THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 24, 2020 at 16:18 JST
Face masks manufactured by Sharp Corp. feature the company logo. (Provided by Sharp Corp.)
Masks from Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. have proved so popular with consumers there is going to be a lottery.
Sharp said Friday that access got so massive for online orders, which began Tuesday, not a single sale was completed.
As a fix, Sharp announced a lottery for 30,000 boxes of the masks, each with 50 masks.
A person is entitled to one 2,980 yen ($28) box each.
Applications are accepted all day Monday next week, with lottery winners announced Tuesday.
“We apologize for causing inconveniences to our customers,” spokesman Kentaroh Odaka said.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Sharp, owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as FoxConn, of Taiwan, made displays for TVs and theaters.
Sharp’s masks were shipped from last month, but initially just to medical facilities.
Some Japanese hospitals have complained about a mask shortage. Masks have been sometimes hard to find at stores around Japan.
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