Hundreds of unmasked protesters marched through Nagoya’s Sakae shopping district Sunday calling for an end to the state of emergency restrictions and for the elimination of mask rules and COVID-19 vaccinations of children. The protesters walked along Otsu Dori Street and Hisaya Odori Street from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. shouting for the changes and carrying signs of their group Aichi Yamato and depictions of former American President Donald Trump.
Anti-mask and anti State of Emergency demonstrations by the Yamato (神真都) group were also held nationally in various locations including nearby Gifu Station, where a protester carried a large purple flag of Q-Anon, a right wing community.
Currently, Japan has no official mandates of vaccinations, mask use, or crowd size limits. However, both Nagoya City and Aichi Prefecture governments have infection prevention guidelines, such as mask use, and various incentives for businesses to enforce the guidelines. The recently launched NewAiSta, or New Aichi Standard certification system, requires employees of restaurants and karaoke venues to be vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 if the establishment wants to serve groups of five or more patrons.