No more food at supermarkets in Tokyo

The Tokyo Electric Company announced the rolling blackout starting from Monday 14 March. The blackout lasting for 3-6 hours per day at alternating times is planned to take place until the end of April. After the announcement, the consumers rushed into shops to buy batteries and torches, which were soon sold out. Realising the severity of the situation, the consumers started buying up also food to store at home. Basic foods in Japan, e.g. rice, bread, instant noodles, bottled water, or milk disappeared in most supermarket. At the shop I went yesterday, there was no meat nor fish. There is also no toilet roll nor tissue. Normally in Tokyo, we hardly see empty shelves on supermarkets, so the situation makes one worry and buy even more stuff. The government says, however, there is enough supply of goods and food to Tokyo, and asks the consumers not to buy up foods that are more than necessary.