Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologizes over plans to have financial institutions and beverage wholesalers help clamp down on restaurants continuing to serve alcohol amid a state of emergency, at the prime minister's office on July 14, 2021. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

       TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologized on July 14 over a call for beverage wholesalers to halt trade with restaurants that refused to stop providing alcohol in line with government coronavirus prevention measures, after criticism resulted in withdrawal of the request.

       "The request has already been retracted, but I also want to apologize for causing many people a lot of trouble," Suga told a group of reporters at his office.

       Under the COVID-19 state of emergency in effect in the capital from July 12 to Aug. 22, restaurants and bars have been asked to refrain from serving alcohol and to close by 8 p.m.

       On July 9 the government backed down from a plan announced the day before by Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of the coronavirus response, to ask financial institutions to make sure that non-compliant eateries followed the no alcohol rule.

       Prime Minister Suga said on July 9 that he was not aware of Nishimura's statement on the plan. Nishimura, however, said in a news conference on July 13 that Suga and other officials had been briefed in advance.

       Opposition parties suspect Suga had been aware of the plan, and intend to pursue the matter.

       (Japanese original by Shiho Fujibuchi and Aoi Hanazawa, Political News Department)

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