The launch of a government campaign expected to help businesses in the tourism, dining and events industries recover from the economic impact of the novel coronavirus is likely to be delayed.
The timing of the so-called Go To Campaign has been impacted by a re-selection of contractors tasked with managing the schemes and uncertainty about when the virus will be contained.
It has thus become difficult to fully implement the assistance measures by this summer, when demand for such services would be high.
Businesses had placed great hopes on the campaign. At a regular conference of the Japan Association of Travel Agents held on Monday, its secretary general, Yoshinori Ochi, said, "[The campaign] will distribute money to all parts of the nation quickly and will become a foundation for economic recovery."
In the government's fiscal 2020 first supplementary budget, passed in late April, 1.7 trillion yen of funding related to the campaign was included.
About 1.3 trillion yen was earmarked for projects to assist travel-related businesses such as travel agent services and tourism; about 200 billion yen for dining-related services; and about 120 billion yen for events, such as sports games and concerts.
Vouchers for travel tickets, souvenirs, event tickets, and goods at event venues, among other things, will be issued to encourage people to travel and participate in events.
The campaign in all business categories was initially scheduled to be implemented from late July this year to mid-March next year.
But the first miscalculation of the plan surfaced when the selection of contractors had to be restarted.
The government had earmarked a lump sum of 309.5 billion yen for a contractor to manage the whole project. But opposition parties voiced objections one after another saying that the amount was too high.
Thus, the government suspended the open tender, which was implemented between late May and early June.
The government then decided that relevant ministries would separately reselect contractors.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will now be responsible for travel-related schemes, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry is in charge of dining-related projects, and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry is in charge of events.
In the travel-related field, the deadline for accepting tenders was postponed to June 29. The contractor will be chosen in early July after the screening of candidates. The launch of the campaign will also likely be delayed until early August.
Likewise, the start of events-related offers will be delayed by nearly two months to around September.
The launch of dining-related projects has not been decided.
If events are held while infections are not yet under control, there are serious concerns about the risk posed by the so-called 3 C's -- closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings.
Industry insiders have also voiced concerns. "I hope necessary stimulation measures will be implemented when the situation is under control," one said.
At a press conference on June 16, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Taku Eto said, "We will not only examine the swift implementation of the plan, but also strictly examine the costs."
He also stressed that the timing of the launch will be carefully considered.
However, if the launch date is delayed in each field, the possibility of the campaign helping to realize a V-shaped recovery may be small.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
