Wild how westerners make these dystopian associations, while in Asia it’s just part of basic hygiene, like expecting people to wipe their ass or wash their hands.
Where in Asia is everyone walking around masked unless they’re actively sick? In Tokyo you can always see a few masked people, but that’s totally different than everyone being masked.
Everyone in Japan is currently walking around masked.
People here also walk around with masks during allergy season, or doing flu season even when they’re not sick. In Taiwan and Vietnam I saw (and wore) masks on days when the air was particularly dirty.