Japan will suspend the entire nation’s Go To Travel campaign from Dec 28, 2020-Jan 11, 2021
In the midst of an increase in coronavirus cases across the world, the Japanese government will suspend its subsidy program to encourage domestic tourism during the New Year holidays, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday, putting an end to its attempts to spur an economic recovery amid the pandemic.
From Dec 28, 2020 to Jan 11, 2021, the Go To Travel campaign will be stopped nationwide, with more decisions to be based on how the situation evolves, Suga told a meeting of the task force of the government on the coronavirus response.
Trips to Tokyo and Nagoya will be suspended, both of which have seen a drastic increase in infections in recent weeks, with residents also being asked to refrain from using the program of subsidies for trips departing from either city.
The decision came a day after a record high of 583 in what some medical experts describe as a “third wave” of infections was reached by the national number of people with severe symptoms of COVID-19.
In the midst of a revival of COVID-19, Tokyo and Nagoya join Sapporo and Osaka in being excluded from the travel promotion initiative.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases of coronavirus in Tokyo stood at 503.9 as of Monday after topping 500 for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic the previous day. The capital of Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, reported 93 cases on Sunday, with a total of 181 new cases confirmed in the prefecture of central Japan.
From Wednesday to December 27, Nagoya will be excluded from the Go To Travel campaign, Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura told a press conference. He said he agreed with the decision of the government, given the recent virus situation.
In certain areas of Nagoya, Aichi has already urged establishments serving alcohol to shorten their business hours by closing at 9 p.m., a request Omura said would be extended to Jan 11.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Tokyo has also made a similar request to alcohol-serving restaurants, bars and karaoke establishments for shorter opening hours until Thursday in most parts of the capital and plans to expand the measure through Jan. 11 after the call of the central government.
The Go To Travel campaign was launched in July to help the tourism industry cope with the effects of the pandemic, which essentially accounts for about half of domestic travel expenses.
Due to the relatively large number of coronavirus cases, trips to and from Tokyo were originally omitted, but were introduced in October when the outbreak in the capital appeared to be under control.
It is also confirmed that the government is considering extending its suspension of trips to Sapporo and Osaka beyond Tuesday’s closing date.
The development came after the government subcommittee on anti-virus initiatives called Friday for the halt of the campaign in areas with increasing cases in the face of concern that infections have risen in the movement of people triggered by the travel campaign.
The Tokyo government has pursued a longer and broader curtailment with respect to the travel campaign than the central government, which is playing a balancing act between attempting to curb the spread of COVID-19 and reviving the battered economy.
Although the central government proposed to exclude trips to Tokyo until Dec. 25, in tandem with the restaurant measure, the metropolitan government requested a suspension through Jan. 11, they said.
At a press conference on Monday, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said that demands for certain firms to shorten working hours or suspend operations would be extended to pre-fetural capital and last until Dec. 29, 2020.
Source: Japan Today
