One month before the start of the Olympics, on Thursday, June 17, the Japanese government confirmed the lifting of the state of emergency in Tokyo, at the same time imposing restrictions on the number of fans at the Games.
The state of emergency in Tokyo has been in place since the end of April, and its terms essentially include restrictions on the opening hours of bars and restaurants, as well as a ban on the sale of alcohol there.
These requirements will be lifted in the capital and eight other regions on June 20, Prime Minister Josihide Suga said. They will remain in force in Okinawa.
“The number of infections nationwide has been declining since mid-May, and the situation regarding hospital beds is steadily improving,” the prime minister said.
“On the other hand, in some regions there are signs that the decline in the number of infections is slowing down,” added Suga.
Instead of a state of emergency, the government in Tokyo and six other regions will implement a so-called partial state of emergency from July 11.
Under these conditions, the requirements for alcohol will be relaxed by allowing trade until 7 pm, but restaurants and bars will have to close at 8 pm.
Most importantly, however, just five weeks before the start of the Olympics, which were postponed due to the pandemic, Tokyo is likely to maintain strict restrictions on the number of spectators at major events.
According to the current rules, the spectator seats may not exceed 5,000 people or may not exceed 50% of the capacity, and the number must be kept to a minimum.-
On Wednesday, the government decided that the upper limit for the number of viewers in the regions where the new rules will apply is 10,000.
The organizers of the Olympics will take these guidelines into account when deciding in the coming days how many local fans to allow to watch the games in person.
The presence of foreign fans at the games is prohibited, and the organizers have indicated that the issue of local fans will be considered when the state of emergency is lifted.
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