With the government having extended the state of emergency declaration over the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday, businesses such as restaurants, bowling alleys and sightseeing facilities are reopening in areas where the spread of the infection is limited.
Respective businesses have resumed operations with caution, while taking measures to prevent infections of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, such as ensuring adequate distance between customers.
Following the extension of the state of emergency until May 31, the government has revised the basic policies for novel coronavirus disease controls, in which 34 prefectures, except the 13 special alert prefectures including Tokyo, are allowed to resume social and economic activities on condition that infection-prevention measures are taken.
In Miyagi Prefecture, where no new COVID-19 infection cases have been confirmed since April 29, the prefectural government on Thursday withdrew a request for suspending operations or shortening business hours in all businesses. A bowling alley in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, reopened while taking preventive measures such as creating space between lanes and limiting the number of users of each lane to two. A 71-year-old unemployed man in the city who had come to the bowling alley twice a week, said, "Since I stayed at home during the Golden Week holiday period, I was looking forward to the reopening of the bowling alley."
In the Kokubuncho district of Sendai, the most bustling area in the Tohoku region, many restaurants were open after 8 p.m. However, the foot traffic in the district was far from usual. "We are competing for a small number of customers. We can't help it," lamented a 75-year-old chairman of a Chinese restaurant that reopened for the first time in about three weeks.
Some cultural facilities have also resumed operations. In Iwate Prefecture, where no COVID-19 cases have been confirmed so far, the Iwate Prefectural Library in Morioka reopened, allowing visitors to read books inside the building and borrow books. It has reduced the number of reading seats to 30% of normal and shut down some search machines. "Since the state of emergency has not been lifted yet, we hope that users will refrain from staying here for long hours," a library official said.
At a movie theater with a more than 100-year history in Nagano, the staff was busy with preparations to resume showings on Saturday, such as cleaning the building and putting up movie posters on the walls. They will show films by enforcing at least one meter of distance between seats and ventilating the cinema with fans. A 48-year-old manager of the movie theater said, "We would like to show films that may inspire, encourage or relax people to help them recover their daily lives."
Some sightseeing facilities have reopened while downscaling operations to reduce the number of visitors.
Tsugaruhan Neputa Village, a sightseeing facility in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, reopened its souvenir store and farmers market, but decided not to resume workshops such as making neputa fans and playing shamisen musical instruments. "Since we have many visitors from outside the prefecture, we are not able to fully resume operations immediately," Motohiko Nakamura, director of the facility, said.
In Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, iZoo and its sister facility KawaZoo, shuttered since April 13, have reopened. "We hope for visitors mainly from within the prefecture for a while," said Tsuyoshi Shirawa, the president of Rep Japan Ltd., which operates these facilities.
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