With the seventh wave of novel coronavirus infections showing no signs it will subside anytime soon, organizers of Japan’s popular summer festivals are being forced to make tough decisions on whether to cancel their events.

The Morioka Sansa Odori Festival, one of the major summer events in the Tohoku region, kicked off on the evening of Aug. 1 in central Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. The event is being held for the first time in three years.

Dancers dressed in “yukata” (summer kimono) chanted, “Sakkora, choiwayasse,” a traditional call for happiness, to the brisk beat of drums as they paraded through the city’s main street.

Legend has it the festival originates from the dances performed by locals to rejoice after driving away a demon. The last event, held in 2019, drew 1.49 million visitors.

This year’s festival started after the prefecture reported a record 1,077 daily COVID-19 cases on July 27.

The event’s organizing committee scaled down the parade area and halved the size limit for each participating group to up to 150 performers so they can practice social distancing.

The committee also expanded the viewing area along the street to allow spectators more distance between each other.

But the changes have left some feeling uneasy.

“To be honest, I have mixed feelings,” said Akiko Oikawa, 50, one of the dancers.

Oikawa began performing at the festival more than 40 years ago. Her daughter, a college junior, plays an old Japanese flute at the event, while her son, a first-year junior high school student, serves as a drummer.

Oikawa said she thinks of the history and future of the festival every time she sees her children perform. She said she missed the event so much during the two-year hiatus that it started to feel like “summer has finally come” this year.

But Oikawa said she is also concerned the festival could be canceled yet again from next year if this year’s event leads to a further rise in infections.

But she said she has decided to participate, so she will lead and provide support to young performers.

“This year, I’m performing to carry on the tradition rather than show off,” said Oikawa. “I hope I can pass the baton to the next generation.”

The Sendai Tanabata Festival, another popular summer event in the Tohoku region, will kick off in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on Aug. 6 as scheduled. More than two million people visit the “star festival” annually.

The event’s major attraction, the gigantic “fukinagashi” streamers that flow in the wind, will be hung 2 meters above ground to prevent visitors from touching them as a precaution against the virus.

The Miyagi prefectural government plans to soon declare it must take steps to counter the spread of the BA.5 Omicron subvariant.

It will likely ask elderly residents to refrain from going out after issuing the declaration, a new policy initiative adopted by the central government.

A member of the festival’s organizing body sought the understanding of residents, saying they will implement the toughest anti-virus measures they can.

The fireworks festival in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, one of Japan’s three major fireworks events, will also be held with anti-virus measures in place.

The event’s organizer will offer spectators’ seats to only those who bought tickets so they can identify close contacts should visitors test positive for the virus. It will also urge spectators to refrain from speaking loudly.

The organizer is asking people without tickets to “stay away” from the venue.

Tokushima's Awa Odori, one of the most traditional summer events in Japan, will be held from Aug. 12 to 15. Individual dance groups, called "ren," practiced using objects placed 2 meters apart as a guide to help them maintain social distancing during their performances.

“Dancers need to take precautions, too,” said Seiya Kori, 51, head of Yukyu-ren, a long-established ren dance group acclaimed for their high skills.

Kumamoto’s hinokuni matsuri (Festival on the land of fire) was initially scheduled to kick off on Aug. 5 after a two-year hiatus.

However, it was canceled after the city government issued a medical state of emergency on July 29 following a surge in infections.

“It was an agonizing decision, but the event would have had a huge impact on the health care system,” said Takahisa Nakagaito, a vice mayor of Kumamoto, at a news conference he attended on behalf of the mayor, who is recuperating after contracting the virus.

The Yamaage Matsuri festival in Nasu-Karasuyama, Tochigi Prefecture, took place from July 22 to 24, but 141 people who attended the event had since tested positive as of July 31.