Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge
Sharp plans to start making face masks at one of its factories in Japan in response to surging demand sparked by the coronavirus outbreak, The Associated Press reports. The plant, in Kameyama, Mie prefecture, is usually used for mass-producing large LCD panels and assembling TVs.
Sharp will make 150,000 masks a day by the end of this month, rising to as much as 500,000 a day. The facility is said to be well-suited for mask production because of the essential high standards of cleanliness. Sharp, which is owned by Foxconn, reportedly hasn’t yet settled on pricing or distribution plans for the masks.
Face masks are a common sight in Japan, particularly in winter when many people wear them to help…