Recently, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the Japanese government will distribute 2 cloth face masks to each family, but refused to declare state of emergency.
“You can use soap to wash and re-use them, so this should be a good response to the sudden, huge demand for masks,” he said.
While this offer was meant to assist people amid the outbreak where masks are hard to find, it sent many netizens into outrage. They shared their dissatisfaction using the trending hashtag #マスク２枚 , which means “two masks”.
Many thought the strategy is a waste of time and money, as the distribution will not be fast enough. “Is the Japanese government for real? This is a total waste of tax money,” a Twitter user wrote.
References and satirical memes popped up all over the platform. Various illustrations from iconic movies from Studio Ghibli went viral.
Maybe the Prime Minister is trying to encourage those that should not leave the house to stay in place but it would really be more helpful for everyone in the household to at least have one. Even though there is a shortage.
