Japan won’t pay half of foreign tourists’ costs

The official Japan Tourism Agency has dismissed rumours that the government in Tokyo is contemplating paying half of overseas visitors’ travel costs.

Reports worldwide had claimed that Japan aimed to attract tourists from abroad by paying for half their air fares and living costs.

The story was that, to tackle an almost complete close down of international tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic, visits to Japan would be encouraged by subsidised flights and accommodation.

But in a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, the Japan Tourism Agency refuted “reports by some news outlets that the Japanese government is considering a campaign to help foreign tourists visiting Japan by offering support for half of their travel expenses”.

The organisation said: “The ‘Go to Travel Campaign’ under consideration by the Japanese government is to stimulate domestic travel demand within Japan after the Covid-19 pandemic and only cover a portion of domestic travel expenses.”

The campaign to encourage domestic tourism is likely to be launched in late July or early August, the period when Tokyo was planning to host the 2020 Olympics.

Tourism accounts for seven per cent of the Japanese economy.

The finance ministry in the capital has proposed travel vouchers for a maximum of 20,000 yen (£150) per person.

Domestic transport, including the bullet-train network, is operating normally.

Since 3 April, entry to Japan has been denied to any non-Japanese nationals who has been to the UK in the last 14 days, other than in exceptional circumstances.

The normal visa-exemption agreement for UK visitors to Japan is currently suspended, and no visas are being issued for tourists.

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