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On May 28, 2021, the Prime Minister held the 67th 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,

 “Today, it was decided that the period for the declaration of a state of emergency and priority measures to prevent the spread of disease will be extended until June 20, which was originally scheduled to end on May 31.

The number of new infections nationwide has shifted into a decline in the middle of this month, but the situation does not allow much optimism.

In prefectures such as Tokyo and Osaka, the number of new infections is in a downward trend but the figure still remains at a high level. The availability of hospital beds continues to be under strain in Osaka and other prefectures. Meanwhile, Hokkaido and Okinawa Prefectures have seen a continuous rise in the number of new infections. It is within this context that we made the decision to extend the current state of countermeasures.

We will continue to thoroughly implement measures, including suspending the serving of alcohol and the offering of karaoke services at dining and drinking establishments, in cooperation with individual local government.

Vaccinations are our trump card in tackling infections and in addition to vaccinations administered to medical professionals, almost all municipalities around the country have begun inoculating the elderly. Between 400,000 and 500,000 doses are administered daily. In order to further accelerate vaccinations, we will take all possible measures, including expanding the number of people administering them and providing financial support for individual medical institutions.

In light of this extension of the declaration, support measures will be provided for the people affected. Regarding the liquidity support measures, we will extend our provision of unsecured loans that are interest free in real terms from the Japan Finance Corporation and other institutions until the end of 2021. We will also continue the special measures regarding the Employment Adjustment Subsidy in July. We will use the Emergency Small Amount Fund and other schemes to respond to those who are struggling to cover their living expenses. For those who have reached the borrowing limits, we will provide new support allowance.

I ask each minister to continue to implement measures, following today’s decision.”