Cosplayers celebrate Halloween in Tokyo's Shibuya

Huge crowds of cosplayers celebrated Halloween in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district on Sunday. Coronavirus emergency measures, in place for more than half of the country including Tokyo, were lifted at the end of September following a steady fall in new cases over the past month.

Shibuya ward officials had asked people to refrain from celebrating Halloween, as it did last year, as part of anti-coronavirus measures. But hundreds took to the streets, many in costumes and facemasks. In Japan, around 71% of people have been fully vaccinated.  The country has had about 1.69 million cases and 17,641 deaths from COVID-19.