The cruise business in Japan is getting back on track, with vessels gradually resume sailing with new COVID-19 safety measures in place after numerous canceled trips due to the pandemic.
Major cruise ships Asuka II and Nippon Maru had made a total of 21 trips by Monday after restarting operations in September around the time the government ended a coronavirus state of emergency that covered Tokyo and several other prefectures.
In early November, the 50,444-ton Asuka II with about 300 people onboard entered a port in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, becoming the first cruise ship to stop at the eastern Japan port in about two years.