Only a few people in business suits are seen on the streets of the Nakasu entertainment district in the city of Fukuoka on the evening of Nov. 4, 2021. (Mainichi/Hiroshi Hisano)

       FUKUOKA -- Ahead of the year-end party season in Japan, companies and government agencies are debating whether to hold dinner parties, which they've long refrained from hosting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

       At one point, five prefectures in southwestern Japan's Kyushu region and neighboring Yamaguchi Prefecture went ahead with infection prevention measures such as implementing a state of emergency and quasi-emergency steps, but requests for eateries to shorten business hours were lifted by mid-October, and customers have begun to return.

       Restaurants are expecting to recover in earnest toward the end of the year, but while many companies do allow people to eat and drink in small groups, they are hesitant to hold dinner parties. Will Japan see a return of year-end parties for the first time in two years?

       The Fukuoka Association of Corporate Executives will hold a social gathering at a hotel in the city of Fukuoka in late December. The annual event attended by over 100 business owners will be held for the first time in two years after being canceled due to the pandemic last year.

       A person in charge of the gathering said, "We haven't had a chance to get to know each other for a long time even with the addition of new members. We will hold the event while taking infection prevention measures, by getting everyone seated and installing acrylic partitions on tables."

       The Kyushu Association of Corporate Executives will also hold a social gathering with food and drinks in late November during an event in which the association of corporate executives in each prefecture meet up in Oita Prefecture. The number of participants will be narrowed down from the usual year, and participants will be seated instead of standing.

       However, a person in charge of the event said that "it depends on the situation with coronavirus infections," suggesting that it may be canceled if COVID-19 cases rise.

       There is a move among companies to allow small groups of people to eat together, but as the spread of infections in the workplace could hinder business continuity, they are cautious to relax restrictions on a large number of people gathering to eat and drink together.

       While allowing employees to hold drinking parties with colleagues, many companies continue to set limits. Some examples include: Kyushu Electric Power Co. and Toto Ltd. shortening the time and limiting participants to a maximum of four people from each firm; The Bank of Fukuoka Ltd. avoiding dinner parties between employees engaged in the same work field; and Kyushu Financial Group Inc. narrowing down the number of participants. Year-end parities for department members seem difficult to hold.

       The situation is not much different at government agencies. The Kyushu District Transport Bureau said, "Eating and drinking is limited to a maximum of four people, and dinner parties are restricted." A Fukuoka Prefecture official explained, "We don't have a limit on the number of people, but the atmosphere is not that in which everyone can go out for a drink together."

       According to a Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. survey conducted on companies nationwide in early October, 70.4% of the 8,174 responding firms said they would not hold year-end or New Year parties. Although the figure decreased from the 94.2% recorded in December last year, it highlighted the cautious attitude among companies.

       Restaurants and hotels are keeping a close eye on the situation. A senior official at a hotel in the city of Fukuoka said, "Although it is far from what it used to be before the coronavirus pandemic, the number of inquiries and reservations for dinner parties has increased compared to last autumn."

       In many cases, companies debating on whether to hold dinner parties apparently care about how other firms are responding. The senior staffer said, "I think if more local governments and economic organizations hold dinner parties, companies will follow suit."

       A person close to a separate hotel explained, "We have been making efforts to attract guests who come with their families and in small groups, but the income from dinner parties is less than half of what it was before the coronavirus pandemic. It'll be difficult if corporate demand doesn't return."

       A spokesperson for a Japanese restaurant in the city of Fukuoka said, "Companies won't make a move unless the pandemic comes to an end, such as by the creation of a magic bullet. We cannot expect much just by the reduction in the number of infections."

       (Japanese original by Hiroshi Hisano, Kyushu Business News Department)

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