Raw Japan

Who is that masked man/woman?

As the confirmed number of Japanese infected with the H1N1 flu virus rises, the growing question among many is: Where can we buy face masks?

Disposable masks have become an essential accessory in the worst-affected areas of western Japan, while a growing number of Tokyo commuters are wearing them. The government has recommended use by those who suspect infection, but some businesses are ordering employees to wear them, especially if they have face-to-face client interaction.

And Japan’s upper house of parliament is requesting that everyone, including lawmakers, wear a mask when entering the chamber.

Not surprisingly, some pharmacies and drug stores have run out of stock, while shares of medical mask makers Shikibo and Daiwabo have shot up since the first case was confirmed in Tokyo.

Osaka-based Shikibo says orders in April alone exceeded by 25 percent the volume of the previous business year, and TV footage shows lines outside stores.

My cousin in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, says more than half the people on the street are wearing masks now and the only reason she isn’t is because there are no masks to buy.

Colonel Sanders returns

After nearly a quarter century on the bottom of a Japanese river, Colonel Sanders has come up smiling.

Ecstatic fans of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team in 1985 tossed a statue of the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder into the Dotonbori River in Osaka, western Japan, when the perpetual underdogs won their first Central League pennant in 21 years.

 Tigers fans, who saw a resemblance between the Colonel and the team’s bearded American slugger, Randy Bass, jumped into what was then one of Japan’s most polluted rivers when the losing streak ended — and took the life-size statue along for the swim.

The Tigers went on to win the Japan Series championship in 1985, but have never done so again, prompting some to suggest the missing Colonel had cast a curse.

A diver checking for unexploded World War Two ordnance in the river as part of a clean-up found the Colonel’s top half on Tuesday, minus his hands, but still sporting his trademark string tie and grin.

“When I heard the statue had been found, I felt that history had ended,” Yoshio Yoshida, 75, the former Hanshin manager, was quoted by the Asahi newspaper as saying. “Recalling 1985, I’d like them to achieve the dream of being Japan No. 1 again.”

The Colonel’s smile might have widened, if it could, when his bottom half was recovered and reunited with the top on Wednesday.