Japan eases restrictions for businesses and travellers

Tokyo venues will soon be able to reopen taking additional precautions.

Japan.- Casinos in Japan will soon be able to reopen as the country prepares to lift remaining Covid-19 restrictions.

Japan has slowly been coming out of lockdown. First, it lifted the state of emergency status in 39 of its 46 prefectures, with Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo following later, and finally Tokyo and remaining prefectures at the end of May.

The NIKKEI news service has now reported that the Tokyo metropolitan government is set to lift all business restrictions on June 19.

It is expected that more facilities will be allowed to open, and for longer hours. Restaurants, for instance, which can currently open only until 10 pm, will be able to stay open until midnight.

Facilities in Tokyo that are considered high risk: closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings, such as live concert halls and cabaret clubs will also be allowed to reopen taking precautionary measures.

This could mean the first steps for gaming businesses to return to normal operations.

More good news for hotel and casino operators will be the return of foreign tourism. It has also been reported that Japan plans to ease travel restrictions and let in up to around 250 foreign travellers per day from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam.

Government sources said the quota would be filled with business-related and essential travellers. Japan currently has an entry ban in place for travellers from 111 countries and regions.