
OSAKA -- Japanese sportswear maker Mizuno on Friday will reopen a lottery for its face masks made with swimsuit material, weeks after overwhelming demand took down the product website in May.
The fabric stretches to fit the wearer's face snugly. Each of the 24 designs features the company logo.
The reopening comes alongside the Friday debut of Uniqlo's AIRism face masks, touted as cool and quick-drying.
Mizuno will offer new masks featuring Ice Touch cooling fabric, which allow heat and sweat to escape more easily in Japan's hot, humid summers.
The material has long been used in Mizuno sportswear, whose brand ambassadors include swimmers Rikako Ikee and Yasuhiro Koseki.
Mizuno aims to sell 870,000 in this round, up from the initial total of 50,000, the company said Thursday.
Prices start at 935 yen ($8.72) for the standard masks and 1,320 yen for the cooling types. The lottery will run until June 29.