This picture taken on January 26, 2021 shows a staff member (C) speaking as he presents a video game fighting match at the Mikado game centre in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. – Bright, noisy game centres are still a neighbourhood fixture in Japan, but have been disappearing as business is hit by virus-curtailed opening hours. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) / TO GO WITH Japan-entertainment-health-virus-games-arcade,FOCUS by Mathias CENA
TOKYO — Evenings are normally the busiest time at Mikado, a retro gaming arcade in Tokyo, but these days the shutters come down early, leaving “Street Fighter” fans out in the cold.
Bright, noisy arcades are still a neighborhood fixture in Japan, but they have been disappearing as business is hit by virus-curtailed opening hours.
“This is when the place usually starts to fill up,” laments Yasushi Fukamachi, a manager at Mikado, whose 250 vintage machines attract nocturnal students and office workers who have just clocked off.
It is approaching 8pm and a few dozen gamers wearing face masks are fighting it out on joystick classics, eking out their final minutes of fun before being shooed out.
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Since early January, Tokyo and other parts of Japan have been under a state of emergency to bring down surging virus cases. Businesses are told to close early, with possible fines for those that refuse.
But unlike bars and restaurants, arcades like Mikado do not receive government cash as compensation for lost income.
