The results of a public opinion survey released by Kyodo News on the 15th showed that most Japanese people are worried about the current situation of Coronavirus pandemic in Japan and hope that the government will put pandemic prevention above the recovery of the economy.
84% of the survey respondents are worried about the recent development of the pandemic in Japan, and 68.4% believe that the government should put the prevention and control of the pandemic in the first place instead of restoring the economy.
As to whether the tourism subsidy measures introduced by the government should be extended, 50% of the people opposed it and 43.4% supported it. The Japanese government has successively introduced tourism and catering subsidies in July to help the domestic tourism industry that has been hit by the pandemic.
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said that the government is considering extending the subsidy measures after January next year.
The pandemic in Japan has rebounded recently, with new cases hitting new highs in a single day. Tourism subsidy measures are regarded as one of the factors that make the pandemic worse. Government statistics show that more than 100 people have contracted Coronavirus pandemic while participating in subsidized travel.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on the 13th that there is a significant increase in the number of infected people in Japan, but he has a negative attitude towards re-declaring a state of emergency and changing the travel subsidy measures, saying that “experts believe that it is not yet that way.”
