Photos: A lack of hues in COVID-19 unsettled Tokyo

The notoriously crowded Tokyo morning rush-hour trains are sparsely populated. Classrooms are eerily empty. Store shelves are bare. People with facemasks pop up throughout a city overwhelmed by fear of the spread of the new coronavirus, which is altering daily life and casting doubt over the Summer Olympic Games. Struck by the contrast of the white protective masks against the stark cityscape, AP photographer Jae. C. Hong captures the unsettling new norm in black and white.

Updated on: Mar 14, 2020 9:48 PM IST

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A pedestrian waits to cross the street in Tokyo’s Harajuku area. People with face masks are now ubiquitous throughout the Japanese capital, overwhelmed by the fear of the novel coronavirus, which is altering daily life and casting doubt over the Summer Olympic Games. (Jae C Hong / AP)

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Commuters ride escalators at a train station. The notoriously crowded Tokyo morning rush-hour trains are sparsely populated. Classrooms are eerily empty. Store shelves are bare. (Jae C Hong / AP)

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A commuter wearing a plastic glove holds a mask inside a train. An English church in Roppongi no longer asks its members to high-five during Sunday services. Instead, they give a Japanese-style bow to each other. (Jae C Hong / AP)

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A luxurious department store in the Ginza shopping district put out an apologetic notice on its cosmetics floor saying that their employees are not allowed to touch customers as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus. (Jae C Hong / AP)

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the per-capita infection in Japan is much lower than other countries, though the situation is still volatile and Japan should remain on its guard. “At the moment, we don’t have a situation that requires a state of emergency,” Abe added. (Jae C Hong / AP)

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Illuminated Olympic rings float in water at the Odaiba section of Tokyo. Japan as of Saturday morning had 1,423 confirmed cases, including 697 from a cruise ship that docked in the country. There have been 28 deaths, of which seven were former cruise passengers, reported Reuters. (Jae C Hong / AP)