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Roundup of News of Events, Places, Games Affected by COVID-19 for June 1-7

Below are mentions of anime, manga, and game events (physical and digital), companies, and places in Japan and elsewhere that have been affected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the last week.

Places in Japan

Universal Studios Japan announced on Monday that it will reopen for business on June 19, but will only be open for visitors from Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga, Nara, and Wakayama prefectures, and only for those who have a year-round pass. The park will not offer same-day ticket purchases. The park will have a soft opening from June 8 to 18 leading up to the general reopening.

The park previously announced last week that it will remain closed. The park closed on February 29, and was originally only expected to be closed until mid-March.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Disney Resorts on Monday re-affirmed its announcement last week that both Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea will remain closed.

Bushiroad

The entertainment company Bushiroad announced on Wednesday that it will give all of its performers COVID-19 antibody tests in advance of resuming its live events. The company announced that it would hold live events again following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's announcement that the Japanese government has decided to lift the state of emergency in Japan.

Bushiroad had canceled or postponed all of its events in Japan until May 31 due to measures to combat the spread of (COVID-19).

Events in U.S. and Japan

• The official portal site for the Macross franchise announced on Thursday that Walküre Live Tour 2020, the tour for the Macross Delta anime's in-story idol unit Walküre, has been canceled due to COVID-19. The tour's staff is considering moving the concerts, which were originally scheduled for July-August.

• Konami announced on Monday that it is extending the postponement of "Organized Play" and promotional events for the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game through June 30 due to COVID-19. Konami may post an additional update about the status of events before June 30, as it reviews government health authority guidelines. The company began canceling events for the card game in March.

• The official website for the Fuji Rock Festival announced that this year's event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 situation. The event was originally scheduled to take place on August 21-23 in Naeba, Japan. Customers may receive ticket refunds or use their tickets for next year's Fuji Rock Festival, which will take place in August 2021.

• The official Twitter account and forum for Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG announced on Friday that the game's North American Fan Festival 2020 in San Diego has been canceled due to the impact of COVID-19. The game's producer and director Naoki Yoshida revealed that the event's staff are looking at possible dates, cities, and venues for the game's next Fan Festival in the first half of 2021. The website also stated that future events would have several restrictions, and that the staff is looking into ways to hold future events digitally.

  Square Enix is still planning to hold the Japanese Fan Festival 2020, scheduled for December 19-20 in Nagoya, and the European Fan Festival 2021, scheduled for February 20-21, 2021 in London. However, it is monitoring the state of COVID-19 and will update the events' statuses as necessary.

  Square Enix also announced that the Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG's upcoming patch 5.3 has been delayed by more than a month from the original June 16 release date due to the effect of COVID-19 on development. The company will announce a new release date in the future.

• Kadokawa announced on Friday that it has postponed its Light Novel Expo 2020 event due to the spread of COVID-19. The event was originally scheduled to take place on October 10-11 at Tokorozawa Sakura Town, a facility that is under construction. The event is slated to host five major light novel publishers: MF Bunko, Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko, Dengeki Bunko, Famitsu Bunko, and Fantasia Bunko.

Thanks to Gwyn Campbell for the Walküre Live Tour news tip.

Sources: Famitsu.com, Cinema Today, email correspondence, Bushiroad's website and Twitter account via Otakomu, Macross portal site, Fuji Rock Festival via Hachima Kikō, Final Fantasy XIV game's Twitter account and forum, 4Gamer (松本隆一), Kadokawa Light Novel Expo via Ota-Suke