TOKYO/OSAKA -- Japanese tipplers will be able to return to their normal carousing on Monday when pubs in the capital and Osaka resume full operating hours as the number of new coronavirus infections continues to drop.
The decisions were made Thursday by local coronavirus task forces.
The restrictions on eateries and drinking establishments are the pandemic-fighting measure that has had the most visible effect on the lives of ordinary people in Japan.
Restaurants and bars in regions under a state of emergency that began in April had been banned from serving alcohol and were asked by the government to close by 8 p.m. The restriction on alcohol was eased with the lifting the emergency at the end of last month.
In the 19 prefectures in Japan that had been under the state of emergency, all eating and drinking establishments will be allowed to return to late night hours except those in Okinawa, which decided to stick to its original plan and continue shortened hours until the end of October. That prefecture was the only one to report new infections per 100,000 people in the double digits.
Pubgoers in Osaka enjoy the return of in-store drinking. Not all restaurants are rushing to stay open late. (Photo by Tomoki Mera) Osaka had first planned to allow restaurants go back to normal hours on Oct. 31. That date will be move forward a week.
Not all restaurants are rushing to stay open late. Watami, one of the country's biggest operators of izakaya Japanese-style pubs, said it will reopen all of its locations on Monday but that it will decide their hours later based on actual demand.
Osaka Ohsho, a chain known for gyoza dumplings, would typically serve customers until 4 a.m. before the pandemic. For now, the chain will close as early as 10 p.m. because it cannot forecast how much traffic it will see.
Restaurant traffic in Japan has rebounded since the state of emergency was lifted at the end of last month, but only from a low base, data shows. According to reservation site TableCheck, customers per store averaged about 30 people from Oct. 1 to Oct. 14. That is a roughly 30% gain from September but only 80% of the October 2020 level. Fears of yet another wave of infections appear to be discouraging people from eating out.
For restaurants, the return of normal hours will mean the end of income support for cooperating with local governments' call for closing early. This subsidy has sustained chains otherwise operating at a loss during the pandemic.
The subsidies "are paid out about two to three months late," an industry executive said, meaning the actual cut off would likely come early next year. Meanwhile, restaurants choosing to extend hours right away would take an immediate hit from higher labor costs and food inflation.
Other regions such as Kyoto are resuming normal hours on Friday, while Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, all in the greater Tokyo region, will also allow restaurants to operate normal hours on Monday.
Osaka and other areas besides Tokyo will also end limits on times alcohol can be served. Tokyo will do so only for businesses that are certified to have anti-pandemic measures in place, such as requiring customers show proof of vaccination. Other places will be asked to stop serving drinks at 9 p.m.
Big retail sites like shopping centers will also be able to resume normal hours.
Tokyo and Osaka will continue to keep restrictions on how many people can be in a restaurant. Tokyo only allows parties of up to four per table, or up to five for more for certified places. Osaka has similar measures in place.