Jan 08 (Japan Today) - Japanese cities and towns are struggling to safely organize Coming-of-Age ceremonies in the wake of another wave of COVID-19 cases, with many of them holding the upcoming events virtually or in separate groups, if not canceling them.
The nationwide tally of infections hit a four-month high of 8,311 on Saturday, three days before this year's Coming-of-Age Day.
All of Okinawa and parts of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures, especially affected by the spread of the Omicron variant triggered by infections among U.S. military personnel, will be placed under a quasi-state of emergency through the end of this month from Sunday, and a number of municipalities have hastily decided to cancel or postpone the annual ceremonies.
One of the exceptions is the remote island of Ishigaki in Okinawa, where a ceremony was held on Tuesday for about 430 new adults, who were all required to submit negative PCR test results beforehand.
"After graduating from high school, many leave the island. So the ceremony is an opportunity to have a reunion with friends after a long time and it was nice to see the joy of the new adults," a city official said.
Japanese municipalities hold ceremonies on the second Monday of January for those who turned or will turn 20 by the end of the following March to welcome them into adulthood. Women very often wear colorful kimonos and men formal wear to mark the day, which has been designated as a national holiday.
