Japan’s Consumer Entertainment Rating Organization is set to resume its game rating routines after having closed down last month to comply with Tokyo’s shelter-in-place order.
In a statement spotted and translated by Gematsu, the board plans to resume business on May 7, but will shift its operating hours to 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM to avoid contributing to peak business day traffic and is working to setup tele-working options “as soon as possible”.
“The Computer Entertainment Rating Organization was temporarily closed in response to a shelter-in-place request from the governor of Tokyo and a state of emergency declared in response to the novel coronavirus, but upon strengthening our infection prevention measures for employees and examiners, business will resume on May 7,” reads that statement. “We apologize for the great concern and worry we caused our staff and related parties during the break.”
The reopening is right inline with CERO’s plan from last month, which saw all operations and game reviews suspended until May 6.
Much like the United States’ ESRB, CERO doles out age-based ratings to games angling for a Japanese release. Given that those ratings are required for games seeking a release in Japan and the organization’s previous inability to shift to remote work, an extended closure would spell trouble for games currently in CERO’s ratings queue.