The Japanese government called to cancel large-scale events within the region due to the coronavirus, this included the AnimeJapan 2020 event and the Family Anime Festa 2020 event.
The announcement came from the official AnimeJapan 2020 Twitter account on February 26th, 2020.
AnimeJapan 2020, Family Anime Festa 2020 cancellation.
Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak and the call from the Japanese government to cancel large-scale events, but above all thinking about the health of our visitors and everyone involved, we have decided to cancel the event. pic.twitter.com/oNoKhs4SrB— AnimeJapan 2020 Official English Account (@aj_overseas) February 27, 2020
The message for the announcement is contained within an image. If you’re unable to view the image, it reads…
“In the face of the recent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the call from the Japanese government to cancel large-scale events made on February 26, but most of all thinking about the health and safety of our visitors and everyone involved in the event we have decided to cancel AnimeJapan 2020 and Family Anime Festa 2020.
“We are extremely sorry towards all the anime fans looking forward to this year’s edition and all involved parties who were preparing for the event, however the conclusion has been made to prevent the further spread of the infection. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter.”
This comes after some anime were temporarily postponed from airing new episodes as the virus made its way through China. But now public events are being affected by the virus and the Japanese government has had no other choice but to order the shut down of public events that could pose a further risk of the virus spreading.
Many real anime fans and gamers are also hoping that this leads to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan being permanently cancelled, as it would mean that Japan would no longer have to self-censor or tone down its content to accommodate the cultural insensibility of Westerners.
You can learn more about AnimeJapan 2020 by visiting the official website.
(Thanks for the news tip Master Nemesis)
