JAPANESE schools are being asked to allow students to talk with classmates again during meals, as the country inches away from pandemic practices that have been a mainstay of daily life for nearly three years.

The education ministry issued a circular Tuesday on how to facilitate conversation between students after revised national guidance released last week removed lines that have advised against it.

Many schools had enforced a strict silent lunch policy since the start of the pandemic, based off the national guidelines encouraging less chatting in close proximity to avoid spreading the virus. “Eat in silence as much as possible and wear a mask when conversing,” the old recommendations said.

Despite its success in keeping deaths low during the pandemic, Japan has lagged behind other developed nations in easing Covid restrictions, with a full border reopening to foreign tourists only happening last month. Many virus precautions like wearing masks – which are not mandatory outdoors – remain popular as the country sees another rise in infections.

But even as most adults had returned to chatting again in dining settings, most academic institutions had stuck with the recommendations, including asking students to sit alone at their desks while eating, rather than join them together as they did before the pandemic.

Children may “talk to each other during lunch if there’s appropriate ventilation and seating arrangements,” the ministry said, adding it would ask schools to proactively get students to remove their masks where they are not necessary.

Covid rules in schools have become a focal point for critics in the past, especially in the US, where measures like mask mandates and closures were often resisted. While such divisions are less stark in Japan, there has also been pushback against the country’s sometimes archaic Covid guidelines – like recommendations for theme park visitors not to scream on rides. – Bloomberg