Restaurant chain operator sues Tokyo gov't over COVID opening hour restrictions

Mar 23, 2021 | News On Japan

Mar 23, 2021 (Japan Today) - A Tokyo-based restaurant chain operator filed a damages suit on Monday against the Tokyo metropolitan government for ordering that business hours be reduced as a public safety measure during the coronavirus pandemic.

Global Dining Inc claims the order "is illegal and unconstitutional as it infringes the right to freedom of business" in the first such lawsuit anywhere in Japan.

The company runs dozens of restaurants in the Tokyo area including the Gonpachi izakaya Japanese-style pubs, one of which is famous for its scene in Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill," and for the site of a dinner in 2002 between then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W Bush.

The restaurant operator, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Second Section, is seeking only 104 yen in damages, saying it is looking to shine light on the impact of government-enforced anti-virus measures that it believes excessively hamper business operations and people's lives.

The plaintiff's lawyer Rintaro Kuramochi said imposing blanket restrictions without offering evidence that restaurants are a source of infections violates the freedom of business guaranteed under the Constitution.

After a revision to the coronavirus special measures law last month, prefectures can give an order to businesses such as restaurants to shorten business hours during a state of emergency if the businesses defy the initial request without a valid reason.

Under the revised law, businesses can be fined up to 300,000 yen if they do not comply.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.