Tokyo asks residents to avoid non-urgent outings after 8 p.m

FILE PHOTO: Year-end shoppers wearing protective face masks are seen at a shopping and amusement district, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Monday asked residents to refrain from non-urgent, non-essential outings after 8 p.m. as the coronavirus infection rate continues to grow in the Japanese capital.

The municipal government said restaurants would have to close by 8 p.m. from Friday until at least the end of the month.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Kevin Liffey)