--- title: "To Fight COVID, Japanese Theme Parks Forbid Screaming on Roller Coasters" description: "Japanese theme parks are no longer allowing parkgoers to scream and howl as they're riding roller coasters due to the risks of spreading the coronavirus." date: "2020-07-08" modified: "2020-07-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/covid-amusement-park-forbids-screaming" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "Japan" - "roller coaster" - "the digest" --- # To Fight COVID, Japanese Theme Parks Forbid Screaming on Roller Coasters ![Japanese theme parks are no longer allowing parkgoers to scream and howl as they're riding roller coasters due to the risks of spreading the coronavirus.]() *\Image: Fuji-Q Highland\* ## Screaming Internally In an incredible — and, unintentionally or otherwise, hilarious — video message released by Japan's Fuji-Q Highland amusement park, two executives could be seen riding a roller coaster in complete silence while wearing masks. 2020 is just no fun. The park is no longer allowing attendees to scream and howl as they're riding the park's numerous rides, as [*The Wall Street Journal* reports](), to curb the spread of the coronavirus. At the end of the video, a message can be seen that reads: "Please scream inside your heart." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMm5QVZ6QeY Rather than shutting theme parks down completely, Japan is trying to adjust its visitors' behavior to minimize the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Screaming, alongside coughing and singing, have been shown to release small droplets and aerosols that can spread the disease. Even [talking could be enough](). ## Never Stop Screaming But the new rule may be a fool's errand, since it's not as if those who ride roller coasters scream voluntarily. It'd take nerves of steel to refrain from hollering while riding a death-defying and adrenaline-pumping theme park ride. "There’s just no way not to scream," college student Rika Matsuura, who was visiting Tokyo Disneyland last week, told the *WSJ*. "It’s kind of torture to be back at your favorite place in the world and to not be able to scream and enjoy everything 100 percent." “You don’t see Disneylands in other countries asking people not to scream," said Yuuki Suzuki, visitor at Tokyo Disneyland, told the *Journal*. "If a scream comes out, it comes out." **READ MORE:** [Reopened Theme Parks Ban Screaming on Roller Coasters. Riders Are Howling.]() \[*The Wall Street Journal*\] **More on the virus:** *[Neurologists Say COVID Survivors Are Suffering Strokes and Brain Disorders]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()