Popular beaches in the Shonan area near Tokyo are likely to have no beach huts or lifeguards this summer as a number of beach operators have given up on opening amid strict coronavirus control measures.
The 25 beaches in Kanagawa Prefecture, including some of its biggest in Shonan, attracted 3.2 million visitors last year.
But the prefecture has set a guideline requiring huts to be by reservation only and for operators to enforce social distancing to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections.