Test tour blip fails to put Tokyo off course

Japan has hit a bump on its journey back to inbound tourism normalcy after having to bring a test tour in southwestern Oita to an abrupt end.

Kyodo News agency said the cancellation came after Japan Tourism Agency reported one of the four Thais in the test tour tested positive for Covid-19.

The other three tested negative but are isolating as they are closed contacts

The four flew into Fukuoka via Tokyo's Haneda airport on Friday as part of a small-scale test tour in the runup to the middle of this month, when Japan starts accepting tourists in stages.

Those tours, which began May 24, took in around 50 travel-firm staff and others from, besides Thailand, the United States, Australia and Singapore.

The infection has sparked fears of a rollback in the easing, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno yesterday denied it would have an impact on Japan's plan to double the cap on daily entries to 20,000 from Wednesday, saying he is "not aware of any change" to the plan.

However, he said Tokyo plans to look at the response to the infection and have the measures taken reflected in prevention guidelines.

Japan will, from June 10, allow tourists from 98 countries and regions but initially limit them to guided tours as a means to reduce the potential spread of infection.

The itinerary for the Thais was to include Fukuoka's Tenjin entertainment district as well as an onsen hot spring resort in Oita.