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Bloomberg
Japanese sellers of masks, toilet paper and other sanitary products are turning out to be rare beneficiaries of the coronavirus.
Sales of masks, alcohol wipes and other healthcare products jumped by about 47% at Japanese drug stores, a record in trade ministry data going back to 2014. Outlays on daily necessities including toilet paper surged 31%, also a record.
The panic buying came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed increasing concern over the virus that led to school closures and a call for big events to be canceled or delayed. Since then, the number of confirmed infections hasn’t spiked as quickly in Japan as elsewhere and officials have stopped short of calling for lockdowns, but the country is on edge.