It is difficult to ignore the threat of the Coronavirus these days, and that goes doubly in Asian countries like Japan. The infectious disease has prompted dozens of warnings from the World Health Organization and travel restrictions across the. globe. Now, it turns out Japan’s infection rate is so concerning that the Studio Ghibli Museum has decided to close its doors for now.
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Recently, the announcement went live from the Ghibli Museum itself. The location confirmed it will be closed starting on February 25 and continue the closure through March 17. The reason for closing has been pinned on the Coronavirus outbreak, and the Ghibli Museum chose to shut down temporarily after Tokyo requested for public gatherings to be canceled for the foreseeable future.
Of course, refunds will be available to anyone who had tickets for those dates. The Ghibli Museum does requires visitors to secure tickets for entry ahead of time, and they can be difficult to get. But with the growing threat of the Coronavirus, there is little the museum can do.
This closure is not the first to take place since the Coronavirus began sparking fears. After its quick debut caused waves in China, nearby countries such as Japan and Thailand began to get domestic cases reported. For Japan, the dense populated island nation could be quickly taken over by thee disease if precautions were not taken. That is why numerous events have been cancelled to prevent cluster outbreaks.
Outside of the Ghibli Museum, Square Enix decided to keep its Japanese staff from attending PAX East in the United States thanks to the situation. The company is planning to scale back its announcements at the event and host a livestream panel via Twitch for fans instead. Sony also confirmed it will not attend PAX East due to concerns about the virus.
Are you surprised by this schedule closure? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
