[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Response to Infectious Diseases that Pose a Threat to Global Society at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, discussion was held on the draft of the Basic Policy on Strengthening Countermeasures for Infectious Diseases that Pose a Threat to Global Society.

The Prime Minister said in his opening statement,

“Infectious diseases such as Ebola virus disease and MERS pose a major threat to global society. In the leaders’ declaration from the recent G7 Summit in Schloss Elmau, each country agreed to work collaboratively, including with international organizations and other institutions, to respond to infectious diseases. The strengthening of our countermeasures is also a pressing issue for Japan.

Within the recently approved ‘Basic Policies for Peace and Health’ are support initiatives toward the construction of resilient health systems in developing countries in order to minimize the severe impact of infectious diseases as much as possible.

I called a meeting of this Ministerial Council today in order to flesh out those initiatives.

I would like to swiftly decide upon basic policies toward the comprehensive promotion of infectious disease countermeasures, such as the enhancement of international cooperation, the creation of investigation and research systems, and the preparation of the necessary human resources base.

I request that all relevant ministers, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare collaborate closely, and that the Government work as one to promote initiatives.”