain the illusion of political parties as the source/solution within a nation collapsing.

None of what DC Democrats, Republicans, the RNC or DNC presents is true or real within the landscape of the conflict tearing our nation apart.  This is where the battle between pretending and reality is taking shape.  I am not sure how we get this message communicated when the communication networks are purchased as part of the fraud.

On the positive side, every day more people are becoming aware of their false assumptions.  Every day the social compact between citizens and elected officials is being scrutinized.  Every day more people are starting to realize everything they thought about the construct of government in the United States is something entirely different.

We send politicians to stop the madness of government, but nothing changes.  Why?

Washington DC is a Potemkin village.

We focus on the visible, but the constructs that impact us do not originate from the false facade.  There’s something behind that facade, and what we see is…. entirely… a facade.  That’s why sending the politicians doesn’t change the outcome.  To get to the core of the issue, we must first stop looking at the Potemkin village, and instead look behind it.

Legislation, rules, regulations and laws are not written by congress.  The paperwork comes from the assembly of legal and lobbyist foot soldiers on K-Street.  That’s where the ink is put to the paper, and the legislative outcomes first originate.  K-Street is where the corporations, multinationals and financial organizations control the process.

If the corporations behind the DC facade want to shift the money, they proactively write the rules, regulations and laws that steer the actual policy outcomes to their financial target or destination.  Their wealth expands, and they reward the participants, the politicians.

Most of the entry level politicians are oblivious to where the corporations have proactively moved; however, a few of the politicians -the leadership groups- know exactly where the destination of the legislative intent is going.  The latter are tenured in the power structure behind the facade.

Two private domestic corporations, completely unaffiliated with the constructs of constitutional government, known as the RNC and DNC, require membership in order to participate in the pretense of American democracy.  The same financial entities that fund the K-Street operation, fund the private political clubs.

We The People, voters, are engaging in their construct to send ‘representatives’ into a political construct that is a facade.  The financial entities on K-Street, those who position wealth and generate the rules to maintain it, are the same financial entities that fund the mechanisms of the two private corporations (RNC/DNC).

The United States system of government is now operating to maintain this construct of common benefit.

The institutions within our government are now operating with the primary purpose of maintaining this system.  Maintaining the Potemkin village is their first line of defense, to stop any larger awakening from recognizing the futility of sending ‘representatives‘ into the woodchipper.

All of the institutions we discuss are mission-focused on preserving the system as described.  The intelligence community, the federal police, the federal courts and every institution and subsidiary agency within this construct now operate to preserve the DC system.  A system where the core of the originating activity does not take place in the Potemkin village of our focus.

The two political parties, two private corporations, funded by the multinationals and financial interests, are intended to keep us focused on the village.  As long as we focus on the false front, the system can operate as designed.  The financial institutions behind the village retain and hold the power; the politicians -many unwittingly- fulfill their role, and the bread and circuses are maintained.   This is the baseline for what comes next.

In 2016 we disrupted the system.  We threw an anvil into the woodchipper when we nominated then elected, Donald J. Trump.

“His kind” is you!

Trump didn’t come with the private club approvals.  The private RNC corporation, meaning the people within it who control the operations of it, was not okay with the non-approved member getting the 2016 nomination.   The multinationals and financial donor institutions who control the RNC corporation were furious.

The DC corporations who are at the epicenter of the power structure in Washington DC, did not and do not approve.

The woodchipper could not handle the anvil we threw in it.

Immediately, all of the mechanisms of the system, a system entirely designed to defend and protect itself, were laser focused on removing that anvil.

This battle is not an issue about political parties. The same interests that are funding Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley or even Glen Younkin are not focused on political parties.

The multinationals, billionaire donors, corporate constructs and Wall Street financiers are not concerned about political parties. Their issue of priority is self-preservation of a system, this system – built and exploited upon the backs of American workers, created to keep We The People within controllable boundaries, while preserving their status.

This fight, within the American system of government, is not an issue of political parties. The same people funding Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley or Glen Youngkin will just as quickly support California Governor Gavin Newsom or Former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice in the general election of 2024.

Their unified opposition, the only person they cannot permit to succeed, is the one person who threatens the system they seek to preserve. That person is Donald John Trump.

Removing Donald Trump from the equation is not about political battles between parties. Removing Donald Trump from the equation is mitigating the existential threat he represents because his specific policies and outlooks are focused on America First.

President Trump represents the interests of the American people; that makes him dangerous to Big Club’s life of affluence, influence and control.

Republicans and Democrats cannot permit Trump to succeed, but the powers these interests use to achieve their goals are derived from We The People.

We can change the dynamic.  They can be defeated if we withdraw our consent.

Apr 5 2023

The Blacklash against Indicting Trump Maybe Greater Than Anyone Thinks


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: Mr. Armstrong,
As I watched the media coverage of Trump’s arraignment, not guilty plea, and release of the indictment with the charges I’ve concluded as you have been arguing that we have crossed the rubicon. The 34 counts of the indictment to my legally untrained mind read as the criminalization of standard politics. What political campaign doesn’t include hiring people to look out for potentially negative press and seeking to limit the candidate’s exposure? By this indictment’s standard, pretty much every political campaign is a criminal enterprise. This is insane. I’ve generally been more libertarian-leaning in my politics and didn’t vote for Trump and even I can see this is a joke. I’ll be voting for him if we get an election in 2024. Unfortunately for the rest of us it isn’t funny and essentially seals the fate of the nation going into 2027-28 as you’ve indicated. Thanks for keeping us informed during these tumultuous times.
All the best from East Texas,
Greg

COMMENT #2: Good evening Mr. Martin,

As I’m watching this Trump shitshow on live french tv I’m wondering…

It seems that he got out to free, waiting for the trial that won’t take place before the next election.
Can he still run for presidency?
If yes, the fact that he is not in jail, does this mean that the deep state has no choice but to go to war as soon as possible ?

By the way, the French minister of defense announced today that the limit age to be on the reserve army is now 70 years old… that alone is telling a lot !

Despite all this news, the cac40 and Dax are almost at their ath. It is a mystery for I was expecting the capital to go to the US already…

I wish you and your team the best! Keep up the amazing work for this is the only light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not a fret train this time 😉

Regards,

Adem

REPLY: I can’t even count all the emails coming one. Many are from those who never voted for Trump and all say that they would now vote for him in 2024. I myself must admit that I had thought Trump had gone past the “Best by Date” but instead of this hurting Trump, it seems to be boosting his support. When I look at the computer and even just the chart patterns, we can easily see that the Democrats are in a major decline and they have not even reached the Downtrend Line where as the Republicans have broken through.

Even the Arrays showed an important Directional Change in 2023. This indictment of Trump is outrageous and it will backfire on the Democrats according to the computer – NOT my personal opinion.

Apr 5 2023

Ukrainian Refugees in Munich – A Real Crisis


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin,

I live in a commute in Munich in a nice neighborhood, I pay around 700 EUR rent for the smallest room, but we have a garden – and live with a few Ukrainians. They are very nice, seem like reasonable folks.
What I’m worried about though is the refugee system we have in place here in Bavaria. I wanted to move to another room, but I couldn’t: was kind of too expensive, 800 EUR/month. Guess who took it, another Ukrainian – of course, the state is paying it (“Arbeitsamt”). The crazy thing is that I’m having trouble with inflation and because I additionally have to pay taxes so that Ukrainians can live in the most luxurious room of the house for more than a year already. I would have no problem supporting them for a few months. But the thing is, a year has passed and they don’t even bother to search for work. They just go to German classes a few times a week. And spend most of the day talking and chilling in the kitchen. All of that while Munich is desperately searching for labour.

I also heard from sources, that they don’t really seem to be interested to work. A contact of mine offered them work, but they told him they can’t, as they are too busy learning German. Which I don’t understand, I see them all the time having fun in our kitchen. They don’t even really seem to learn German, one of them can’t say more than “Guten Tag” after one year of German classes…
Additionally, it seems like they are getting money from the state for leisure. As far as I have seen, they already went more often for traveling this past year through Europe than me. What I don’t understand, they also seem to be traveling back and forth to Ukraine to visit friends and family. I don’t get it, I thought that country was at war.
All in all, I think it’s good to help refugees. But when I have to suffer so that I can pay them to rent the best rooms in the house, while they have fun and are chilling in the kitchen, travel around Europe, even go visit their family in Ukraine while at war, and all that for more than a year, then the system doesn’t seem to be very fair to me, something doesn’t add up.
Best,

J

REPLY: I am getting emails from all over describing the same problem. First, it was the pretend Syrian Refugees. The government even paid for them to take vacations. It just seems that we have the MOST unqualified people in governments everywhere. In France, it is merely the extension of the Yellow Vests, not simply about pensions. We see turmoil in Canada, and even in Britain. These countries treat their own people like slaves. The Biden Administration only wants to raise taxes on Americans to pay for funding the entire Ukrainian government paying all salaries of government workers and their pensions! Why would Zelensky ever want to seek peace if the money stopped flowing as a consequence?

We seem to be building into what the computer has been forecasting – a major wave of Civil Unrest on a global scale in the West.

Apr 5 2023

Finland Officially Joins NATO Creating the Largest NATO Land Border Directly Attached to Russia


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance 

CONTEXT:  There is no currently visible outcome where the Build Back Better collective western global alliance energy policy can succeed without escalating to a direct NATO war against Russia.

The economic outcomes of the BBB agenda are currently being felt via western, energy driven, supply side inflation.  The monetary countermeasures to that inflationary damage, raising central bank interest rates, creates instability in finance and subsequent banking collapse.

Simultaneous to the ‘western’ central bank intervention, the BRICS alliance members are withdrawing from dollar dependency as a trade mechanism.  When all those unneeded dollars return home, the dollar value collapses – and all western economies attached to the dollar as a trade currency collapse along with it.

The Western bankers need a war to generate the industrial economic activity that uses the returning dollars.  Unless and until the dollar is digitized, there is no currently visible outcome where the Build Back Better agenda is not dependent on an expanded war with Russia.

(Via Axios) – Finland became the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday — a once-unthinkable step that significantly changes the security landscape in Europe.

Why it matters: Finland’s membership more than doubles NATO’s borders with Russia and formally ends Helsinki’s decades of official nonalignment. It’s also a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin who, in launching the Russian invasion of Ukraine, vowed to block the alliance’s eastward expansion. It’s the alliance’s ninth enlargement since its founding in 1949.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sent a message to Moscow while officially welcoming Finland into the alliance: “President Putin wanted to slam NATO’s door shut. Today we showed the world that he failed, that aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite: more NATO. And our door remains firmly open.”

Finland President Sauli Niinistö said it was a “great day for Finland” but also an important day for the security and the stability of the alliance.

[…] Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier Tuesday called Finland’s NATO accession an “encroachment on Russia’s security” that would require Russia to take unspecified countermeasures.

Putin had previously said that Russia had no “territorial differences” with Finland or Sweden, so it was “up to them” whether they joined — but Russia would respond to any deployments of NATO military units or infrastructure to their territories.

The Russian embassy in Sweden issued an even more pointed warning last week, saying on Facebook that any “new members of the enemy block will become a legitimate target” of “Russia’s retaliatory measures,” including those of military nature. (read more)

Apr 5 2023

RSBN Livestream From New York City


Posted originally on the CTH on April 4, 2023 | Sundance 

RSBN broadcast team LIVE from New York City as President Donald J. Trump is expected to surrender himself to New York prosecutors after being indicted by a grand jury last week. Protests against and rallies in support of Trump are expected and RSBN will bring you wall-to-wall coverage of the entire day’s events. {Direct Rumble Link}

RSBN Livestream From New York City

There is also a Reuters Link below

Apr 4 2023

The End of the Petrodollar?


Armstrong Economics Blog/World Trade Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Another oil deal has been initiated without the use of the dollar. The India Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that their latest trade deal with Malaysia would be settled in Indian rupees. “This initiative by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aimed at facilitating the growth of global trade and to support the interests of the global trading community in Indian Rupees (INR),” the formal statement noted.

Indian has benefitted from the West’s distraction from the Ukraine war. The RBI is allowing 18 counties to open Vostro accounts and has been attracting new deals in trade and manufacturing. New Delhi and Moscow have strengthened their relationship as India is not imposing sanctions.  The Indian Commerce Ministry said its five-year plan is to “encourage” the use of the rupee on an international scale, while also planning to expand exports $2 trillion by 2030. Trading in rupees will also allow India to save on conversion spreads and limit the country’s dependence on the volatile dollar.

The BRICs treaty (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) remains strong and oil giants Saudi Arabia and Iran would like to join the partnership. The Saudis stated at the beginning of the year that they were open to settling trade in currencies other than the USD. “There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” Al-Jadaan said during Davos. As we have seen in recent months, Saudi Arabia is aligning itself with China over the US.

The Vietnam war and other government missteps made it impossible for the US to maintain the fixed price of gold established under Bretton Woods. The USD relative to gold fell as the supply of dollars grew, pushing Nixon to abandon the Bretton Woods system entirely. US government debt was rapidly rising as confidence in the dollar plummeted. America needed an enticing way to sell its debt, and that was when Nixon convinced Saudi Arabia, the largest crude exporter, to purchase Treasurys in dollars in exchange for military aid. Hence the “petrodollar” was born. The creation of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) only further enhanced the dollar’s dominance in energy purchases.

Here we are yet again amid another war and a high budget deficit. The Saudis no longer need protection from America, and siding with Western interests would be a deterrent to its international deals with countries in the BRICs alliance and some in the OPEC+. Despite the green agenda, the world cannot operate without oil. The major oil exporters are now aligning and cutting out the US as their middleman.

Apr 4 2023

Masks Now Embedded in Japanese Culture


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Apr 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Comment: You know, mask wearing in japan was officially ended 5 weeks ago. And there has been no change of practice whatsoever. Mask wearing continues at close to 100pct.

Especially among young people mask wearing seems to be here to stay, possibly forever. Somewhere a psychologist will write a book about this phenomenon. Never in my life could I have imagine that the great nation of japan would adopt this practice like people wearing shoes. People driving in their cars on their own are wearing masks for god Sake. Mask wearing is now the primary method of signaling that the wearer is careful, thoughtful and considerate of others.

Reply: The pandemic will go down as the greatest mass social experiment in history. Face masks have become an everyday essential item for most Japanese. Implementing the face mask mandate was seamless in Japan as masks for allergies and disease were already commonplace. Mask sales rose during flu outbreaks years before COVID, especially in high-density cities. Some people wore masks as a fashion accessory or to limit approachability in social interactions. A 2011 poll from News Post Seven found that 30% of those who wore masks did not cite health concerns.

It took three years, but the Japanese government no longer mandates masks. Yet, it has become embedded in the culture. The Japanese culture values respecting one’s community. The government has never admitted that masks did not prevent the spread of COVID in a meaningful way. Instead, politicians continue to wear masks at public appearances, and the prime minister is encouraging people to continue wearing masks around vulnerable individuals. “We are not forcing anyone to wear it or take it off,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters after the mandate ended. “I think there will be more occasions when I will take my mask off.” It is now seen as a respectful gesture for one’s neighbor.

Research institute Laibo conducted a study in February to determine why people are choosing to stay masked. Only 5.5% of 561 respondents said they would not wear a mask. Over half (50.2%) said that wearing a mask simply became a habit, while most (53.4%) said they are still afraid of catching the coronavirus. About 27.8% of respondents said they will wear their masks “unconditionally.”

Masks may have become a cultural norm in Japan. Everyone should have the ability to act on their own free will, but I suspect many feel the need to conform. The studies citing the ineffectiveness of mask usage have been swept under the rug. As the original commenter stated, masks now signal that the wearer is considerate of others. If only the government would come out and let the people know it is safe for both them and their neighbors to breathe in the air.