NEWS
JAPAN GOV’T ISSUED TEMP LICENCES TO ON-TRADE TO SELL TAKEAWAY ALCOHOL
By Susan Lewis
12-5-2020
Credit: Danis Lou/Unsplash
More than 11,400 bars and restaurants in Japan have applied for a temporary licence to sell takeaway alcohol, designed to help on-trade businesses to survive the lockdown, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
Japan's restaurants and bars are usually not allowed to sell takeaway alcohol, but the government has decided to relax the policy by issuing new takeaway alcohol licences valid for six months.
It was reported that the National Tax Agency has received roughly 11,400 applications as of 9 May, including those from major on-trade chains.
About 7,800 applicants have already received the licence, which is valid for six months.
Japan is currently under a state of emergency that will expire on 31 May. The country has adopted a partial lockdown policy where people are advised to stay at home, while some non-essential businesses can continue to trade but for limited hours.
In capital city Tokyo, catering facilities including restaurants and Japanese-style pubs can stay open, but can only operate between 5 am and 8 pm and have to stop serving alcohol at 7 pm.
But with daily cases of infections dropping to zero in many regions of the country, some parts of Japan are getting ready to lift the already light lockdown measures.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said he is considering lifting the state of emergency for most of the prefectures before 31 May when the current state of emergency declaration is set to expire.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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