Japan to Release 50 M. Stockpiled Medical Gloves

Tokyo, April 16 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that the government will release 50 million medical gloves from its stockpile to medical institutions starting next month.

"We will release the necessary amount in a timely manner after receiving requests," Takaichi said at a ministerial meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

The move came after some medical institutions expressed concerns about supplies of medical products amid the Middle East crisis.

The government is mandated to stockpile about 729 million medical gloves to prepare for a possible pandemic, and the latest release will be drawn from the roughly 490 million gloves currently held in excess of that requirement.

The release is set to cover roughly half a month's worth of nationwide demand, which is at approximately 90 million gloves per month.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]