TOKYO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Friday completely lifted its request for people not to travel across prefectural lines, with the move met by a return of passengers to airports and train stations.

The nationwide state of emergency for the entire country was lifted late last month, however the government had requested that people continue to refrain from making unnecessary trips across prefectural borders.

Requests had been made in particular for people not to travel to and from Tokyo, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic here, and prefectures surrounding the capital including Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa Prefecture.

The request was also made for people to refrain from traveling to or from Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture, amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases there at the time.

The government hopes that with the final easing of travel restrictions, local economies will benefit from increased patronage and the virus-battered tourism sector will get a much needed boost amid rising numbers of people choosing domestic spots as destinations for vacations this year amid the ongoing global pandemic.

In related developments, as the government here deems that the spread of the novel coronavirus here has been contained, the number of people now allowed to attend large-scale, outdoor events like concerts has been increased to 1,000.

Indoor venues, meanwhile, are allowed to permit entrance to numbers of people totaling half the venue's capacity, with both indoor and outdoor venues required to implement the necessary virus prevention measures, including those related to social distancing.

Professional sports, including baseball, have been allowed to resume, although spectators at stadiums ares still prohibited, and restrictions previously in place for nightclubs have also been lifted, despite recent concerns over a cluster of infections in a nighttime entertainment district in Tokyo's Shinjuku district.

While travel and other restrictions were lifted Friday, health ministry and local officials said that 55 new COVID-19 cases had been confirmed nationwide, with 35 of them in Tokyo.

This brings Japan's total number of COVID-19 cases to 17,814, excluding those related to a cruise ship that was previously quarantined in Yokohama.

Japan's death toll from the pneumonia-causing virus now stands at a total of 955 people, the latest figures showed.

Of the 35 new cases in Tokyo, 19 have no known infection route and 11 of them are employees and customers from nighttime entertainment establishments, the Tokyo metropolitan government said. Enditem

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