Economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is leading the government's coronavirus response, has called on residents in the greater Tokyo area to avoid nonessential outings during the day — not just the evening — after the three-day weekend saw no change in the number of people venturing out, he said.
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the capital and in urban centers nationwide, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week declared a monthlong state of emergency covering Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama in response to a request from their governors.
As part of the emergency declaration, people have been asked to stay home after 8 p.m. unless they have essential reasons for going out. Restaurants and bars, meanwhile, have been asked to close by 8 p.m. and stop serving alcohol an hour earlier.