TOKYO: Sony Corp. has indicated that the company will undertake the work of assembling ventilators, as well as making their parts, in the fight against the COVID-19 disease.

"We'll contribute to efforts to contain the epidemic and revive the economy," Sony President Kenichiro Yoshida said at a teleconference between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese business executives on Wednesday.

Sony, which already produces some medical devices including surgical endoscopes and digital microscopes, is in talks with several ventilator manufacturers on the matter, according to company officials.

It currently plans to help manufacture around 500 ventilators, while preparing to increase its production capacity to around 1,000 to 2,000 units.

Toyota Motor Corp. also plans to set up a team to help boost output of ventilators.

During the teleconference on Wednesday, Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, revealed that the group has received offers from companies to provide more than 120,000 high-performance masks in total.

Sumitomo Chemical Co. said on the same day that it will donate 20,000 such masks to medical institutions.

Teijin Ltd., meanwhile, is set to start production of medical gowns as early as this month, aiming to supply about nine million gowns by June.

JIJI Press