> My mother who has severe issues maintaining her oxygen levels and has to be on oxygen while she sleeps wears a mask while she's out and about fine.

"It works for me" or whichever other anecdote is given to dismiss a valid complaint has never held any water and never will.

> If Japan can reach near ubiquitous levels of mask wearing without issues especially given their larger elderly population, I'm sure they'll be fine.

Masks aren't fun to wear, I was out in one yesterday in Japan and my wife, who is Japanese and has worn a mask long before this pandemic was a glint in a bat's eye, was complaining about being out of breath and uncomfortable.

They're well known for being uncomfortable even in the winter, and they have plenty of negatives beyond that.

Besides, if you saw the way people wore masks in Japan you'd never use it in an argument.