Coronavirus crisis threatens to silence Japan's tourist boom

Passersby are seen on a street in Yokohama’s China Town in Yokohama, Japan February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) - The restaurants at the Exitmelsa shopping centre in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district are usually packed with Chinese tourists. But on a recent weekday, many lunchtime tables were empty, a sign of the toll that the coronavirus is taking on tourism.

For Japanese who have grown dependent on Chinese tourists for business, like waiter Kiyotake Watanabe, it marks a disconcerting trend.