アイヌ文化施設が開業　新型コロナで２カ月半遅れ―北海道

　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）」が１２日、オープンした。新型コロナウイルスの影響で当初予定より約２カ月半遅れの開業。この日は主な入場者を事前予約の１５００人とする制限を実施し、検温など感染対策を徹底した。

　施設内の「歓迎の広場」で行われたオープニングセレモニーでは、鈴木直道北海道知事やＰＲアンバサダー（大使）を務める俳優の宇梶剛士さんらによるテープカットが行われた。函館市から訪れた３０代のカップルは「以前からアイヌ文化に興味があったので楽しみです」と笑顔で話した。（2020/07/12-12:10）

"Upopoy," a new national center featuring the culture of the Ainu indigenous people, opened in the town of Shiraoi in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido on Sunday.
   The opening had been postponed for about two and a half months due to the new coronavirus outbreak.
   The day's visitors to Upopoy, taken from an Ainu term meaning "singing in a large group," were limited mainly to about 1,500 people who had made reservations. The center asked them to undergo body temperature checks before entry as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
   In an opening event held at a square of Upopoy, Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki and actor Takashi Ukaji, who has Ainu roots and serves as a public relations ambassador for the center, took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
   A couple in their 30s from the city of Hakodate in Hokkaido said they were looking forward to visiting Upopoy as they have long been interested in the Ainu culture.