Due to the coronavirus outbreak, New Japan Pro-Wrestling is cancelling all of their shows until March 31, which includes the start of the New Japan Cup tournament.
The decision comes after a Japanese government task force issued its recommendations to combat the threat of the coronavirus.
“We apologize to fans who were looking forward to the remainder of the New Japan Cup. Ultimately, the health and safety of our fans, wrestlers and staff, as well as society at large is our utmost concern and we will make announcements about events scheduled after March 22 upon careful monitoring of this developing situation,” stated the promotion.
The cancelled events are:
- Tuesday March 10, Okayama
- Thursday March 12, Korakuen Hall
- Friday March 13, Korakuen Hall
- Saturday March 14, Chiba
- Monday March 16, Toyama
- Tuesday March 17, Saitama
- Wednesday March 18, Shizuoka
- Friday March 20, Niigata
- Saturday March 21, Niigata
This leaves Sakura Genesis on March 31st as the only scheduled event for March.
Japan’s latest actions to address the coronavirus have included banning travelers from parts of Italy, instituting an emergency financial package to business affected by the outbreak and has made the reselling of face masks for profit punishable by a one-year prison sentence or a 1 million yen ($9,800) fine.
As of Sunday morning, Japan reported that 449 people are now infected with the coronavirus while 311 others have completely recovered.
NJPW has released some NJPW Together Project interviews and shows on their streaming site to fill some of the content gaps this month.
