Five public beaches in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, including two which had planned to resume operation for the first time in a decade since they were swept away by the March 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami, will not open this summer to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The two beaches, Arahama and Kugunarihama, are located in a residential district where many elderly people live, prompting concerns that visitors from within and outside of the prefecture may cause the virus to spread.
The three other beaches in the prefecture, which had all reopened by July 2018, attracted about 35,500 visitors during summer last year.