Japan's 'izakaya' pubs buckle under COVID alcohol prohibition

May 18, 2021 | News On Japan

May 18, 2021 (Nikkei) - Kiyotaka Nishimura has closed the doors for good on the 14-seat wine bar and restaurant that he and his wife, Makiko, operated in suburban Tokyo for about 10 years.

Call General Warrant, which offered a contemporary and casual dining ambience, a COVID casualty. It closed in late March, 10 days after Japan came out of its second COVID state of emergency, and the Nishimuras have since moved to Ayabe, a rural town in Kyoto Prefecture, where they plan to take up mountain management and do some hunting.

"The coronavirus pandemic forced the move," Kiyotaka, 43, told Nikkei Asia. Despite developing a takeout menu and winning concessions from his landlord, Kiyotaka struggled to cover monthly rent of 170,000 yen ($1,550) for the bistro's 33-sq.-meter space.

Since the Nishimuras decided to move to the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, a third state of emergency that covers Tokyo has been decreed and extended.

"I'm positive," Kiyotaka said on April 28, days after the third emergency took effect, "that I made the right decision."

Kiyotaka and Makiko Nishimura have closed the suburban Tokyo restaurant they ran for about a decade and have moved to the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture to take up hunting and other pursuits. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

Japan has one of the world's most diverse dining scenes, from sushi bars to authentic Chinese restaurants to trendy Western havens.

Its capital is also the Michelin star capital of the world. The 2021 edition of Michelin Guide Tokyo gives stars to 212 restaurants, far surpassing Paris' 115.

"The food service sector and Japan's food culture provide Japan with some world-class soft power," Nobuko Kobayashi, a partner with EY Strategy and Consulting, told Nikkei.

So many tourists flock to Japan to savor its myriad cuisines that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the traveling gourmands a pillar of his growth strategy. In 2016, the administration announced a plan to double the number of inbound tourists to 40 million by 2020. Now Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga backed the plan as the Cabinet Secretary.

But prolonged COVID emergencies present the restaurant industry with an existential threat. The latest declaration, which took effect on April 25, is Japan's third in a little more than a year. It was to end on May 11 but has since been extended until the end of the month as the virus rages on.

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