TOKYO -- Fast Retailing's Uniqlo casual clothing chain made a big splash in Japan earlier this month when it introduced face masks made with a high-tech material. The masks sold out within hours.
It was the latest episode in Japan's bout with the lingering COVID-19 outbreak, a fight that has triggered some remarkable trends, social shifts and political missteps. But the AIRism mask story is also the retelling of a simple business edict.
