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Coronavirus

Tokyoites cautiously step out as Japan reopens for business

Foot traffic around the capital's iconic train station returns to 60% of former levels

Mask-wearing salaried employees exit Tokyo Station in the Japanese capital. (Photo by Kai Fujii)

TOKYO -- Visitors to the Tokyo department store now wait in line to first be sanitized and have their temperatures checked before being allowed to shop. But traffic at the reopened Isetan Shinjuku location was still off 30% on the year last weekend, and sales for the entire week also shrank 10%.

A week after Japan fully lifted its state of emergency, businesses are lifting their shutters and turning the lights back on. But customers and workers are not rushing to return.

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