One of my friends who has lived in Japan a while (10+yrs, speaks fluent Japanese) said he did it once. In his mind, he was just trying to conform to local custo

One of my friends who has lived in Japan a while (10+yrs, speaks fluent Japanese) said he did it once. In his mind, he was just trying to conform to local customs. He said people looked at him like he had Ebola. I guess their thought process was "normally foreigners don't wear masks when sick, so a foreigner with a mask must be DEATHLY ILL and CONTAGIOUS". He said the reactions he received that day were so bad he'd never wear one again. I've worn them while on bikes in Hanoi. The air pollution is terrible there. Nobody seemed surprised/concerned, just as no one reacted to my wearing a helmet. It's just PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Safety first.