TOKYO (UCAN): The Archdiocese of Tokyo has suspended public Masses until September 12 as Covid-19 cases continue to spread in Japan, especially in the capital and adjacent areas.
Archbishop Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo announced the new measures on August 14 which went into effect on August 16.
During the four-week period, all public Masses are suspended. Masses in convents and religious houses are allowed provided there is no participation by non-members of the community, the archbishop announced.
In the case of funerals, the announcement suggests that “after discussing with the bereaved family, they may proceed with cremation first and have the funeral Mass at a later date.”
Archbishop Kikuchi’s notice added that any “decision on whether to continue with this response will be announced on or before September 5.”
Similar to last year, during the period of suspension of public Masses, the archbishop’s Sunday Masses will be livestreamed on the YouTube channel of St. Mary’s Cathedral Church in Tokyo. Weekday Masses will also be broadcast from the channel.
The measures came as Japan’s government extended the Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka and Okinawa until September 12. The earlier state of emergency was expected to expire at the end of August.
Media reported that the Japanese government is set to place areas including Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Shizuoka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures under a state of emergency from August 31 to September.
Meanwhile the Japan Times reported that 10 prefecture-level cities—Miyagi, Toyama, Yamanashi, Gifu, Mie, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, Ehime and Kagoshima—will be under quasi-emergency from August 20 to September 12.
Over the second week of August, an average of more than 16,600 Covid-19 cases were reported nationwide each day, a 77 per cent increase over the previous week.
On August 15, Tokyo recorded 4,295 new cases, according to official government data.
While half of Japan’s more than 126 million people have received a first dose of vaccine, less than 40 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Japan has recorded 1.15 million cases and 15,423 deaths from Covid-19, according to Our World in Data. The government has struggled to contain the outbreak in major cities including Tokyo and has faced criticism for a sluggish vaccination drive.
The world’s third-largest economy has seen an economic rebound amid a recent surge in exports thanks to relaxing of restrictions in the West. Analysts, however, warned that the rebound might be dampened in the third quarter amid surging new Covid cases and the extension of the state of emergency.
