Japanese travel agency group H.I.S. Co said two subsidiaries scammed the government through the Go To Travel subsidised tourism campaign.
It admitted Japan Holiday Travel Co and Miki Tourist Co fraudulently over-reported the number of hotel stays it claimed were booked as part of the campaign.
Together they received 683 million yen worth of subsidies for hotel stays that didn’t exist.
H.I.S. said it was discovered during an internal audit.
Miki Tourist conspired with hotel operator JHAT Co but Japan Holiday Travel did not take an active role in processing bogus bookings.
H.I.S. CEO Hideo Sawada said Miki Tourist’s president will be fired and H.I.S. will repay the money back to the government.
The Go To Travel subsidised tourism campaign covered 50% of travel costs from July 2020 to December 2020 when it was halted due to rising Covid cases.
