Japan's bureaucrats do not want the nation to be caught with its pants down the next time toilet paper supplies run short after a natural disaster.
The government is rolling out a public awareness campaign titled "Let's Stockpile Toilet Paper", which involves an exhibition on the topic at the Trade Ministry, a summit of industry leaders and the sale of specially packaged "emergency use" toilet tissue.
The campaign, conducted in co-operation with the Japan Household Paper Industry Association, is part of the ministry's "toilet paper supply continuity plan", which was devised in response to shortages after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as the outright hoarding that occurred during the oil shock of the 1970s.
"In addition to the toilet paper that households keep for everyday use, we're recommending that they maintain a stockpile as well," said Masakazu Kawasaki, deputy director of the ministry's paper industry and consumer goods division.
If the public responds to the campaign by stuffing their closets with spare rolls, it could give a boost to paper companies such as Oji Holdings , Nippon Paper Industries and Daio Paper, which manufacture toilet tissue.
Sales of toilet paper have flattened since March, when shoppers hoarded consumer goods ahead of a nationwide consumption tax increase, so the trade ministry campaign could revive sales, said an analyst with Daiwa Securities.
Japan would be especially vulnerable to toilet paper shortages if an earthquake were to hit Shizuoka prefecture, which produces about 40% of the nation's bathroom tissue, the Trade Ministry said in a statement. The area sits in the seismically unstable Tokai region, which experts warn may be due for a major earth tremor.
Disasters and world events have caused toilet paper panics in Japan in the past.
Fears that paper factories would grind to a halt during the oil crisis of 1973 drove shoppers to clear store shelves.
More recently, shops sold out of toilet paper, among other consumer staples, after the record earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Shortages even occurred in Tokyo, 370km from the quake's epicentre.
The exhibition at the Trade Ministry's offices in central Tokyo starts tomorrow. On display will be emergency toilet paper, which comes without an inner cardboard roll for easier storage.
The goal is to convince households to have enough toilet paper in reserve to last a month, which is how long it would be expected to take for factories to resume production or sufficient imports to be secured.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 