Japan May Delay Issuance of Travel Coupons to Citizens Amid Signs of COVID-19 Resurgence

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As signs of a resurgence of COVID-19 appear in Japan, the possibility of postponing the implementation of the domestic travel promotion project promoted by the Japanese government has increased. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on the 15th of last month that the nationwide travel support project would begin in the first half of this month, conditional on the improvement of the COVID-19 infection situation.

According to Kyodo News on the 5th, a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism official, the main department in charge, said, "It is necessary to monitor the infection situation a little longer," and a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office also stated, "The start time may be delayed." The project aims to support the travel and food service industries struggling due to COVID-19 by providing domestic travelers with coupons worth up to 11,000 yen (approximately 106,000 won) per night.

However, recently, COVID-19 has shown signs of spreading again in Japan. According to NHK's tally on this day, the average daily number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan over the past week was 22,046. This is a 58% increase compared to the period from April 14 to 20 (13,989 cases). On this day, Tokyo reported 5,302 new cases. The number of new cases in Tokyo exceeded 5,000 for the first time in over two months since April 28.