TOKYO: The Japanese government on Thursday decided a policy to exclude trips to and from Tokyo from its “Go To Travel” tourism promotion campaign in view of the resurgence of novel coronavirus infection cases in the country’s capital.

The plan was presented to the day’s meeting of a government panel of experts on coronavirus response measures. The panel approved the tweak.

The government earlier planned to launch the campaign nationwide on Wednesday, but backed down amid concerns among people in rural areas over the virus spreading to their regions from the Tokyo metropolitan area.

“We made the decision, taking account of the current state of infection,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.

Trips to Tokyo and those out of the capital by Tokyoites are exempted from subsidies under the “Go To Travel” campaign for the time being. But the program will cover other trips from Wednesday as planned while travelers and accommodation facility operators will be urged to make sure to take thorough infection prevention measures.

Tokyo marked 286 new daily coronavirus infection cases on Thursday, a record daily high. Recent spikes in infections in Tokyo and other major cities have prompted regional leaders to voice concerns over the possibility of the virus spreading due to the campaign.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, have requested the central government to review the program.

Economic effects of the campaign will certainly be limited with the exclusion of Tokyo.

At the panel meeting, one member expert said that excluding only Tokyo “sound a little inappropriate.”

In its proposal to the government, the panel said that the campaign should be used as an opportunity to make citizens well understand the ways they should travel under a new lifestyle as the coronavirus outbreak continues.
JIJI Press