Tokyo sets tougher restrictions

TOKYO – Tokyo adopted tougher measures against the coronavirus Monday as Japanese authorities struggle to curb the spread of a more contagious variant ahead of the Olympics in a country where fewer than 1% of people have been vaccinated.

Japan started its vaccination drive with medical workers and expanded that Monday to older residents with the first shots being given in about 120 selected places around the country.

The tougher COVID-19 rules, just three weeks after a nonbinding state of emergency ended in the capital, allow Tokyo’s governor to mandate shorter opening hours for bars and restaurants, punish violators and compensate those who comply. The measures are to remain through May 11.

The status was also raised for Kyoto in western Japan and the southern island prefecture of Okinawa and is to last through May 5, the end of Japan’s “Golden Week” holidays, to discourage traveling.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has asked residents to avoid nonessential trips and practice social distancing. She asked bars and restaurants in many areas to close at 8 p.m. and urged residents to be cautious while vaccinations are in an early stage. “We are still unarmed as we fight against the resurgence of the infections,” she said.

Japan has managed the pandemic better than the United States and many countries in Europe, with fewer than half a million cases and 9,400 deaths since the pandemic began. But it has seen an uptick in recent weeks and on Sunday reported 2,762 cases across the country.