No kissing or sharing plates are the new nightlife rules of Japan

As we are learning to live with COVID 19, there are numerous new rules we are required to follow on a daily basis. Now, Japan’s nightlife industry has set its social distancing rules for a safe experience. Nightlife locales in Japan are learning to do their business while following social distancing norms and more. As patrons, we too need to follow them, so what are they?
According to Japan’s nightlife industry, kissing has now been banned. There is no kissing, and you even cannot share plates with friends. Also, your conversations must be held at right angles. This is done in order to avoid contamination of droplets.

Shunya Iwamuro, who is a urologist, and public health advocate said that you can kiss your partner, but you must avoid deep kissing. He describes this as kiss etiquette during these Coronavirus times. Iwamuro has been instrumental in teaching infection control in nightlife spots of Tokyo, such as the famous Shinjuku district.

Reports from Japan suggest that there is a daily increase in Coronavirus cases among young people, who are visiting nightlife locales of Tokyo. In fact, only last week, Tokyo reported a rise in almost 300 a day. However, some people do feel that nightlife is becoming the scapegoat in this regard and taking all the blame unnecessarily.

As of now, bar staff in Tokyo’s nightlife districts are also being trained on how to deal with customers, and what not to do. This seems like the only way forward, if we want to retain any semblance of nightlife in cities across the world. With millions of people working in this industry, the nightlife industry cannot possibly shut down, but instead needs to find ways to deal with the problem.