Photo/Illutration The iconic Kaminarimon gate at Sensoji temple in Tokyo. The capital has been excluded from the central government’s “Go To Travel” campaign. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The central government will decide in September whether it will add Tokyo to its “Go To Travel” promotion campaign to help the struggling tourism industry.

The government expects the number of users of the tourism campaign, in which it partially subsidizes citizens' travel costs, will jump once Tokyo is included.

But adding the capital may also lead to a spike in new cases of the novel coronavirus.

A council of the central government’s panel to deal with the pandemic will analyze the situation regarding the campaign and make a judgment, economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Aug. 26.

Nishimura is also the minister overseeing Japan's COVID-19 response.

With the autumn tourist season expected to kick off with the four-day holiday weekend in late September, Nishimura was asked during a meeting of the Lower House Cabinet Committee if the government plans to include Tokyo in the campaign.

“Experts said the pandemic reached its peak around late July,” Nishimura said.

He later clarified at a news conference that the council will decide after an analysis of the infection status during the Bon holiday season in August is released.

“Tokyo has a large population. Once Tokyo is added to the campaign, it will produce positive effects on hotels and inns around the country,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, commenting on the issue at a news conference the same day.

The “Go To Travel” campaign kicked off on July 22, but Tokyo was excluded because of spreading COVID-19 infections in the capital.

At least 4.2 million people had used the campaign by Aug. 20, the tourism ministry said.

Related News