Society

Japan's government rejected advice to delay troubled Go To Travel program

Jul 30 (Japan Times) - The government was advised to postpone a decision on the Go To Travel tourism promotion program but rejected that advice, the head of a government team on novel coronavirus countermeasures said Wednesday.

Shigeru Omi, head of the virus subcommittee under a government expert panel, made the remark at a parliamentary committee meeting in response to a question from Motohisa Furukawa of the opposition Democratic Party for the People.

â€œI advised the government to put off its decision as I saw a need to prepare a convincing explanation backed by evidence, by analyzing the results of epidemiological researchâ€ into the nationâ€™s coronavirus infection situation, Omi said.

The advice was not accepted, he added.

Based on discussions at the subcommittee on July 16, the government decided to start Go To Travel on July 22 as scheduled, excluding trips to and from Tokyo. The program is intended to support the tourism industry through government-subsidized discounts and vouchers.

Typhoon No. 24 (Fung-shen) Moves Toward Vietnam, Heavy Rain Forecast For Japan

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Real-Life Water Police: Protecting Tokyo’s Seas and Rivers

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Tourist Graffiti Threatens Kyoto’s Iconic Bamboo Forest

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Japanese Streaming Services Struggle Against Netflix

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Japan Tightens Rules on Foreign Business Visas

Investigators from the Immigration Services Agency conducted on-site inspections in Osaka on October 14th amid a surge in so-called 'paper companies' created by foreign nationals seeking residency.

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