In Japan, dirty face masks spark online backlash against prime minister

Shinzo Abe’s plan to distribute two reusable cloth masks to every household in the country had already been widely ridiculed as inadequate

Then thousands of the protective face coverings had to be returned after they were found to be dirty, stained or contaminated with dust, hair and insects

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A postal worker delivers free cloth masks to a house in Tokyo on Friday under the controversial government programme. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 5:00pm, 20 Apr 2020Updated: 10:52pm, 20 Apr 2020

Already widely ridiculed as a feeble gesture from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the delivery of two face masks to every household in Japan has come under renewed fire after thousands of them were found to be dirty or stained or contaminated with dust, dead insects or human hair.

Abe’s initiative to halt the spread of the coronavirus was announced on April 1, with the aim of delivering two cloth masks to every one of the 50 million households in the country after panic buying in the early stages of the pandemic cleared shop shelves of supplies.

The first 10 million masks were released in the middle of last week and were sent initially to local governments to distribute to pregnant women, who are considered to be at a higher risk if they contract the illness.

Local authorities and the Ministry of Health soon started receiving complaints, with national broadcaster NHK reporting that more than 1,900 people from 80 municipalities across the country had requested replacement masks as of Saturday.

The government’s response to the crisis had already been condemned in some quarters as inadequate and far too slow, but the “Abemasks” initiative, as it is referred to on social media – a play on the prime minister’s much-vaunted but now-moribund “Abenomics” economic plans – has invited even more scorn.

“If there are visible stains in these masks, does that not mean that there is contamination that we can’t see?” asked one Twitter user. “I’m too scared to use this mask. So what are we meant to do? Send them back? What a waste of taxpayers’ money this has been.”