TOKYO • Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are set to reopen from July 1 after a four-month suspension over the coronavirus as Japan gradually reopens its economy, including theme parks and professional sports.

The two resorts will resume operations to a limited number of visitors who reserved and bought tickets online, its operator Oriental Land said in a statement yesterday.

The theme parks will enforce rigorous social distancing rules and use of masks, while also checking guests' temperatures.

The number of guests will be limited to 15,000 per day and the rides will be cleaned regularly.

In guidelines released last month by a group of Japanese park operators, including Oriental Land, thrill-seekers were advised to "refrain from vocalising loudly" on rollercoasters and other rides.

"Ghosts lurking in haunted houses should maintain a healthy distance from their victims," the guidelines added.

Other Disney parks, including those in California and Paris, have already announced their reopening. Shanghai Disneyland resumed activities last month.

Tokyo's Disney parks were closed in late February at a time when the number of infections began to rise in Japan.

More than 30 million visitors flood into the two Japanese parks each year, and they are among the most popular destinations for tourists visiting Tokyo.

Japan is gradually lifting social restrictions, after the government lifted a national state of emergency a month ago.

Universal Studios Japan in Osaka reopened on June 8 to a very limited number of visitors who live nearby and who already own one-year passes, before expanding the rule to residents of a wider region in western Japan.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG