Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Keiko Nagaoka the Japanese education minister expressed the hope that students will be allowed to attend their graduation ceremonies in the upcoming spring season without having to wear face masks.

While speaking to the press, Keiko informed that the government administration under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reviewing the conditions and is yet to decide at this point, however, will begin the discussions shortly.

Though critics are expressing that face-to-face communication among students is crucial for school education, the Kishida administration has been eager to ease rules to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus from the month of May.

Speaking in a parliamentary committee session, Keiko Nagaoka, the minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, stated that parents will be able to decide whether their children are allowed to remove their masks during their farewell events, which are generally held in March.

The minister said that those choosing the use of masks should be respected as a large number of people have been worried about getting infected with the COVID-19 virus that was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019.

The Kishida government recently decided to lower the legal status of COVID-19 to a similar category of common infectious diseases, like seasonal flu for relaxing preventive measures. This is considered as a major policy shift in its precautionary response to the prevailing conditions of the outbreak.

At present, the education ministry has appealed to the students to wear face masks in school as keeping sufficient distance from others is difficult, while the use of a mask during outdoor activities is not considered mandatory.