An izakaya restaurant in Tokyo s Shibuya Ward closes at 8 p.m. following the metropolitan government s request to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic on Jan. 21. (Yoshikatsu Nakajima)
Businesses will not be penalized for customers refusing to leave after closing time under new rules that would introduce fines for not complying with local restrictions amid the pandemic, a government official said.
“In a case where a business complies with the government’s request to change operating hours but deals with a customer who won t leave, that business would be totally exempt from a non-criminal fine,” said Motohiro Nao, a deputy director-general of the Cabinet Secretariat.