Photo/Illutration Shimane Governor Tatsuya Maruyama speaks at a meeting of his government’s task force dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic on Oct. 9. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Prefectural governors called for resuming the Go To Travel campaign in areas where novel coronavirus infections are brought under control from Jan. 12, along with greater transparency from the central government.

In an online meeting on Dec. 20, the National Governors’ Association compiled a list of emergency recommendations to the central government following a recent surge in new infections.

In the recommendations, the association expressed willingness to cooperate with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s decision to temporarily halt the subsidized tourism campaign nationwide from Dec. 28 through Jan. 11. But it wants the program to resume on Jan. 12 in less-affected areas. 

The association also urged the government to share its guidelines for suspending or resuming the campaign with the public, saying that the abrupt announcement of the suspension caused “some confusion among businesses and users.”

The Suga administration had been under pressure from health experts to suspend the Go To Travel program following record daily high COVID-19 cases reported across the country.

Visits to Sapporo and Osaka, two hard-hit cities, were already removed from the campaign in late November. However, Suga had been reluctant to call for a nationwide suspension of the program until he finally announced it on Dec. 14, only two weeks before it would take effect.

Many of the 40 governors who participated in the Dec. 20 meeting expressed doubts and concerns about the nationwide suspension of Go To Travel.

“I think the central government would have only needed to suspend the campaign in certain areas if it took stronger measures more quickly,” said Shimane Governor Tatsuya Maruyama. “It is regrettable.”

Yamaguchi Governor Tsugumasa Muraoka said, “The nationwide suspension will be highly effective in preventing the spread of infections, but also has serious repercussions. The campaign should be resumed in some areas depending on their infection situation.”

In the recommendations, the association also asked the government to revise the special measures law to deal with the pandemic so that local governments can punish businesses that defy their requests to close or reduce operating hours to contain the virus.

The association also called on the public to discuss the necessity to travel outside of virus hotspot areas, including trips to hometowns, with family members.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the state minister of economic revitalization, said at a news conference on Dec. 21 that the government will decide on resuming Go To Travel at the beginning of the new year. 

"The government will make an appropriate decision (on whether to resume the campaign after Jan. 12) at the right time after the new year starts by taking into account the local infection situation and governors' intentions," said Nishimura, who is also in charge of the government's response to the pandemic. 

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