For nearly a week, the outbreak of COVID-19 virus has been escalating in South Korea, Italy, Japan, and other countries.

The Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum, the Nara National Museum, and the Kyushu National Museum will be closed from February 27 to March 16 in line with Japanese government policy, ThePaper reported.

Other museums in Japan have also been closed or have introduced restrictions. Special exhibitions on display at the Tokyo National Museum were closed early and upcoming special exhibitions postponed.

Koichi Hagiuda, Japan's Minister of Education and Culture, announced on February 26 that sports and cultural activities in Japan would be suspended, postponed, or scaled-down within two weeks, and he hoped relevant parties could make adjustments in time.

"Now is an important time to end the epidemic as soon as possible," Hagiuda said. 

In view of the large-scale risk of infection associated with national sports and cultural activities, requests for self-restraint have been addressed to sports and cultural groups and parties.

Several special exhibitions have been closed or postponed

The Tokyo National Museum said on its website that it would be closed from February 27 to March 16. The total closure of the building at the request of the government was the highest response. The schedule of the museum's special exhibitions has also been adjusted accordingly.

According to the official website of the Tokyo National Museum, an important special exhibition is currently being held at the Tokyo national museum, "Wen Zhengming and Artworks of the Ming Dynasty – Celebrating the 550th Anniversary of Wen Zhengming's Birth" (January 2, 2020 – March 1, 2020). In this special exhibition, the Tokyo National Museum focuses on Wen Zhengming, a famous Chinese calligrapher, with a large number of exhibits.

The exhibition, "Izumo and Yamado – The Birth of Ancient Japan," was scheduled to close on March 8, but did so on February 26. The exhibition features 189 treasures. It is the first time in 20 years that so many works have been exhibited in Tokyo.

The exhibition, "Tsumugu – Japan Art & Culture," is also being put back to an unspecified time. In addition, the opening date of the new exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum, originally scheduled for March 13, has been changed to March 17.

Other national museums in Japan, including Kyoto, Nara, and Kyushu, have issued closure notices in line with the Tokyo National Museum.

Public cultural facilities such as the Asuka Historical Museum in Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, the Nara Palace Site Museum, and Exhibition Room of Fujiwara Imperial Site will also be temporarily closed.

Special exhibitions currently on display at the Nara National Museum, which was scheduled to close on March 22, will be affected. The situation after March 16 will depend on the epidemic circumstances.

In the Ueno area of Tokyo, the National Museum of Nature and Science and the National Museum of Western Art adjacent to Tokyo National Museum have also issued closure notices or restrictions.

The Japan National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka will be shuttered from February 28 to March 15. Related cultural activities will also be canceled, and the library will be closed at the same time. Besides, events will be suspended in principle until March 31.

Only the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo had announced a temporary closure from February 25 to March 17, before the official government policy was announced on February 26.

Disney and Universal close parks

Japan's prime minister on Friday defended his call for schools across the country to close over the COVID-19, as the country confirmed a fifth death linked to the outbreak.

The call for school closures came as Japan steps up its response to the outbreak, with Tokyo's Disney resorts and Universal Studios Japan announcing they would close for around two weeks – the latest in a string of closures and cancellations.

Read more: Tokyo Disney theme parks to close through March 15 over COVID-19 fears

Tokyo's two Disney resorts, Disneyland and DisneySea, will close from Saturday (February 29) through March 15 on fears over the outbreak of COVID-19 in Japan, the operator announced on Friday. In addition, Universal Studios Osaka, Japan, has announced a temporary closure until March 15, following in the footsteps of Tokyo Disneyland.

(Cover image made by Liu Shaozhen)