It's January, when you see many Japanese people wearing surgical masks. No they are not doctors on call. Those people have "pulled the wind," as the Japanese say: They have caught a cold. They wear the masks either to contain their germs and avoid spreading them to others, or, more likely, to hide their runny noses.
Kids, however, don't have to wear these masks, which is why I think there should be a ban on all hand-shaking in January. You see, whenever I am called on to visit an elementary school in Japan, the teachers make the children shake hands with me. This has always struck me as strange, since in the West, children don't shake hands with adults. (If I ever have children of my own, perhaps I will make them bow to any Japanese person they meet).
So I guess teachers like to make their students shake hands for the thrill of touching a foreigner. As a result, 32 children wiped their noses on their hands, then shook hands with me. I came home having caught 32 colds.