Headline is oniony but it's a covid thing.

I cant even imagine a silent lunchroom...unless its empty.

We used to do that at camp - on color war day one of the contests was silent lunch, and teams could lose points for talking. It was kind of creepy TBH, but I was in leadership so we just shouted at each other from across the room.

So all that hentai was a lie?

Shame on Japan letting students talk with their mouth full.

Wow no wonder their population is declining

It was covid measures. Usually students sit in a group. During covid everyone had to face forward while eating and try not to speak while eating. Of course not everywhere kept this up for 3 years, but now it's official that schools can let kids enjoy lunch time again.

Idk. Sounds like a slippery slope to me. If it starts with letting them talk, where does it end? Prolonged direct eye contact? Blasphemous.

Idk what it was like at the beginning of the pandemic, but can confirm, they're not. Everyone is talking like normal. Only thing that stands out is that the tables all have those plastic dividers in the middle and a lot of people put their masks back on once they're done eating, but they'll continue to sit and talk.

Doesn’t make it better

My elementary school had this thing, it was a big traffic light in the lunchroom with what sounded like a sports game buzzer on it. If we were "too loud" they'd blast the buzzer til we got quiet, and we wouldn't be allowed to talk for as long as the light was on red, which usually meant the rest of the lunch period. They pretty much gave us silent lunch every day cause kids are always loud. Idk how that shit was okay lol

Three years and they weren't allowed to socialize during lunch? That's insane.

Yup happened in my son’s kindergarten class early covid too in Canada. I think it was when we had the mask mandates but once they didn’t need masks they could talk

I'm a high school teacher in Japan. The students weren't allowed to talk while eating their lunch because they weren't wearing a mask, but for the rest of their lunch break they were free to do what they wanted. They are also allowed to play sports without a mask, so ironically they spend most of their break doing normal student things sans a mask.

what's next? let them leave the table when they finish their plate?

Yeah if these elementary kids could talk during lunch the same way they can talk to each other the rest of the day I'm sure they'd be popping babies out nonstop.

They're children...😒

> Doesn’t make it better

Yes, it does actually. If you read the article and not just the headline you'd understand why.

Idk who thinks up these measures. Here in Switzerland for example, during the initial phase of the lockdown. Wearing a mask was mandatory in public places, but not in public transportation. They also halved public transportation before the lockdown was enacted so busses were packed full of maskless people.

Japanese schools do that have lunchrooms afaik, they eat in the classroom.

They don’t have lunchrooms- at least in elementary. They eat in the classroom as far as I know.

I told my kids at breakfast. They just shrugged. My daughter has never had a time in her elementary life where she was allowed to talk at lunch.

I think it is to increase birth rate. Japan has very poor interaction allowed between young people. Very rigid obsequious behavior toward their parents and employers. Their year after year of lowest ever birth rate, and marriage rates, is going to destroy Japan.

i mean having social skills is important in getting a partner later in life but yeah i understand its a covid measure

This reminds me of the time they announced they’d stop forcing kids to dye their hair black

Tbf most covid related articles are oniony. We just got used to it.

I agree, but in this instance, it's just the headline that's poorly written and oniony. The article itself is almost anti-oniony; the government is just telling schools that it's ok to relax and use their own judgement rather than just blindly following the most severe recommendations they can find -- which, because Japan, they've largely been doing up until now.

Example quotes from the article:

> As masks have been excessively worn at schools, the education ministry also asked schools to take a sensible approach to mask usage by making their own rules specifying when students can take them off and through other measures.

> ...

> [The government's hygiene management manual] does not have a rule requiring all schools to have children eat lunches in silence, but in reality, many schools carry out such "silent lunches" out of consideration for the Japanese government's original COVID-19 guidelines.

True. I didn't intend to disagree with you either. Your comment just reminded me of this fact which highlights just how strange the past few years were (still are?). I wanted to share that

Read the article before commenting

I wish I had the confidence you have saying very obviously wrong things

There are many discussions of this available to you.. Why you eould deride me for discussing an issue do easy for you to be informed about is quite astonishing. Japan needs women to be married younger,, as it is cultural need for women to be subservient in a marriage. Get them interested in a boy before they have an education or career, seems their solution.

https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/11/11/japans-marriage-market-needs-to-break-from-tradition/#:~:text=Due%20to%20the%20declining%20total,to%20maintain%20a%20sustainable%20population.

There are many discussions of this available to you.. Why you eould deride me for discussing an issue so easy for you to be informed about is quite astonishing. Japan needs women to be married younger,, as it is cultural need for women to be subservient in a marriage. Get them interested in a boy before they have an education or career, seems their solution.

https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/11/11/japans-marriage-market-needs-to-break-from-tradition/#:~:text=Due%20to%20the%20declining%20total,to%20maintain%20a%20sustainable%20population.

I'm talking about the fact you assumed something totally wrong (that SOMEHOW this was to improve relations between young people) even though it was extremely available to you to verify that it was, in fact, because of strict Covid protection rule. Also, kids were allowed to talk during lunch time already, just not when they were eating, because they didn't have mask. It is, as you said, so easy for you to be informed about it that it is astonishing.

As I said, I wish I was as confident as you are being right now about completely ignoring how clearly you were assuming something completely wrong rather than click a single link or listen to other people. Godspeed you magnificent stubborn internet stranger, I'm sure that wall you're hitting your head against over and over because you can't be wrong will break eventually