wunderground.com By: Malcolm Foster Published: March 22, 2013
Tokyo, Japan
In this photo taken March 16, 2013, a police officer wearing a mask is on duty at a police station in Tokyo. Japan is becoming a sea of surgical masks. It’s about pollen, about germs and even a little about China, its polluting rival across the sea. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Arao, Japan
Workers in Arao, Japan wear masks at their workplace on March 5, 2013. Pollen and polluted air from China, hit Western Japan. Local governments urged residents not to go out unless necessary. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)
TOKYO -- On the sidewalks and the subways it's clear: Japan is becoming a sea of surgical masks. It's about pollen, about germs and even a little about China, its polluting rival across the sea.
Simple masks. High-tech masks. Scented masks. Masks in pink and purple. Yano Research Institute says it's a 26 billion yen ($274 million) market. The industry leader, Kowa Co., says it plans to quintuple production this year.
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