Japan has lifted its nationwide state of emergency this week and launched its first phase in recovery.
The nationwide state of emergency was removed after seven weeks in place, which resulted in new cases of COVID-19 steadily declining. Tokyo and Hokkaido were among the last prefectures to see the restrictions lift.
The first phase will see schools, gyms, libraries and galleries reopen. Also, restaurants will be allowed to stay open longer. Shinkansen services run by JR will continue to operate to the scheduled timetables and the professional baseball season will restart in June, without spectators.
Tokyo's mayor Yuriko Koike urged the public to remain vigilant in terms of sanitation and social distancing measures to avoid another wave of cases.
With restrictions lifted, attention is turned to domestic travel for those based in Japan. The 'Go To' Travel campaign run by the Japanese government and Japan Tourism Authority (JTA) is a non-JNTO campaign proposal focused on revitalising the domestic tourism market. With new cases currently on the decline, Japan will be balancing safety and hygiene with getting people within Japan back to enjoying what their beautiful country has to offer. At this stage, this means that the 'Go To' Travel campaign would be aimed at the domestic travel market only, and would not apply to international travel into Japan.
