Japan's travel campaign may partially resume after emergency lifted
The idea of potentially restarting the "Go To Travel" campaign comes as Japan has decided to end its second state of emergency for five prefectures west of the Tokyo metropolitan area at the end of this month as the number of coronavirus infections is no longer considered dire.
The five prefectures are Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi and Gifu, officials said, adding that the plan will be finalized by the government's task force on measures against the virus on Friday after hearing opinions from health experts.
Fukuoka also asked the government to exclude the southwestern prefecture from the list, but no decision has been made, with some medical experts pointing to the need to further assess the situation as the hospital bed occupancy rate remains high.
Japan's second state of emergency was first declared for a month on Jan. 7 and later extended to March 7. Unlike the first one last spring, it only covered the Tokyo metropolitan area and some other areas of the country that saw a resurgence of infections.
The government has also yet to decide whether to end the emergency for Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama on March 7, according to the officials.
- Kyodo
緊急事態宣言を巡り、一部地域の解除について26日にも正式決定される見通しです。そうしたなか、GoToを巡っては再開に向けて見直し案が浮上していて、いつ、どういう形で再開されるのか。
24日、東京の新規感染者は213人。4日連続で300人を下回り、重症者も前の日から8人減り、69人となっています。
23日は大阪、京都、兵庫、愛知が2月末の先行解除を要請。24日になり、福岡県も解除要請の声を上げました。
そんななか、国会では緊急事態宣言解除について議論が。政府の対応について、菅総理大臣は・・・。
菅総理大臣：「26日に諮問委員会を開催して、先生方からの様々なご意見を伺うなかで判断をしていきたい」
政府は今週末にも首都圏を除く6府県の緊急事態宣言を解除する方針です。そうなると見えてくるのが、GoTo事業の再開です。
新規感染者が抑えられている宮城県では12月に停止されていた「GoToイート」が再開。この店舗では5000円分の食事券500冊が瞬く間に売れ、午後から300冊追加されました。
さらに、GoToトラベルについては再開する場合、旅行代金補助の上限額を削減するなど、一挙に旅行者が増えるような事態を防ぐ改正案なども検討されています。
赤羽国土交通大臣は国土交通省として何も決まっていることはないとしたうえで・・・。
赤羽国土交通大臣：「年末からの事業停止に伴って大変、先行きが見えない厳しい状況であって、皆さんからは（GoTo）事業の早期再開ということを強く要望があることは確かです」
外出の自粛、時短営業などでダメージを受けた経済。しかし、変異ウイルスやワクチンの遅れなど懸念材料があるなかで、GoTo事業は再開できるのでしょうか。
- ANNnewsCH
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