• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us

For all official information and updates regarding COVID-19, visit the South African Department of Health's website at www.sacoronavirus.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home Coronavirus

Confusion swirls as Japan launches tourism campaign amid virus surge

22 July 2020, 12:02 PM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
The campaign offers subsidies up to 50% off on trips to and from prefectures excluding Tokyo.

The campaign offers subsidies up to 50% off on trips to and from prefectures excluding Tokyo.

Image: REUTERS

The campaign offers subsidies up to 50% off on trips to and from prefectures excluding Tokyo.

Japan on Wednesday kicked off a national travel campaign aimed at reviving its battered tourism industry, but the effort has drawn heavy criticism amid a jump in new coronavirus cases.

“Go To Travel” – dubbed “Go To Trouble” by some local media – offers subsidies up to 50% off on trips to and from prefectures excluding Tokyo, which was removed from the programme last week after infections surged to new highs.

But many of Japan’s governors wanted the campaign delayed or amended out of fear it would spread the virus to rural areas with low infection numbers, while a Mainichi newspaper poll this week showed 69% of the public wanted the programme cancelled entirely.

The criticism underlines the public’s growing exasperation with what critics say are mixed messages as the government tries to boost the economy while containing the virus.

“There is no change to our stance to cautiously restart economic activity, while asking the public to cooperate in preventing the spread of the coronavirus,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the campaign.

Governor Yuriko Koike, however, urged Tokyo residents to stay home during a four-day weekend beginning Thursday.

“It’s essential for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions to refrain from making unnecessary outings,” Koike said on Tuesday evening.

Frustrations over lack of clarity

Many in the travel industry were frustrated with what they said was a lack of clarity.

“It’s clear the government is scrambling and was totally unprepared. It’s also so hard to get information about this scheme because things change a lot,” said a general manager of a mid-sized business hotel in Osaka, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Hiroaki Gofuku, the president and general manager of Hotel Nikko Osaka, said he hoped that the campaign would be a boost for the ailing tourism industry, but that he was also cautious not to be overly optimistic.

“Tokyo is our big market,” he said. “With this mess, we’re actually seeing more cancellations.”

Economic Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura is also widely expected to announce a delay to the phased reopening of stadiums and events at a meeting on Wednesday.

The government was planning to ease restrictions for stadiums and concert venues starting in August, allowing them to operate at half of maximum capacity. But they are widely expected to reverse their plans with daily infections rising.

Tokyo announced on Wednesday morning that daily infections were expected to reach over 230.

Japan has not seen the kind of rapid spread of the coronavirus that has killed tens of thousands in other countries. But new cases in Tokyo and other cities have sounded alarm bells for a country that had thought it had the virus under control.

Share article
Tags: JapanTokyoTourismCoronavirusCOVID-19
Previous Post

Tutu foundation hails Mlangeni as a giant who opposed injustice

Next Post

Funeral parlours overwhelmed by increased number of burials

Related Posts

CORONAVIRUS: Your daily update

5 July 2022, 5:35 AM
Police deploy after gunfire erupted at a Fourth of July parade route in the wealthy Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. July 4, 2022

Rooftop shooter kills 6 at July 4 parade in Chicago suburb of Highland Park

5 July 2022, 12:12 AM
A worker in a protective suit disinfects following the coronavirus disease outbreak, under a surveillance camera on street in Shanghai, China July 1, 2022.

Chinese mainland reports 41 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases

4 July 2022, 4:12 PM
Ukrainian servicemen walk near a destroyed bridge as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.

Ukraine withdraws from battered Lysychansk city; Russia claims major victory

4 July 2022, 6:01 AM
Investigative personnel work at the scene of a cafe shooting in Oesterbro, in Copenhagen, February 15, 2015.

People flee shopping centre in Copenhagan following shooting

4 July 2022, 2:21 AM
Pfizer's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pill Paxlovid is packaged in Ascoli, Italy, in this undated image obtained by Reuters on November 16, 2021.

German health minister in move to boost use of COVID treatment Paxlovid

4 July 2022, 1:38 AM
Next Post
The Johannesburg Inner-city Funeral Directors Association says COVID-19 has drastically changed the death-care industry in the country overnight.

Funeral parlours overwhelmed by increased number of burials

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • EMS says fire at Bree Street Taxi Rank in Johannesburg has been extinguished
  • The public has until 18 May to make submissions on Icasa’s regulations for extension of expiry period for data, airtime
  • ANC NEC expected to hold a special meeting on Sunday
  • Eastern Cape flood victims plead for support as access to food, services remains difficult
  • Amathole Regional Secretary elated to have corruption charges against him dropped
  • Interpol arrests suspect for swindling US citizens millions of dollars
  • Missing Soweto boy’s body found at Eldorado Park wastewater plant
  • Police close investigation into Enyobeni tavern tragedy
  • Taxi commuters to pay an additional R5 in fare from Friday
  • Scenery Park residents still ‘confused’ following Enyobeni tradegy
  • Interpol arrests suspect for swindling US citizens millions of dollars
  • East London police search for clues that led to tavern death; calls to revoke tavern’s licence 
  • UPDATE: At least 17 people killed in an East London tavern stampede
  • NTA yet to decide whether to support calls for national shutdown amid fuel price hikes
  • South Africans no longer required to wear face masks indoors

LATEST

[File Image] President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses a webinar on Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and Cooperatives supported by the Department of Small Business Development.
  • Politics

President Ramaphosa has a case to answer in Marikana massacre: EFF


  • Coronavirus
  • Sci-tech

CORONAVIRUS: Your daily update


Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
  • Africa

Sudan’s army to withdraw from political talks, leader says


Minister Bheki Cele engages with members of the police at the Enyobeni Tavern in East London.
  • Politics

ANCYL lambasts Ramaphosa’s decision to attend mass funeral of Enyobeni Tavern victims


A gas station attendant pumps fuel into a customer's car at the NNPC Mega petrol station in Abuja, Nigeria March 19, 2020.
  • Business

Nigeria minister: ‘wrong time’ to remove fuel subsidies


A model presents a creation by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri as part of her Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2022 collection show for fashion house Dior in Paris, France, January 24, 2022.
  • Lifestyle

Dior takes a folksy turn at haute couture fashion week in Paris


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2022

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous Tutu foundation hails Mlangeni as a giant who opposed injustice
Next Funeral parlours overwhelmed by increased number of burials