Effective April 25, 2021, the Japanese government declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo due to a rise in COVID variant infections. The state of emergency will run until May 11, during which the entry ban on foreigners and the freeze on most issuance of visas will continue as mentioned in our prior blog post. This is the third state of emergency for Japan. During the state of emergency, large-scale establishments (e.g., shopping malls), bars and restaurants serving alcohol must all be closed. Large-scale events must in principle be without spectators and residents subject to the state of emergency are asked to avoid traveling for non-essential purposes. Due to a new amendment to the Special Measures Law that came into effect in February, restaurants that fail to comply with orders will be subject to fines of up to 300,000 Japanese Yen (approximately $2,780).
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