One of Japan’s Biggest Cosplay Events Canceled Over Coronavirus Concerns

We’ve been seeing a number of anime and anime-adjacent events canceled in the past few days, all over concerns surrounding coronavirus. In addition to a small handful of anime broadcast delays, the latest cancelation concerns one of Japan’s biggest cosplay events, Nippombashi Street Festa.

Located in Osaka’s Den-Den Town, the event attracts over 200,000 attendees. This year’s was scheduled for March 15, but it has been canceled “due to concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.” This extends to surrounding events, which will be either changed or canceled, and refunds will be available at a later date for those who purchased wristbands in advance.

Beyond Nippombashi Street Festa, another canceled event—this time in Tokyo—is DeNA’s Shibuya Design Festival. There’s currently no new date in place, but refunds will also be offered at a later time.

Source: Nippombashi Street Festa website via Crunchyroll