Photo/Illutration Shimotakaido Cinema in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward asks customers to keep a seat empty between other patrons on June 1. (Yoshikatsu Nakajima)

Japan's movie theaters, sports gyms and pubs are reopening after closing for about two months due to the state of emergency, but their owners still feel jitters over the future.

Shimotakaido Cinema in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward resumed business on June 1 with new anti-infection measures such as leaving one seat empty between moviegoers.

But only around 10 customers showed up to watch the first two movies at the small art house cinema.

“I was concerned about how long I'd need to ask customers to leave a seat open between them, but I may not get customers back in the first place,” said Yuka Kinoshita, who runs the cinema.

Kinoshita held a crowdfunding campaign to keep her business operating and collected more than 5.8 million yen ($54,000). She also plans to sell movie goods including T-shirts and tote bags to support the cinema.

Major movie theaters Aeon Cinemas, Shochiku Multiplex Theaters and others reopened June 1 as well.

Training sports gym Rizap reopened all 191 outlets.

Many eateries also reopened on the date, the government's original deadline to lift the state of emergency nationwide.

Among them was Ginza Lion pub in Tokyo’s Shibuya Station building, where groups of customers were seen knocking back beers that evening.

As part of infection prevention measures, Ginza Lion reduced its 130 seats to 65 and instead of using large plates to share food, switched to serving items individually to customers on smaller plates.

Japanese pub Tsukada Nojo, near Tokyo’s Shinbashi Station, introduced a wide variety of anti-virus measures at its reopening, which included not just disinfectant placed at the entrance, but also recording the names of customers and utilizing single-use disposable menus.

To keep customers from sharing meals, it also removed hot pot dishes from its menu.

“The number of infections still hasn't stabilized, so we need to operate cautiously,” said Manabu Takahira, the general manager of AP Co., which operates the restaurant.

(This article was written by Yoshikatsu Nakajima, Takumi Wakai, and Shimpei Doi)