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People in Japan panic-buy toilet paper as coronavirus fears rise despite shortage being fake news

Oona McGee Mar 1, 2020
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In a country full of bidets, why is everyone crazy for toilet tissue?

With cases of COVID-19 rising and Prime Minister Abe calling for schools to be closed around the country, there are mounting concerns about what the future holds for Japan. This uncertainty about the future is growing steadily by the day, prompting a surge in demand for products like face masks, hand sanitisers, and… toilet paper.

Customers began to notice stocks of toilet paper disappearing from store shelves on Thursday and Friday, with images of bare supermarket shelves popping up on social media with the hashtag #トイレットペーパー (#toiletpaper), which soon began trending.

https://twitter.com/AbnoteX/status/1232941477510074368

トイレットペーパー
が、無い🚨

マスク😷の次は、
トイレットペーパー❗️

有名店を、３ヵ所
回って、無い🚨

中には、ティッシュも
無い店も❗️

大丈夫か？
日本列島🗾#トイレットペーパー #ティッシュ pic.twitter.com/QTWU6wcOq8

— エスティコムズ🇯🇵 (@STcoms) February 27, 2020

https://twitter.com/r_kakao/status/1233121198109626368

It wasn’t long before queues began to form outside drugstores and supermarkets around Japan.

#ティッシュペーパー #トイレットペーパー
開店前からの行列。
マスクの次はティッシュとトイレットペーパーがなくなる。 pic.twitter.com/gwoDJ3CRaY

— TK (@TK02469690) February 28, 2020

https://twitter.com/hokutonokenshou/status/1233560943885352960

Stores were packed with customers who all wanted to get their hands on as many toilet paper rolls as possible.

えっ？こわい。
安定供給されること、アナウンスしないと。やばくね？#トイレットペーパー #ティッシュペーパー pic.twitter.com/qzzXzqNmEd

— よぱ/차매(ちゃめ) (@yopachan) February 28, 2020

えぐすぎて草#コロナウィルス #トイレットペーパー #デマ　の力 pic.twitter.com/PR06R4pyl1

— kaita__Lions (@kaita_lions10) February 29, 2020

▼ Even stores that had one-product-per-customer policies in place sold out of stock.

マジで熊本はデマに踊らされる土人ばかりかよww#トイレットペーパー pic.twitter.com/6zxQXRT0Ew

— タケボー (@takebow_7) February 27, 2020

▼ And as the toilet paper sold out, so too did the tissues…

https://twitter.com/daradarabba/status/1233205236451303424

▼ And then sanitary products began to sell out as well.

近所のディスカウントストアでトイレットペーパー、ティッシュ、生理用品までもがらがら。
同じ熊本県民として微妙～(^_^;)#トイレットペーパー #品薄 #買いだめ pic.twitter.com/V6FqV3vhgM

— YuR!ko (@mulan66873460) February 28, 2020

Many customers headed to wholesale retail giant Costco, which has 26 locations around Japan, to make their bulk end-of-the-world toilet paper purchases.

トイレットペーパーの在庫は倉庫に沢山あります
国内の工場で日々生産しています
デマに踊らされた人が大量に買っても日本から消える事はありません
毎日トラックでアホほど入荷するから焦る必要は無いぞ😁#トイレットペーパー pic.twitter.com/j5Uo0LTyMI

— なぎ🍑🍐🍓⚽ (@Jink03g) February 29, 2020

▼ People filled trolleys full of tissues and toilet paper.

#トイレットペーパー #コロナウイルス肺炎

トイレットペーパーの買いだめで濃厚接触しまくり、こんなに滑稽なことある？？
食料だったらわかるよ？？冷静になろうよ pic.twitter.com/mcqHDeeTsJ

— Shin (@sinkansei) February 28, 2020

コストコのトイレットペーパー事情。
1パック30ロールもあるのに何個も買うバカ共。

必要な数だけでいいんだよ。
君達は大大大家族なのかね。

(動画、無断転載ごめんなさい) pic.twitter.com/seJ9Fw6lhn

— 𝙲 𝚑 𝚊 𝚗 𝙰 𝚒 🐻‍❄️©️ (@YfHar) February 28, 2020

▼ Despite some locations limiting sales of particular items to one per customer, Costco was unable to keep up with demand.

https://twitter.com/kumakoss/status/1233325062540775424

▼ Although Costco stores looked heavily stocked at the start of the day, by the end the racks were empty of stock.

【コストコに今から向かう方へ】

入店前から並んだ方も多く、
駐車場大混雑、周辺道路大混雑、
レジも大行列です。

○マスク今からありません❌
○トイレットペーパー値引き❌
○紙は供給されます⭕

また別日が賢いです☺#コストコ #品薄の原因は買い占め #トイレットペーパー #キッチンペーパー pic.twitter.com/yDrO43fucI

— ＊コスメット＊コストコ溺愛シングルマザー＊コストコ購入品レポ♡ (@costcouple) February 29, 2020

コストコで棚の在庫がごっそり無くなってて、なんだか恐ろしくなったわ😅#コストコ #デマだけどティッシュペーパーに大行列 #日本人も爆買してます pic.twitter.com/bBVnPsyUUv

— くみだ (@yokokumi) February 29, 2020

こんなコストコ初めて見た。。。@広島#コストコ pic.twitter.com/DrrXHSv44N

— やすちろ (@yasuchiro_san) February 29, 2020

So what caused all this frenzied panic-buying by Japanese consumers? According to news reports, the nationwide shopping splurge was fuelled by a false report from an individual that had spread online. The incorrect claim stated that toilet paper was made from the same material used for masks, which have already sold out at stores, and also mentioned that local toilet paper was made in China so it would only be a matter of time before it became unavailable.

The rumour is said to have originated from a Twitter user, whose message and account were captured in the screenshots below. The user has since deleted their account.

https://twitter.com/une06/status/1233344340350521345

Media outlets immediately attempted to quash the rumour, with reports showing that 98 percent of the country’s toilet paper is actually made here in Japan and that masks and toilet tissue are made from different materials.

#トイレットペーパー #ティッシュ
頼むからみんな落ち着いてくれ！！ pic.twitter.com/wGl3iUBSww

— emix (@emix05608816) February 28, 2020

Stores also tried to remind customers that toilet paper was not going to run out, putting up signs saying “デマです” (“it’s a false rumour”) in regards to the toilet paper shortage claim.

https://twitter.com/SokuhouOtodoke1/status/1233318277775970304

According to this Twitter user, staff at this store played announcements over the speakers saying that reports of shortage were fake news as toilet paper manufacturers are still making plenty of toilet tissue but that still didn’t stop people from panic-buying.

店内放送で
🎤トイレットペーパーについてはデマでございます。国内での在庫はタップリございます。ご心配なさらないよう🎤
っていってんのに　大量に買うw

しかも
以前オイルショックの時もそーだったからと、理解してないおじさんも#トイレットペーパー #デマを信じる人たち #あとを立ちません pic.twitter.com/K5mMZCq0HL

— ごとーまき【振付師🌎】音楽producer@地方創生 (@GoStepers) February 27, 2020

▼ The demand for toilet paper sent prices skyrocketing online, with people reselling them for a huge profit.

トイレットペーパーは流せても、この状況は水に流せません！
デマに踊らされないで！！
大丈夫、ちゃんと定価で買えるから#トイレットペーパー pic.twitter.com/TjQzuznR2F

— 宝積たまる (@Eapjh2on87) February 28, 2020

As it turns out, this isn’t the first time for people in Japan to panic-buy toilet paper, as scenes similar to the ones seen at Costco could also be seen back in 1973 when Iran’s oil crisis hit the country.

Referred to in Japan as the “oil shock”, this crisis saw oil prices quadruple due to export restrictions during the Middle East war. This caused an economic recession in Japan and prompted many to panic-buy essential products in the fear of shortages and price hikes.

▼ A number of people compared today’s scenes with those from the days of the oil crisis.

https://twitter.com/dunkler_magier_/status/1233320104760246272

With well-known venues and establishments around Japan now closing for a temporary period, and a number of companies encouraging workers to telecommute from home to try and contain the virus, families are finding themselves indoors together for longer periods than usual.

While this inevitably leads to a need for more daily supplies at home, here’s hoping the panic-buying will stop soon, because stocking up on a year’s worth of toilet tissue out of fear instead of necessity means those who are in genuine need of products are left in dire straits.

And seeing as the current mask shortage has caused fights to break out on Japanese trains, tensions are already paper-thin.

Sources: Hachima Kiko (1, 2, 3)
Featured image: Twitter/@YfHar
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