The government is considering taking measures to announce the names of pachinko parlors and other business that refuse the requests to suspend operations for the sake of preventing the spread of infections with the new coronavirus, Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister of state for economic and fiscal policy, has said.
The announcement would be made under the revised law concerning special measures to counter new strains of influenza, Nishimura said at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that the government is considering making a stronger request for suspending operations for pachinko parlors and other outlets.
The current requests, moderate ones made under Article 24 of the special measures law, are issued by governors seeking businesses' cooperation in suspending operations. However, it is up to operators of such business whether to follow the requests.
Meanwhile, Article 45 of the revised law stipulates issuing a stronger request for business suspension when the original request is not complied with, and the names of businesses that receive the second request will be made public.
According to Nishimura, some governors have consulted with the central government on making the request stronger, and each governor will implement measures under Article 45 as soon as they reach an agreement with the central government.
In response to the fact that pachinko parlors in Tokyo belonging to chain operators based outside of Tokyo remain open, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at the metropolitan assembly on Tuesday, "I will take strong measures such as making a request directly to each individual pachinko parlor to stop being open." The Tokyo metropolitan government is considering requesting each parlor to close its doors after investigating actual situations on pachinko parlor operation. If the request is refused, the metropolitan government would make a stronger request accompanied by the announcement of names of the parlors.
The Osaka prefectural government is also considering releasing names of pachinko parlors and other facilities that do not comply with requests for suspension this week. "We will take measures in areas where there is a lot of concern among the prefecture residents," Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters on Tuesday.
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