TOKYO -- Japanese stores have been stripped bare of medical masks as the new coronavirus spreads in the country, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push for a nationwide supply of 600 million this month faces obstacles both foreign and domestic.
Not only does Japan depend heavily on China -- the epicenter of the outbreak -- for its procurement of masks, but smaller producers of medical supplies remain reluctant to buy additional equipment and facilities needed to boost output despite new subsidies offered by the Japanese government.
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