Fear in salons and barber shops as Japan deems haircuts "essential"

Only select businesses are permitted to stay open: Supermarkets, drug stores, public transit, health care providers… and hair salons.
Prime Minister Abe has singled these out as services "essential… to securing a stable life for citizenry."
Under pressure from the national government, Koike added hair cutting establishments to the stay-open list in Tokyo.
A woman wearing a face mask walks past barber's poles along a street in Tokyo on February 20, 2020.
Health and Labor ministry statistics show that by 2017, Japan had 368,543 salons and barber shops — an all-time high.