Society

Prisoners in Japan produce masks and protective gear amid virus crisis

Apr 21 (Japan Times) - To aid society in the fight against COVID-19, prisoners have been set to work turning out cloth masks and protective gear, to help overcome shortages, instead of the leatherware and carpentry goods they usually make.

A total of around 100 inmates at prisons in Aomori, Kyoto, Osaka, Kakogawa, Yamaguchi, Iwakuni and Takamatsu are aiming to produce 66,000 masks each month, to meet orders received from the private sector in March.

Protective gear, which is in short supply on medical front lines, is being produced at prisons in Kyoto and Osaka, with around 4,600 sets to be dispatched monthly.

Prisoners in Tsukigata in northern Hokkaido as well as in Yokohama are also preparing to join in with production.

At the Mine Rehabilitation Program Center in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which houses first-time offenders, eight inmates have made around 1,800 cloth masks in total following a request from the city of Mine in late March.

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