OSAKA -- Restaurants and other establishments that serve alcohol in Osaka City's Kita and Chuo wards, home to the two main entertainment districts, began operating with shorter hours or closed entirely on Friday, as requested by the Osaka prefectural government to combat a surge in novel coronavirus infections.
"Even if we receive 500,000 yen in cooperation money, it will be gone in two days to cover labor costs," lamented the owner of Osakaya, an izakaya pub near JR Osaka Station which closed at 9 p.m.
He was referring to a subsidy paid in return for cooperating with the request for suspension of business or shorter working hours.
"We may never be able to have our customers back 100%," he added.
Meanwhile, Saturday marked the start in Tokyo's 23 wards and the Tama region for izakaya and other establishments to close by 10 p.m. in compliance with a request to shorten hours from the Tokyo metropolitan government.
In Ibaraki Prefecture, the prefectural government has asked establishments in eight municipalities in the south, where infections have been rapidly spreading, to shorten business hours by closing by 10 p.m. starting Monday.
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