It looks like us Malaysians won’t be visting the land of the rising sun anytime soon. 🙁
There have been numerous reports in the past week claiming that the Japanese government is planning to cover 50% of foreign travel expenses in order to reboot their tourism industry. However, it seems that the reports were a classic case of a ‘lost in translation’ incident by news outlets and bloggers worldwide.
Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) clarified in a statement that the 50% travel expenses coverage campaign under consideration is only for domestic tourism and Japanese citizens.
“Please note that the Go to Travel Campaign under consideration by the Japanese government is to stimulate domestic travel demand within Japan after the Covid-19 pandemic and only cover a portion of domestic travel expenses.”
In the age where international tourism is put to a halt due to the spread of Covid-19, we should’ve known that the travel expenses subsidy report is too good to be true. In fact, it straight up makes no sense considering that Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has been tightening the borders of its country to deal with the pandemic.
One of the precautions being taken is to ban indefinitely, tourists from 111 countries into Japan and of course, that list includes Malaysia.
What’s more, according to Japan’s MOFA website, foreign travellers who have been in Malaysia for the past 14 days will also be denied entry into Japan. This also include international flights that have a layover in KLIA or KLIA2. Okay, that’s as strict as it gets!
Furthermore, the visa exemption given to us Malaysians by the Japanese government is also suspended for the time being. For now, the suspension is listed until the end of June but the possibility of it being renewed is quite high.
As for Japanese citizens who are returning home from Malaysia or any of the 111 countries listed, a mandatory 14 days quarantine must be served before going back to their homes.
Well, if you’re fantasizing about that epic roadtrip in the land of the rising sun soon, sorry to burst your bubble, yeah. What’s important now is that the whole world unite in our fight against this scathing pandemic! #KitaMestiMenang
Also read: Japan Zoo Places Capybara Plush Toys In Cafe For Social Distancing And It’s Adorable!
