“Go to Eat” reinstated in Okinawa Prefecture, adjusted just for shops with certification

 On the Prefectural Infection Prevention Certification System activities, now that Okinawa Prefecture recognizes that the the Covid-19 prevention criteria have been fulfilled, Governor Denny Tamaki, on 11 October, made clear his consideration of narrowing the target to shops that got their certification previously, if the national government restarts its “Go to Eat” support strategy for restaurants and bars. He says that he is advancing adjustments in both the Prefectural bureaucracy and the Prefecture itself.


On 11 October, Governor Tamaki visited and presented certification stickers: First Certificate for Bars and Restaurants to Yoshihiko Palette (certified 14 June) and First Certificate for Hotel Business  to the Okinawa Daiichi Hotel (certified 24 September). Even though the State of Emergency Declaration has been repealed, he appealed for a continuation of the system that brought shops together to receive the certification.  


Governor Tamaki stated, “As the spread of the disease is slowing, it’s now alright to encourage people. As an incentive for certified shops, I’m considering measures to be the first to use the support system.


Starting in the prefecture last November, the meal ticket businesses added a 25% “Go to Eat” premium to the purchase price. (ed. note: A voucher purchased at 1000 yen could be used to buy a meal for 1250 yen. The vouchers were government subsidized.) Currently, the ticket sales will be halted on 18 October. Meal tickets already sold can be used for take-out or delivery, but not for in-store dining.



In order for a restaurant or bar to gain membership as a shop that can use the meal tickets, they had to post a “Shisa (Okinawan lion-like symbol) Sticker”, received from the Prefecture for adherence to the strict declaration of infection control measures, at the shop entrance. It seems one adjustment to the rules will be posting a Certification Sticker to replace the Shisa Sticker. .

The prefectural certificate system has been accepting applications from bars and restaurants since 31 March and hotel businesses since 1 September. As of 7 October, of the prefecture’s 7806 bars and restaurants that have applied for certification, 6080 have been certified. Of the 347 hotel businesses that have applied, 26 have been certified. The bars and restaurants targeted for certification are about 12,000 shops. So, about half of the target has been reached. 


Original Japanese article: Ryukyu Shimpo, published Tuesday 12 October at 11:26

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/7dfe9ce395759d6bbfd8906ce2f36d96bd3eaed4


Translator’s note:

Denny in the News: news about Okinawan Governor Denny Tamaki.

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 

  1. This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

  2. Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

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