New Lockdown In Japan Could Impact Promotions

As expected, the Japanese government declared a state of emergency in the prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama (Greater Tokyo) on Thursday. This step has already been requested by the governors of the four prefectures in recent days, as the number of new infections with the corona virus in the Tokyo area has recently increased significantly. The state of emergency is initially limited to Sunday, 02/07/2021. If the number of cases, the positive rate and the occupancy of the sick and intensive care beds do not fall as hoped, an extension of the measures is conceivable.

This emergency will not remain without consequences for the Japanese pro-wrestling scene, but it could not be as severe as it was during the lockdown in the spring, when the ring event came to a complete standstill. Instead of a hard lockdown, it is now planned that pubs and restaurants will stop serving alcohol from 7 p.m. and close from 8 p.m., more people will work from home and stay in public will be reduced as much as possible, especially in the evening hours people stay at home from 8 p.m. It should now be anchored in law that companies that violate the requirements can be closed by the local authorities.

The sports and events industry must limit events to a maximum of 50% of the available hall capacity, but a maximum of 5,000 spectators are allowed. Since no events are planned in halls in the next 4 weeks that exceed this capacity, no negative effect is to be expected for the pro-wrestling leagues. Not until February 12th With the return of pro-wrestling NOAH to Nippon Budokan, a major event is imminent that could exceed this number of spectators. The limitation to 50% of the capacity should not be a problem, as all leagues are already implementing these requirements. In some cases, this value is even voluntarily fallen below.

Since many events, especially on weekdays, start in the early evening (6pm, 6.30pm and 7pm), there could be some changes to the schedule. For the most part, the leagues have already cut their shows in the past few months so that they can be finished in 2 to 2:30 hours if possible. However, the events that start at 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm are likely to have difficulties to be finished on time. In individual cases, leagues have already been able to bring their events forward a little so that they end around 8 p.m. However, it is questionable whether the majority will succeed. It is not uncommon for several events to take place in one hall during the day. Moving the evening event forward would probably only succeed if this was also possible for the previous events.

Below we have put together an overview of all events over the next 4 weeks. The events that are likely to run the risk of not complying with the 8 p.m. limit are marked in italics and bold. It can be assumed that the shows will either be shortened or (brought forward).

01/09/2021 :
- 12:00 pm: Ice Ribbon @ Yokohama Radiant Hall
- 17:30 pm: AWG Colors @ Yokohama Radiant Hall
- 18:30 pm: DDT @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

10.01.2021 :
- 11:30 pm: NOAH @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 12:00 PM: SENDAI GIRLS @ Shinjuku FACE
- 12:00 PM: Ice Ribbon @ Saitama SKIP City Multipurpose Hall
- 1:00 PM: TJPW @ Itabashi Green Hall
- 2:00 PM: AJPW @ Chiba 2AW Square
- 2 p.m .: ZERO1 @ Kawasaki Ax Ring
- 4 p.m .: PURE-J @ Tokyo PURE-J Dojo Kame Arena
- 6 p.m .: OZ Academy @ Shinjuku FACE

01/11/2021 :
- 11:30 a.m . : SEAdLINNNG @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 2:00 p.m .: 2AW @ Chiba 2AW Square
- 5:30 p.m .: PURE-J @ Itabashi Green Hall
- 6:30 p.m .: BJW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1/12/2021 :
- 6:00 p.m .: Dragon Gate @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (moved forward from 6:30 p.m.)
- 6:00 p.m .: Marvelous @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING (moved forward from 7:00 p.m.)

January 13, 2021 :
- 6:00 p.m .: Dragon Gate @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (moved forward from 6:30 p.m.)

January 14, 2021 :
- 7:00 p.m .: ZERO1 @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1/15/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: JUST TAP OUT @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1/16/2021 :
- 12:00 p.m .: TJPW @ Itabashi Green Hall
- 5:30 p.m .: NOAH @ Yokohama Radiant Hall
- 5:30 p.m .: DDT @ Narimasu Act Hall
- 6:30 PM: WAVE @ Shinjuku FACE

1/17/2021 :
- 11:30 AM: Stardom @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 12:00 PM: BJW / 2AW @ Chiba 2AW Square
- 4:00 PM: 2AW @ Chiba 2AW Square
- 4:00 p.m .: PURE-J @ Tokyo PURE-J Dojo Kame Arena
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

January 18, 2021 :
- 6:00 p.m .: Marvelous @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING (brought forward from 7:00 p.m.)
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

01/19/2021:
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 7:00 p.m .: BJW @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING

01/21/2021 :
- 7:00 p.m .: NJPW @ Saiden Chemical Arena (Saitama City General Gymnasium)
- 7:00 p.m. Clock: FREEDOMS @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING

22.01.2021 :
- 6.45 p.m .: SEAdLINNNG @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING

23.01.2021 :
- 11.30 a.m .: Ice Ribbon @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 12.00 noon: BJW @ Yokohama Industrial Hall
- 4:30 pm: BJW @ Yokohama Industrial Hall
- 6:30 pm: NJPW @ Ota City General Gymnasium

1/24/2021 :
- 11:30 am: AJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 1:00 pm: PURE-J @ Itabashi Green Hall
- 2:00 PM: 2AW @ Chiba 2AW Square
- 5:30 p.m .: JUST TAP OUT @ Saitama Wrestle Budokan
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

January 25, 2021 :
- 6:00 p.m .: Marvelous @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING (moved forward from 7:00 p.m.)
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

01/28/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: RJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 7:00 p.m .: DDT @ Shinjuku FACE

01/30/2021 :
- 1:00 p.m .: Stardom @ Tokyo Belle Salle Takadanobaba

1/31/2021 :
- 11:30 am: NOAH @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 1:00 pm: TJPW @ Itabashi Green Hall
- 2:00 pm: 2AW @ Chiba 2AW Square
- 2:00 pm: Assemble @ Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
- 6:00 p.m .: DDT @ Itabashi Green Hall

02/01/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 7:00 p.m .: WAVE @ Shinjuku FACE

02/02/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

02/03/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: NJPW @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

02/04/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: Kyohei Wada & Fumihito Kihara Produce @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall

02/05/2021 :
- 6:30 p.m .: Dragon Gate @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 7:00 p.m .: BJW @ Shin -Kiba 1st RING

02/06/2021 :
- 11:30 a.m . : Stardom @ Shinjuku FACE
- 6:00 p.m .: 2AW @ Chiba 2AW Square

02/07/2021 :
- 11:30 a.m . : ZERO1 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 12:00 PM: TJPW @ Kitazawa Town Hall
- 12:30 PM: Stardom @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING
- 5:30 PM: Ganbare @ Kitazawa Town Hall
- 6:00 PM: OZ Academy @ Shinjuku FACE

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