Japanese emperor cancels summer holiday due to pandemic

Tue, Aug 18, 2020
By editor
1 MIN READ

Foreign

JAPAN’s Emperor Naruhito and his family members on Tuesday decided not to leave Tokyo for their annual summer holiday due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the imperial family will not travel to its summer residences in Tochigi and Shizuoka prefectures to avoid passersby crowding to catch a glimpse of the royals and potentially spreading the virus.

Gov. Yuriko Koike had called on the population of Tokyo to refrain from traveling to other prefectures due to a rising number of infections, with 207 new cases recorded in the capital.

The Japanese Government has started a tourism campaign to boost the local economy, which Tokyo has not participated in.

However, many have criticised the campaign as premature, as infection numbers are rising also outside Tokyo. (dpa/NAN)

– Aug. 18, 2020 @ 11.39 GMT |

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