KYOTO -- Dozens of restaurants in Kyoto have started trials of a government initiative to enable more customers to dine amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The government's "vaccine and test package" is designed to ease restrictions for people with COVID-19 vaccination certificates or proof of a negative virus test. In the trials that kicked off Thursday, the eateries checked the certificates and other proof brought by customers, and went through a sequence of safety steps. The trials are aimed at preparing businesses to continue their social and economic activities safely even amid a future virus resurgence.
Similar trials have already been conducted at sports events, but Kyoto Prefecture is the first to conduct them at restaurants. It is one of 12 prefectures scheduled to conduct the trials.
In Kyoto, the trials will run through Nov. 3 at 23 restaurants in the cities of Kyoto and Uji.
On Thursday afternoon in Kyoto's Arashiyama tourist district, six men visited the restaurant-inn Arashiyama Benkei. Staff members checked the customers' vaccination certificates or other proof before ushering them to a room where seats were arranged at 1.7-meter intervals, and a CO2 measuring instrument was installed to check ventilation.
"It's been a year and a half since I had dinner with many friends," a 47-year-old company owner from Kyoto said. "Now I can enjoy dinner without worrying about the time [limit]."
The president of Arashiyama Benkei said: "We had a tough time losing our customers amid the coronavirus crisis. We want this trial to serve as a preparation for a 'sixth wave,' and keep the tradition of Kyoto alive."
Hokkaido and Saitama prefectures were to launch their trials on Friday, followed by Fukuoka Prefecture on Monday. Chiba, Kanagawa, Ishikawa, Shiga, Osaka, Hyogo, Kumamoto and Okinawa prefectures are expected to launch trials, too. Some restaurants, which plan to accept customers even without health documents, will have separate rooms for those with and without certificates during the trial.
However, some municipalities question the timing of the trials. The central government announced a plan to conduct the trials in 12 prefectures on Sept. 30, the day before a state of emergency was lifted in 19 prefectures. At present, many local governments, including Kyoto Prefecture, have either lifted or announced plans to ease their restrictions on business hours and alcoholic beverage services.
An official of a local government that has yet to finalize its coordination with restaurants said, "There is no merit for restaurants to go so far as inconveniencing customers to cooperate with the central government's initiative."
Japan Medical Association Executive Board Member Satoshi Kamayachi, who is a member of the government's subcommittee on COVID-19 measures, said the trials are "meaningful to identify problems, by taking such steps as segregating spaces based on customers with and without certificates. We must gather as much information as possible to obtain references for when sixth outbreak comes."
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