TOKYO: The Japanese government on Thursday notified the country's 47 prefectures of guidelines on procedures for publishing the names of business operators that defy requests for suspending operations amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The move is aimed at dealing with pachinko pinball parlors and others that have resisted local governments' suspension requests with harder measures.

The state also called on prefectural governments to ask supermarkets and shopping districts to introduce entry restrictions and other measures to prevent crowding.

Many prefectural governments have asked or plan to ask businesses to temporarily shut, after the central government on April 7 declared a state of emergency over the pandemic. The state of emergency initially covered Tokyo and six other prefectures and was then expanded nationwide.

The prefectures' business suspension requests are based on Article 24 of a special measures law for coronavirus prevention that only allows the local governments to ask for "necessary cooperation" in the fight against the virus.

Meanwhile, Article 45 of the law, which can only be evoked under a state of emergency, allows prefectures to ask for business suspension and at the same time authorizes them to publish the names of uncooperative businesses.

The central government's notification tells prefectures that they can issue requests and then stronger instructions for suspension of operations based on the harsher clause if businesses disobey their requests made under the weaker clause without just reason and if there are high risks of infection clusters being formed.

The notification says that prefectures, in line with the requests or instructions under Article 45, can "let the names of (uncooperative) facilities be widely known so that (residents) will not visit them." The facility names and locations will be published on the websites of prefectural governments.

The Tokyo metropolitan government and some other prefectures, such as Chiba, eastern Japan, have been calling for Article 45 of the law to be used, as some pachinko parlors have remained open and have gathered customers from across prefectural borders.

In a separate notification, the government asked prefectures to call on supermarkets and shopping districts to adopt coronavirus prevention steps, including limiting the number of customers when they are crowded, having customers abide by one-way traffic, designating spots for customers to stand on when waiting in the checkout line or lining up to enter stores, and making sure that they disinfect themselves before and after entering stores.

The notification also asked prefectures to introduce measures to prevent infections among users of parks.

Prefectures were also urged not to treat hotels as "businesses desired to continue operations" if they serve amusement purposes.

In a videoconference on Thursday, economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told the National Governors' Association to ensure that business suspension requests and instructions under Article 45 of the special law will be issued appropriately based on the guidelines.

"We hope prefectures will use the clause carefully following appropriate procedures because it could restrict private rights," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press conference.

JIJI Press