TOKYO: The production of cloth face masks by inmate workers is growing at prisons with sewing plants in Japan amid mask shortages stemming from the spread of coronavirus infections across the country.

Having received orders from private-sector companies, these prisons now have the combined capacity to sew some 66,000 such masks a month. They also started preparations to make medical gowns that are in short supply as well.

Cloth masks are produced at seven prisons in Aomori, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Yamaguchi and Kochi prefectures, according to the Justice Ministry.

As prisoner activities at these facilities include sewing, companies that had previously outsourced apron production to the prisons placed orders for masks in anticipation of shortages of the protective items.

From March, these facilities have been making white gauze and colorful cloth masks.

Meanwhile, the Mine Rehabilitation Program Center in the city of Mine in Yamaguchi Prefecture that is operated through joint cooperation between the public and private sectors made some 1,800 cloth masks at the request of the city government.

The municipal government distributed the masks to students and teachers at elementary and junior high schools in the city.

The center is slated to sew some 4,300 masks by the end of this month for distribution to city residents.

Inmate workers at prisons in Osaka and Kyoto prefectures, as well as Yokoyama in Kanagawa Prefecture and Tsukigata in the prefecture of Hokkaido, aim to make some 6,600 units of medical protective clothing a month.

Taking notice of such an initiative, the industry ministry placed an order with these prisons for sewing protective medical gowns called isolation gowns earlier this month.

Due to textile shortages, however, prisons to be engaged in the production of the special gowns, the number of such gowns to be made at each facility and other details have not been decided.

The production of protective items would raise awareness about social contributions among inmates and have effects on keeping them from reoffending," a senior Justice Ministry official said.

JIJI Press