A stamp factory in Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, has produced stamps to put messages on masks such as "Dato Corona" (beat the coronavirus), "Akueki Taiji" (eradicate the epidemic!) and "Ganbaro Yamanashi" (hang in there Yamanashi).
The factory representative, Masatomo Minota, thought seeing everyone wear the same kind of mask to prevent the coronavirus from spreading was boring.
"I want to express our strength, and show that we will not be defeated by the coronavirus," Minota said. That's when he thought of the idea to make the message stamps.
Some stamps let others know the user's condition including "Kinkyu gaishutsuchu" (on an urgent outing) and "Telework chu" (currently teleworking). There are also some stamps with pictures, such as Yogen-no-tori, a supernatural bird that is said to have two heads and the power to predict an epidemic. Yogen-no-tori has become more popular recently as a symbol to prevent the epidemic. All of these stamps could also be used on paper and on envelopes.
"I hope we soon see that day that we don't need to use the stamps once the [pandemic] ends," Minota said.
A stamp costs 550 yen including tax. When contacting the stamp factory, email minota@green.ocn.jp.
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