Dining establishments, wholesalers and tourism operators in areas set to come under tougher COVID-19 restrictions reacted with a mixture of resignation and hope that the measures will speed up a return to normality.
The central government decided Friday to add Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures to the country's coronavirus state of emergency from Sunday to May 31, in addition to Tokyo, Osaka and four other prefectures. It also decided to expand the quasi-emergency currently covering eight prefectures to three others — Gunma, Ishikawa and Kumamoto — from Sunday to June 13.
Norimasa Toyota, 55, operator of an okonomiyaki restaurant in the city of Hiroshima, said while he felt the measures were appropriate, they came too late.