Japan’s smoky ‘live houses’ have shuttered their doors, but post-WWII legacy is limiting wider lockdown measures. TOKYO — Call it lockdown lite.
After weeks of downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, Japan is now under a nationwide state of emergency. The number of virus cases is steadily rising, and the country’s healthcare system faces collapse.
Yet the world’s second-largest music market is a study in contradiction. Some 60% of workers in greater Tokyo are still commuting.
Many restaurants, bars and stores are still open, and calls for social distancing seem to be observed more in the breach than the observance -- despite officials blaring warnings from loudspeakers every afternoon for people to stay inside.
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