Japanese Government Announces Focused Crackdown on Entertainment Districts Spreading COVID-19

Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary, "Will Deploy Police for Crackdown"

▲Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) increases mainly in entertainment districts in Japan, the government has indicated that it will belatedly crack down on these areas.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 20th, the Japanese government announced that the police plan to visit and inspect establishments based on the "Act on Regulation and Proper Operation of Adult Entertainment Businesses (Adult Entertainment Business Act)." This is to verify whether these establishments are properly implementing measures to prevent the spread, as the number of confirmed cases has recently surged mainly in entertainment districts such as host clubs.

The authorities believe that violations of the Adult Entertainment Business Act, such as operating outside permitted hours or providing services different from those reported to the authorities, are the causes of the rapid spread of COVID-19 mainly in entertainment districts.

In this regard, the authorities investigated 12 entertainment establishments, including host clubs and cabarets, in Sapporo City and Osaka City on the 17th of this month, and announced that investigations will soon be conducted in Tokyo as well.

Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, appeared on the private Fuji TV the day before and said, "Now that we know where the source of COVID-19 is, we will deploy the police to resolve this."

Furthermore, Secretary Suga stated that it is necessary to revise the "Special Measures Act on Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response" to respond more effectively to COVID-19.

He also mentioned plans to include compensation for businesses that have closed due to the spread of COVID-19 and regulations on businesses that have not implemented infection prevention measures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.