World
No Lockdown Needed? Japan Stores Are Shutting Down Voluntarily
- With no quarantine in place, stores start to shut voluntarily
- Hundreds of restaurants, bars, karaoke parlors to close doors
This article is for subscribers only.
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government stuck on the brink of declaring a state of emergency that might lead to a lockdown, Japan’s restaurant, bar and chain stores are taking matters into their own hands by voluntarily shuttering hundreds of stores to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Across Tokyo this weekend and into next week, karaoke parlors, amusement centers and izakaya bars will be among the retailers closing, in many cases shutting their entire chains nationwide for more than 10 days. The closures join those of cinemas and department stores that didn’t operate last weekend in response to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s call for people to stay indoors.