As Tokyo prepares for its third state of emergency, the governors of neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures on Thursday urged the central government to allow them to temporarily suspend the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and other establishments as a means of bolstering the COVID-19 priority measures currently in effect.
The three governors have also begun considering expanding the scope of the priority measures to cover more municipalities within their prefectures.
Unlike a state of emergency, which gives prefectural governments the authority to request that restaurants and related businesses close or abstain from serving alcohol entirely, the priority measures only enable prefectures to request that businesses shorten their operating hours or bump up last call for drinks early.
On Thursday, the three governors held a videoconference to triangulate their response at the current stage. Although the governors have not yet asked the central government to declare a state of emergency for their prefectures, they expressed concern that a blanket ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants in the capital might end up driving Tokyoites to whet their whistles in neighboring prefectures.
In light of these concerns, the governors urged the central government to revise its basic response policy in order to make it possible for them to request businesses not to serve alcoholic beverages even under the priority measures.
To reduce the burden on the restaurant industry, the governors also called for arrangements that would enable prefectural governments to provide complying businesses with a comparable amount of financial support to that paid under the state of emergency.
"The infection status in our prefecture isn't near the point where a state of emergency would need to be declared, but we do still need to take measures on par with Tokyo," Chiba Gov. Toshihito Kumagai said after the videoconference.
Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono said, "If our measures end up being different from those taken by Tokyo, people could end up flocking to Saitama. By working together, the hope is that Tokyo and the three prefectures will be able to create a better synergistic effect."
Kanagawa Gov. Yuji Kuroiwa expressed his intent to keep his prefecture under the priority measures. Regarding the proposed ban on alcohol sales, he said: "If eateries aren't serving alcohol, customers will be less likely to get carried away, and more likely to call it a night sooner. I hope it will help turn the tides."
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