Society

Japan theme parks extend closure over coronavirus

Mar 12 (NHK) - Some major theme parks in Japan have decided to extend their closure period due to the spread of the new coronavirus.

The Japanese government said on Tuesday that it will continue to ask that large-scale public events be suspended for another 10 days or so.

In response to the request, Oriental Land, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, has decided to keep the theme parks closed until early April.

The closure period was originally set to end on March 15.

The operator says it will decide when to reopen the parks after monitoring the situation.

Tokyo Disneyland was to open a new attraction featuring "Beauty and the Beast" on April 15, but the park has decided to postpone its debut until mid-May or later.

Sanrio, which has two theme parks featuring Hello Kitty and other characters, has also decided to extend their closure period to March 20 from March 15.

They are Sanrio Puroland in Tama City in suburban Tokyo and Harmonyland in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan.

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