TOKYO: The 12 teams of Japanese professional baseball agreed July 23 to put off the raising of the upper limit for spectators to 50 percent of each stadium’s capacity that was scheduled for Aug 1. 

No more than 5,000 spectators per stadium will be allowed through the end of August to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The agreement, reached at an online meeting of team representatives, reflected the Japanese government’s decision on July 22 to delay the further easing of coronavirus-linked restrictions on the number of spectators at large-scale events, including a cap on event attendees set at 5,000 people, due to the recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections across the country.

The Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB, started the 2020 season behind closed doors on June 19 with a delay of about three months and began to accept up to 5,000 spectators per stadium on July 10 in line with the government’s easing of restrictions on events.

JIJI Press