Note: This article was originally published in The Economic Times on 27 September 2020 and The New York Times on 26 September 2020.  Prof Shujiro Urata was quoted. 

TOKYO: Until July, Japanese household goods company Iris Ohyama had always made its line of masks at its two factories in China.But early this year, as the coronavirus was spreading around the world, Japanese authorities approached the company with an urgent problem. In China, the government had locked down factories that produce most of the planet’s masks and commandeered supplies. With global demand soaring, stocks in Japan were dangerously low.

Click to read the news in The Economic Times
Japan Is Paying Firms to Make Things at Home. But China’s Pull Is Still Strong

Click to read the news in The New York Times 

Japan Is Paying Firms to Make Things at Home. But China’s Pull Is Still Strong