Japanese cities and towns are struggling to safely organize Coming of Age Day ceremonies amid another surge of COVID-19 cases, with many of them holding the upcoming events virtually or separating young adults into groups. Others are having to cancel them altogether.

The nationwide tally of infections hit a four-month high of over 6,200 on Friday, three days before Coming of Age Day.

All of Okinawa and parts of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures affected by the spread of the omicron variant, which may have been triggered by infections among U.S. military personnel, will be placed under a quasi-state of emergency through the end of this month from Sunday. As a result, a number of municipalities have hastily decided to cancel or postpone the annual ceremonies.