SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said he has secured a monthly supply of 300 million face masks for Japan from May after reaching a deal with Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co, which has also started producing masks.
SoftBank will supply two different kinds of mask, initially for medical staff, in cooperation with the Japanese government’s “mask team,” set up to tackle shortages due to the coronavirus outbreak, Son said on Twitter.
Addressing the supply crunch is a priority for the Japanese government, which will begin delivering two washable masks to households next week — a move that has been widely criticized on social media as inadequate.
