Society | Nov 24

Sapporo preparing for temporary exit from travel subsidy program

Hokkaido and its capital are making preparations to suspend new bookings for Sapporo under the state-run Go To Travel subsidy program given the high number of coronavirus cases there, local government sources said Monday.

The policy came after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Saturday that Japan will suspend the travel subsidy program in areas with a high number of coronavirus cases.

Hokkaido and its capital are expected to discuss the specific time frame and conditions for the temporary withdrawal of Sapporo from the scheme later in the day and to convey their position to the central government soon.

The prefecture has recently seen a spike in new daily infections, which topped 300 for the first time last Friday. Japan reported more than 2,000 new cases of the coronavirus for a fifth straight day on Sunday.

The Go To Travel program, which was launched in late July, effectively covers about half of domestic travelers' expenses to support the tourism industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.

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