Society

People step out for first weekend after Japan partially lifts virus emergency

May 18 (Japan Times) - Japan experienced its first weekend after the state of emergency was lifted in 39 prefectures, where restaurants and shopping streets enjoyed a semblance of normalcy for the first time in about a month.

While many people joyously headed out to hit downtown streets and bars, others confessed that their spirits were not fully lifted yet, sobered by the prospect that a full-fledged return to the pre-COVID way of life still seemed a long way off.

The state of emergency was lifted even in some of the 13 prefectures designated as needing special vigilance, including Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Gifu, Aichi and Fukuoka.

At Megusuta, a bar in the city of Fukuoka, customers were seen sipping drinks while making sure to keep their distance from each other.

â€œIâ€™ve been able to drink outside home for the first time in a month. Iâ€™ve been looking forward to the state of emergency being lifted,â€ said a jovial Akiko Kimura, 35, as she guzzled a lemon sour cocktail. She was visiting the bar with her husband.

But the place was nowhere near as full as it had been before the coronavirus wave engulfed the nation. Store owner Kosuke Miyabe, 37, said he is making sure that no more than three customers will share the same table, as well as placing a cap on the number of those allowed inside.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Garbage Burnoff Spreads to 3 Buildings in Okayama

A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.

Gang Members Arrested After Opening Office Near Nursery

Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.

Six Police Officers Injured After Man Sprays Liquid at Station

A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.