On Friday June 18, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government decided to relax the prohibition on restaurants and bars serving alcohol when the capital transitions to a quasi-emergency.
Kyodo News reports that under the new policy starting Monday June 21, customers will be able to order alcohol provided they are drinking alone or in a group of two, staying for no longer than 90 minutes. Restaurants and bars will be allowed to serve alcohol from 11am to 7pm, but they will still have to close by 8pm.
Since the capital's third state of emergency was declared on April 25, restaurants and bars were urged to stop serving alcohol at any time of day, but not all businesses complied with the request.
Tokyo recorded 453 new Covid-19 cases on Friday June 18.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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