Japan’s ‘Go To Travel’ subsidised domestic tourism program will be suspended due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.
Japan recorded 2,500 new daily cases, marking a record high for the fourth consecutive day.
New bookings for trips to regions where infections are spiking will be suspended.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of national Covid-19 measures, said the government will soon announce which areas will be blacklisted for the Go To Travel campaign.
These will likely include the cities of Sapporo and Osaka, among others experiencing a surge in cases.
Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki urged the government to withdraw Sapporo from the travel subsidy campaign, and asked the government to compensate people for cancelled trips.
Hokkaido cases spiked to more than 300 a day at the weekend.
According to government data, about 40 million trips and have been taken through the Go To Travel program, and nearly 200 people using the subsidised program have been infected with the virus.
However, Toshio Nakagawa, head of the Japan Medical Association, said there is no definite evidence proving that they contracted the virus specifically because of their travel.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
