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On May 25, 2020, the Prime Minister held the 36th meeting of the Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants discussed the response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
 
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“Just under seven weeks have passed since the declaration of a state of emergency was declared on April 7.

Regarding the five remaining Prefectures under Special Cautions, we asked the Advisory Committee on the Basic Action Policy to assess the current situation in light of the three criteria for lifting the state of emergency, namely the state of infections, medical treatment structure, and monitoring structure. With the endorsement of the Advisory Committee, today, we will lift the declaration of the state of emergency in the four prefectures in the Kanto region, as well as Hokkaido.

Hence, it is recognized that the state of emergency is no longer necessary in all prefectures and thus, in accordance with the Act on Special Measures for Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response, I declare the lifting of the state of emergency.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all citizens for the great efforts and perseverance they have shown, including refraining from going out and avoiding the three Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact setting).

I also wish to once again express my respect to all healthcare workers for doing their utmost to protect lives in a severe situation, facing a high risk of infections, with a strong sense of mission.

Going forward, we will create a new normal for everyday life in the age of the coronavirus.

Even after the lifting of the state of emergency, we cannot reduce the risk of the spread of infections to zero. We will therefore set a certain transitional period, during which we will increase socio-economic activities in a phased approach, while controlling the risk of infections.

Specifically, around once every three weeks, we will assess the epidemiological situation and the risk of the spread of infections, among other factors, in each region, and gradually ease requests such as refraining from going out, restrictions on the holding of events and other gatherings, and restrictions on the use of facilities.

This phased easing is premised on the establishment of the New Lifestyle and the implementation of the Industry-specific Guidelines on preventive measures, among other steps.

We would like to ask that citizens uphold and thoroughly implement basic preventive measures, such as avoiding the three Cs, maintaining social distancing between people, and wearing face masks, so that we can increase socio-economic activities continuously.

The government will make thorough preparations to maintain the medical systems, while strengthening screening structures, among other means, so that we can adequately handle the next wave of infections.

When infections are deemed to be spreading once again, we will expeditiously introduce robust preventive measures, while also deploying precise economic and employment measures.

Looking to the rest of the world, infections continue to spread, even now. Today, we decided to add 11 countries, such as India, to the areas from which we will deny entry, and to extend the duration of existing border controls to the end of June.

In addition, the peak flood season is approaching soon. It is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the prevention of the spread of infections at evacuation centers. We request local governments to implement necessary measures, such as preparing for as many evacuation centers as possible, including making use of hotels and Japanese inns, among other facilities, and stockpiling masks and other supplies.

The government will also fully prepare to provide assistance in a more expeditious manner, including measures to prevent infections as well as delivering necessary supplies as a push-mode support, in the event of a disaster.

With the complete lifting of the state of emergency, we are to step forward towards the next stage.

The government will work with the people to take on the challenge of creating a new normal for everyday life. I ask that Ministers will continue to exert every effort to respond to the situation.”