The Japanese government has launched a nationwide discount campaign to kickstart tourism for people living in the country, hoping to boost domestic travel just as COVID border controls are lifted.

The new program will run from Tuesday to late December in most prefectures. In Tokyo, it will start from October 20.

A man visiting Kanazawa Prefecture for study and sightseeing said, "This discount campaign gave me an opportunity to go on a trip."

The campaign offers eligible travelers a 40-percent discount. The maximum subsidy for packages including public transportation is 8,000 yen per person per night, or about 55 dollars. The maximum for only accommodations, or for day trips, is about 34 dollars. Travelers will also get a shopping coupon.

Japan's tourism industry has been counting on the campaign to boost business. Some hotels in Gero Onsen, a famous hot spring resort town in Gifu Prefecture, are already seeing a difference.

Hasegawa Tsuyoshi, who works at Yunoshimakan, a Japanese inn, said that the support campaign "is making everyone believe it's all right to travel around freely again." He added that the campaign "is making people more active."

He also said the hotel has received many inquiries since the campaign was announced, and that reservations for this month and next are close to their pre-pandemic levels.