Tokyo Metropolitan Government employees and other officials are seen on patrol as they visit eateries that are open past 8 p.m. in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, on Aug. 6, 2021. (Mainichi/Kaho Kitayama)
Tokyo Metropolitan Government employees and other officials are seen on patrol as they visit eateries that are open past 8 p.m. in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, on Aug. 6, 2021. (Mainichi/Kaho Kitayama)
TOKYO -- A group of about 20 police officers, Tokyo Metropolitan Government employees and other officials visited eateries that were still open past 8 p.m. on the night of Aug. 6 in the entertainment districts of Japan's capital, which remains under a coronavirus state of emergency, urging them to comply with requests to shorten their hours.
Following the state of emergency declaration, the metropolitan government has requested that eateries close by 8 p.m. and refrain from serving alcohol. According to the metro government, it is believed that of the approximately 120,000 eateries in Tokyo, about 4% have not been following the requests.
The metropolitan government has set the five districts of Shinjuku, Shibuya, Shimbashi, Ueno, and Ikebukuro as priority areas where its officials, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers, and Tokyo Fire Department personnel make rounds in groups of four. In cases where they find establishments that do not conform to the government's requests, the officials visit the eatery and urge the owner or manager to comply with requests. The groups will continue the patrols around twice a week.
At around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 6, one patrol group entered an izakaya bar in an entertainment district of Shinjuku Ward that was still open. An official who visited the establishment said that the bar had also been serving alcohol. They reportedly handed a document outlining the Tokyo government's request to the owner, and informed them that there are cases where officials will notify courts to impose civil fines if they do not comply.
A metropolitan government official commented, "Though there are an increasing number of eateries that stay open for financial and other reasons, as the state of infections is serious, we'd like to provide thorough explanations and ask for their understanding."
(Japanese original by Hitomi Saikawa, Tokyo City News Department)
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