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Tokyo Disneyland operator logs 1st annual loss due to pandemic

Apr 29 (Kyodo) - Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land Co. on Wednesday reported a loss for the year ended March, its first annual red ink since listing in 1996, due to record-low visitor numbers as a result of the temporary closure of its theme parks and subsequent capacity limits amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The total number of visitors to the Disney theme parks was 7.56 million, compared with 9.93 million in fiscal 1983 when Tokyo Disneyland opened. Oriental Land closed Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea for four months from late February and after operations resumed daily visitors were limited for a period to fewer than 5,000 at each theme park.

The company logged a net loss of 54.19 billion yen ($497 million), compared with a profit of 62.22 billion yen in the previous year. Sales stood at 170.58 billion yen, down 63.3 percent from a year earlier.

Leisure and entertainment companies in Japan have been shackled by the spread of the virus and government declarations of states of emergency that discourage nonessential outings.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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The Japanese government on April 21 revised the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and related guidelines, in principle allowing the export of weapons with lethal capabilities. The move marks a major turning point in Japan's postwar security policy.

Footage released by the Nagano Prefectural Police mountain rescue unit captured the moment an earthquake struck during an operation to save two climbers who had fallen on a steep slope of Mount Shirouma in the Northern Alps.

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku.

JR East has launched a preview version of its new online Shinkansen booking platform, JRE GO, promising reservations in as little as one minute and easier handling of sudden schedule changes.

A bear that had remained in a residential area in central Sendai since early Sunday morning was euthanized last night in an emergency cull. No injuries were reported.

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