Weekend rush leaves Japan commissary and exchange shelves short on toilet paper, hand sanitizer

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — Shelves at commissaries on military bases across Japan ran short of toilet paper over the weekend as service members prepared for possible quarantines due to COVID-19.

Shoppers in Japan faced long lines over online rumors that Chinese-made toilet paper wouldn’t be exported, The Japan Times reported Saturday, in spite of industry and official assurances that enough toilet paper for everyone is made in Japan.

Lauren Ignaffo, spouse of Petty Officer 2nd Class Austin Ignaffo from Fighter Attack Squadron 102, said that by Saturday the shelves at the MCAS Iwakuni commissary had been stripped of toilet paper and, oddly enough, pasta and spaghetti sauce.

“In the States the joke is like bread and milk and now it’s toilet paper and paper towels,” Ignaffo said Monday, after she shared several photos on social media of empty shelves. “I thought the pasta was really funny, though.”

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