An old sake brewer just north of Tokyo has begun preparations for its first brew of the sake season.

The brewery, Igarashi Syuzo, was established in the city of Hanno, Saitama Prefecture in 1897. On Tuesday, workers steamed rice grown especially to make sake. After letting it cool on a machine, they put it in a tank and slowly stirred it using a three-meter-long stick.

In Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, the harvest of "nashi" pears unique to the region is underway.

About 40 families grow pears in the town of Kamikawa, where the fruit has been cultivated since the late 19th century.

Officials in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, have decided to request bars that have not taken sufficient preventive measures against the coronavirus to close.

Fifty-three people were found to have been infected at four host and hostess bars in the prefecture.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, the governor of Saitama Prefecture has called on people to avoid going to Tokyo for non-essential purposes.

At a press conference on Sunday, Motohiro Ono said he is concerned about a further increase in the number of infections.