Preparing for life after the COVID-19 pandemic has been a topic on the minds of many people around the world. With mask mandates and social distancing measures being the norm for the past three years, people have had to adapt to a new way of living. As the world starts to return to some sense of normalcy, many are beginning to think about the changes that will come with it, including the removal of masks in public spaces. In Japan, a group of 37 people, including the elderly, recently took a lesson in smiling to help prepare for this transition. The smiling lesson was held in the Akabane district in Tokyo’s Kita Ward on May 7, one day before the reclassification of COVID-19 to a less-severe category that includes the seasonal flu. The instructor for the lesson was Keiko Kawano, a 49-year-old smile trainer. According to Kawano, people have had fewer opportunities to smile due to mask-wearing becoming the norm, and many people have developed a complex about their smiles as a result. ...