OSAKA -- Osaka's prefectural government decided Thursday to fully lift operation suspension requests for facilities including karaoke establishments, sports gyms and nightclubs beginning 12 a.m. on Monday.
In resuming operations, these facilities will be required to follow infection prevention guidelines set by either the relevant industry association or the prefectural government.
Under the government's basic action plan and notification, institutions including clubs that feature live music and hostess bars, where group infections have occurred, will be able to reopen from June 19.
Such facilities in Hyogo and Kyoto prefectures of the Kansai region have already been cleared to resume operations on Monday.
The Osaka prefectural government will follow the example of those prefectures and lift its request for residents to refrain from traveling between prefectures.
However, Osaka Prefecture's residents will be asked to wait until June 18 before making any unnecessary and nonurgent trips to Tokyo and three of its surrounding prefectures as well as Hokkaido where the state of emergency continued until May 25.
Osaka's prefectural government is planning to take a step-by-step approach to lift the requested suspension of public events by July 31. Organizers of such events will be required to take necessary infection prevention measures.
Meanwhile, ahead of the full lifting of the business closure request, the prefectural government introduced Friday the "Osaka Corona Tracking System" at commercial facilities, which uses QR codes to track the movements of people who have come into contact with those infected.
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