“I think taking hanami away from the Japanese is like taking away hugs from Italians,” she said.

“But we would like to ask people to refrain from, for example, spreading blue tarps and enjoying fun parties at Ueno Park like every year,” she added, referring to a large central Tokyo park popular with revelers.

Meteorologists expect cherry blossoms to begin blooming around March 17 in Tokyo.

Koike has previously said that indoor events hosted by her organization or involving food would be postponed or canceled between February 22 and March 15.