COVID-19 downgrade expected to boost Japan’s economy by 4.2 trillion

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According to an estimate by a private sector economist, Japan’s downgrading of the legal status of COVID-19 will likely give the economy a $4.2 trillion ($31 billion) boost, thanks in part to an increase in the number of incoming tourists.

Since Monday, the coronavirus began to be treated in the same way as the seasonal flu, with the government waiving its legal authority to ask those who tested positive to stay in hospital or self-quarantine. Japan has already reopened to foreign tourists after enforcing a strict border control regime over the virus.

Of the estimated $4.2 trillion economic boost, Hideo Kumano, executive chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, said more than half, or about $2.6 trillion, would come from a tourism boost receiver. Some $1.1 trillion will be generated from increased productivity, as people will be kept out of work less often under the new guidelines.

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