Japan is cancelling an annual ceremony marking the anniversary of a deadly tsunami and nuclear disaster as the country steps up efforts to curb the new coronavirus, officials said Friday.
For the past eight years, the prime minister, lawmakers, and family members who lost loved ones in the disaster have attended the nationally televised ceremony.
The move comes a day after Tokyo and Beijing confirmed a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping has been postponed, and Tokyo said the country will quarantine people coming from China and South Korea for two weeks on arrival.
"We had been exploring ways to hold the commemoration ceremony up to the last minute, for example by downsizing the event," top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday.
"However, given the current situation, now is the time that we should do everything we can to prevent the spread of the infection, and we genuinely regret to report that today's cabinet meeting decided to give up on holding the commemoration ceremony."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content