EBC Newsletter – September 28, 2022

• Japan will run a new domestic tourism subsidy program from Oct 11 to late December as part of efforts to spur domestic tourism and revive the coronavirus-hit economy, tourism minister Tetsuo Saito said Monday.
  The National Travel Discount will provide the equivalent of up to 11,000 yen in discounts and coupons per traveler per day, which can be used for meals, shopping and accommodation expenses.
  The measure comes in line with a plan to remove the daily cap for overseas arrivals, currently set at 50,000, on Oct 11 as part of easing COVID-19 border control measures. (Japan Today)
• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida revealed a plan Thursday to make Japan’s tax break system for small-lot investment a permanent program to draw more individual assets into markets.
  It is “essential” to establish a permanent tax exemption system for proceeds from investment, Kishida said in a speech delivered at the New York Stock Exchange, the world’s largest bourse, to encourage more foreign investment in Japan.
  Kishida said such tax incentives are necessary because Japan has 2,000 trillion yen in personal financial assets but “only around 10 percent” is invested in stocks. (Japan Today)
• Some 44% of major companies in Japan surveyed by the Mainichi Shimbun have revamped or are considering reviewing their employee transfer systems.
  Remote working has become much more prevalent in Japan due to the coronavirus pandemic, and ways of working not tied to a specific location are gaining ground. This signals a major transformation of the conventional terms of employment in Japan, as even major firms take a hard look at systems allowing workers to live well outside of commuting distance from their office. (The Mainichi)

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