The government finalized its decision to apply emergency-level priority measures to Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures at a task force meeting on Friday evening.
Earlier in the day, the government's coronavirus subcommittee had given the green light for the move.
The measures allow governors to take actions similar to those implemented during a state of emergency to prevent the spread of the virus.
The measures will become effective on Monday and remain in place through May 11 in Tokyo and May 5 in Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures.
The government hopes that applying thorough measures over the Golden Week holidays will stem the spread of the virus.
The municipalities subject to the measures are Tokyo's 23 metropolitan wards and the cities of Musashino, Tachikawa, Hachioji, Machida, Chofu and Fuchu in the Tama area; Kyoto City; and the cities of Naha, Ginowan, Urasoe, Nago, Itoman, Okinawa, Tomigusuku, Uruma and Nanjo in Okinawa Prefecture.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of coronavirus measures, raised concerns during the subcommittee meeting on Friday morning about the spread of the virus in Tokyo and two other prefectures, citing the strain on medical services and the increasing prevalence of variants.
He also said that Kyoto's inclusion is because it shares social and economic links with Osaka, where coronavirus cases have risen sharply.
"The British variant is said to be about 1.3 times more infectious [than the original form of the virus]. Even younger people are at risk of becoming severely ill," said Nishimura. "It's been spreading rapidly. The situation is extremely concerning."
In areas under the measures, governors will ask restaurants and other such establishments to close by 8 p.m. and follow guidelines such as urging customers to wear masks during conversations.
Establishments that comply with requests are eligible for handouts based on their sales. In principle, large companies are eligible to receive up to 200,000 yen per day, and small and midsize firms up to 100,000 yen per day.
Governors can issue orders to businesses that don't comply with guidelines and impose fines of up to 200,000 yen.
Attendance at large-scale events cannot exceed 5,000 in areas under the measures.
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