NPB eases limits on fans as half-capacity crowd watches Giants at Tokyo Dome

Fans watch a baseball game at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Monday after the limit on the number of spectators allowed to view games was eased. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The Yomiuri Giants played the Hiroshima Carp at Tokyo Dome on Monday in front of 17,193 hand-clapping fans in the first game there after the limit on the number of spectators for a large-scale events amid the novel coronavirus pandemic was eased to allow 50% capacity.

The Nippon Professional Baseball team set a maximum capacity of 45%, or 19,000 fans at the dome.

The previous limit was 5,000 fans, and with the increase in spectators, the team decided to open the gates at 3 p.m., an hour earlier than usual, to avoid congestion.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of economic revitalization, stands in a spectator area of Tokyo Dome on Monday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Other measures to mitigate the so-called 3Cs -- closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings -- included increasing the number of open gates and asking spectators to take turns exiting in specific groups.

The Giants also asked spectators to use train stations other than the ones closest to the dome.

"I think proper measures have been taken because they called for everyone to wear masks and disinfect thoroughly," said a 32-year-old office worker who was there with his family of five from Hachioji, Tokyo. "It is a much more interesting experience with lots of animated fans cheering."

-- Governmental inspection

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of economic revitalization, visited Tokyo Dome on Monday to observe stadium measures implemented to prevent infection of the novel coronavirus.

Nishimura made certain the stadium staff collected forms with the names of visitors and their contact information when they entered the stadium, as well as inspecting the ventilation system and checking on the method of notification should infection occur among one or more spectators.

"What left an impression on me was the new way in which fans cheered for their teams, without shouting out," Nishimura told reporters.

Prior to his visit, Nishimura offered words of encouragement to Giants manager Tatsunori Hara and pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, a government-designated supporter of countermeasures against coronavirus.

Replied Hara: "Professional baseball cannot be without fans. We will continue being careful as we play our brand of baseball and hope the fans enjoy it."

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