Japan's $100m question: Where are all the 'Abenomasks?'

Audit finds third of supply unused for months, raising efficiency questions

The masks that the government began distributing to households and care facilities last year were dubbed "Abenomasks" -- a play on Abenomics, the signature economic policy of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)

KAORU YAMADA, Nikkei staff writer

October 27, 2021 03:40 JST

TOKYO -- A third or about 11.5 billion yen ($101 million) worth of cloth masks the Japanese government planned to distribute to the public remained in storage as of March, Nikkei learned Tuesday, raising questions over the effectiveness of Tokyo's initial response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since March 2020, the Japanese government has procured a total of 260 million washable cloth masks -- 120 million to be distributed to households under a scheme nicknamed "Abenomask," after then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and another 140 million to nursing care and child care facilities.