アイヌ文化施設、開業延期　コロナ対応、５月２９日に―政府

　政府は７日、北海道白老町のアイヌ文化施設「民族共生象徴空間（ウポポイ）」の開業時期について、当初予定していた４月２４日から約１カ月延期し、５月２９日を目指す方針を決めた。首都圏など一部地域で新型コロナウイルスの感染が急増していることを受け、さらなる感染拡大を防ぐ必要があると判断した。４月１８日に予定されていた記念式典も５月２３日に再設定した。
　赤羽一嘉国土交通相が７日の閣議後会見で発表した。赤羽氏は「（約１カ月後には）反転攻勢ののろしを上げられるよう、最大の準備を尽くしたい」と述べ、開業延期に理解を求めた。（2020/04/07-10:15）

The opening of "Upopoy," a new Japanese national center featuring the culture of the Ainu indigenous people, has been postponed for about a month to May 29 amid the coronavirus pandemic, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Tuesday.
   The center, located in Shiraoi in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, was initially slated to open on April 24. Its opening ceremony was also rescheduled from April 18 to May 23.
   No coronavirus case has been confirmed in Shiraoi while the pace of infections in Hokkaido has been slowing, according to the tourism ministry.
   Still, the government is concerned that the opening of the center will increase tourist traffic, raising the risk of infections as coronavirus cases have been surging in some other regions in Japan, officials said.
   "We'll make utmost preparations" to actively promote the center once it opens, Akaba told a news conference in Tokyo.