Japan: Theme parks instruct riders to keep their 'screams inside' and be 'serious'

Visitors to Japan's amusements parks have been asked to keep their ''screams inside'' and ''adopt aserious'' face for their ride photo instead of screaming and howlingto prevent to the spread of COVID-19 through droplets.

Limited football fans that have been allowed into stadiums this weekend have also been recommendedto support their teams without singing, clapping or waving scarves.

When the Fuji-Q Highland theme park reopened on 1 June after a three-month closure due to the pandemic, it asked visitors to follow the recommendations of the amusement park association and not to shout or scream.

However, when thrill seekers found it difficult to adhere to the recommendation, they lodgedseveral complaints stating that were found it ''nearly impossible to stay quiet on the rides'', especially thetwo-kilometre-long Fujiyama rollercoaster, which reaches speeds of 130km/h and drops 70 metres at one point.

The rollercoaster was the fastest and tallest in the world when it opened in 1996. It was named after nearby Mount Fuji.

The park in response released a video of two stony-faced senior executives riding Fujiyama without uttering a peep, urging visitors to imitate them.

Fuji-Q also went ahead and launched a #Mao serious face challenge to encourage customers to follow the recommendations and also win a chance to get get free tickets to the amusement park.

The visitors posted their entries on social network site Twitter.