Travelers from Sapporo and Osaka should refrain from using the government’s ongoing travel promotion campaign, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday evening, a week after announcing that discounts on inbound travel to the two cities would be suspended for three weeks amid a nationwide surge of the novel coronavirus that began in late October.
As new infections continue to soar throughout the country, officials are trying to buffer hard-hit areas with vulnerable health care systems by waiving subsidies to the tourism and food industries and calling on restaurants and bars to close early.
Beginning Saturday, karaoke bars and restaurants that serve alcohol have been urged to close by 10 p.m. for three weeks in Tokyo’s 23 wards. Eateries in parts of Sapporo and Osaka have also been asked to close early.