Following the emergency declaration issued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on April 7, restaurants and izakaya across the city have been struggling to stay afloat as diners opt to follow protocol by staying home and avoiding outings as much as possible. In addition, restaurants are now only allowed to serve people eating in between 5am and 8pm, although food can still be made for takeout or delivery beyond those hours.
To help businesses cope, the National Tax Agency has offered to grant new licences for restaurants to offer beer, sake and other alcoholic beverages on their takeout and delivery menus. The licences are valid for six months, and businesses are entitled to apply for one until June 30.
Before this new rule change, even venues allowed to serve liquor in-house were not permitted to sell alcoholic beverages to be consumed outside. The new licence can be processed and granted within days, so businesses can skip the lengthy formal registration process and start selling takeaway booze as soon as possible.
While it may be a while before you feel safe enough to dine out with friends, you can still support local restaurants by picking up takeaway boxes to have at home or ordering your favourite dishes for delivery. Cafés, restaurants and other eateries will only be able to offer beverages they already have on their eat-in menus. However, seeing as bars are slated to close temporarily, along with other establishments deemed ‘non-essential’, being able to order a beer with your delivery dinner will no doubt help take the edge off until things calm down.
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