Weekend Outings Plunge After Emergency Declaration
The number of people visiting commercial and entertainment districts in Japan fell sharply at the weekend -- the first since the government declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic.
Mobile phone carrier NTT Docomo released data collected at its base stations without identifying the users.
It says the number of visitors in areas around Tokyo's Shibuya Station as of 3 p.m. on Sunday declined by 73.7 percent from the average for weekends and holidays last November.
The figure is down 25.5 percent from April 5, two days before the emergency was declared.
Visits to areas around Yokohama Station, near Tokyo, fell by 76.5 percent from last November and by 25.7 percent from April 5.
For areas around Osaka Station in western Japan, outings fell by 82.9 percent and 58.2 percent, respectively.
The figures dropped by 73.2 percent and 25.2 percent for areas around Tenjin Station in the southwestern city of Fukuoka.
All these stations are in the seven prefectures covered by the state of emergency.
