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On March 16, 2021, the Prime Minister held a ministerial meeting on emergency response measures for non-permanent workers and others affected by the novel coronavirus at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants discussed the emergency response measures for non-permanent workers and others affected by the novel coronavirus.

Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“As the battle against the novel coronavirus becomes prolonged, there has been a serious impact on the employment of women and non-permanent workers, and we also need to tackle the problems such as an increase in the number of suicides and loneliness and social isolation head-on. Today, we decided on the emergency support measures to address these issues.

Firstly, even in this severe situation, we give top priority to children, who bear the future, and we will provide a subsidy of 50,000 yen per child to single-parent households and low-income households with children.

Furthermore, we will expand the opportunities for women and non-permanent workers facing difficulties in finding employment, including those who are raising children, to gain IT skills and others, to change jobs. For example, for those with monthly income of 120,000 yen or less, such as people working in shifts, we will double the number of vocational training candidates so that they can participate in the training with the monthly subsidies of 100,000 yen. For single-parent households, we will prepare training courses to enable them to get a wide range of qualifications while receiving 100,000 yen per month in subsidies.

Regarding the Special Loans from Emergency Small Funds, since last year, approximately 1.7 million households are now utilizing the program thanks to the great efforts of the members of the Social Welfare Council.

We will continue offering new loans even after April, and those who have reached the previous loan limit of 1.4 million yen will also be able to take out loans up to a total of 2 million yen. Repayment will commence from FY2022, but those who are exempted from paying residential tax will be exempted from the repayment as well.

In order to overcome sectionalism in both public and private sectors and reach out to those who are feeling socially isolated and anxious, the Government as a whole will review the matter, designating the Minister in charge of Loneliness and Isolation. Non-profit organizations (NPOs) and other private organizations are engaged in programs across the region such as providing suicide prevention consultations through phone calls and social media, and organizing Kodomo Shokudo and food banks. We will implement budgetary measures of approximately 6 billion yen to provide bold support for these persistent activities.

For the measures decided upon today, we will add over 500 billion yen in contingency funds by next week. In addition, we will review the provision of additional support and cooperation funds for the cultural and entertainment sectors.

It is also important to support business continuity for sectors such as the restaurant industry, which has created much employment to date. We will swiftly formulate financial response measures with a focus on financing support.

Various measures have been implemented since last year to protect the lives and livelihoods of the citizens. Against this backdrop, these measures will respond thoroughly to those who may not necessarily have received adequate help so far.

In implementing these measures, the Government will listen closely to the concerns of the people, and work as one in order to resolve each and every problem.”