Earlier this week, toilet paper was widely available nearly everywhere in Japan. Now, it’s selling out at stores throughout the country because of coronavirus. Here’s how this happened.
Rumors had been circulating that the raw materials used to make toilet paper couldn’t be imported due to coronavirus and would thus cause shortages.
Morning line at the pharmacy for masks. pic.twitter.com/iBPw4cHeGb
— Alex Knight // AGK42 (@agkdesign) February 28, 2020
With it already difficult to purchase sickness masks and people lining up mornings when drugstores do get them (see above) in Japan, the toilet paper rumors seemed conceivable.
マジかww
トイレットペーパーないじゃんww
高いのしかないじゃんww
ウェットテッシュもないし、売り場ガラッとし過ぎだろww#トイレットペーパー売り切れ#熊本 pic.twitter.com/qQXYd9Bq4K— 嘉穂 (@kahoaroma) February 26, 2020
Even more so after photos of shops in Kumamoto Prefecture showed toilet paper sold out—most likely sparked by the rumors! It seemed like a local problem because while images circulated online, it was still possible to walk into many stores earlier this morning elsewhere in Japan and purchase toilet paper. Sell-outs became more and more common by late afternoon and evening. Tissues and paper towels were also vanishing from store shelves. Near where I live in Osaka, all the toilet paper is already gone.
No tissues or toilet paper here too pic.twitter.com/zamBhtRP0d
— Gaijinhunter (@aevanko) February 28, 2020
Seems everyone is panic buying toilet roll. Barely a single customer in my local supermarket isn’t walking out with a few dozen rolls clutched firmly in their grasp.
After the inevitable apocalypse, toilet paper will become the new currency. Money will soon be no more. pic.twitter.com/2KugRUMVH2— Chris Broad (@AbroadInJapan) February 28, 2020
Well that escalated quickly. Japanese government closes all schools due to #coronavirus fears, everyone panic buys toilet paper, tissues, and diapers. Shit's about to get real, folks pic.twitter.com/SRkzYqTwcV
— ᴊᴛQᴜɪɢʟᴇʏ (@JTQuigley) February 28, 2020
I concede pic.twitter.com/iT6hXAUD1H
— Gaijinhunter (@aevanko) February 28, 2020
However, the initial rumors about the difficulty of importing from China are completely unfounded. As Chukyo TV reports, only 2.3 percent of the toilet paper sold in Japan is dependent on Chinese manufacturing. When these rumors were first circulating, some people uploaded images to Twitter showing domestically-sold toilet paper packaging, which clearly state 日本製 or “made in Japan.”
“None of the member companies have run out of such [paper] products,” a representative of Japan’s toilet paper industry told Mainichi News. “Even if they temporarily disappear from store shelves, they can be replenished quickly.” The Japanese government is also urging people not to hoard toilet paper, NHK reports.
Yet…
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1233358230979411969
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1233315443017801729
None of this has stopped panic-buying or unscrupulous people trying to flip toilet paper at a premium.
Oh nice only 50 dollars for this pack that normally cost like 8 on amazon japan, resellers only on amazon like what the fuck pic.twitter.com/Gi1w8dBkCS
— Gaijinhunter (@aevanko) February 28, 2020
トイレットペーパーの転売を阻止したい人たちが注意書きとか怒りとかを出品してる pic.twitter.com/FuLglwmXRe
— 美麗✌️✌️Ｚ✌️✌️ (@mirei178) February 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1233275488971321344
This is the 2020 addition to the Toilet Paper Panic scenario: people selling TP on auction sites at ridiculous prices, and other people making fake listings warning that there’s no shortage. (デマです means “it’s a false rumor”) pic.twitter.com/QZ9GjDndVY
— Makiko Itoh (伊藤牧子)未だ故障中 (@makiwi) February 28, 2020
This toilet paper panic is not a first for Japan. After the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, hoarding caused shortages. But even before that, back in 1973, there were even toilet paper riots in Japan. Here’s Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention, explaining how that went down:
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1233313843759087616
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1233313960369111040
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1233314223444221952
Hopefully, unlike in 1973, Japan’s toilet-paper panic-buying won’t spread to other countries.
