TOKYO (JAPAN) – Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe drew flak on Friday after he barred residents of the capital city from applying for a travel subsidy that is targeted at giving a shot in the arm to the domestic tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.
Abe’s $16 billion (£12.73 billion) “Go To” tourism drive was aimed at boosting travel within the country. However, officials on Thursday decided to exclude Tokyo after the spurt in the number of coronavirus cases.
Abe has come under attack for the backflip. “What makes you think that business trips or commuting won’t spread the coronavirus? Do you think it is fair to exclude Tokyoites from a campaign that’s using taxpayers money?” said opposition legislator Ren Ho on Friday in a question to the prime minister.
On Friday, the hashtag #TokyoExcluded was trending on Twitter and it got close to 100,000 tweets.
According to Tourism Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba, the decision to prevent Tokyo residents from claiming a 50% government subsidy for domestic trips was “heart-breaking.” The subsidy comes into effect from July 22.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field