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The Prime Minister in Action
Ministerial Meeting on the Progress in Countermeasures against the Novel Coronavirus Disease
July 14, 2021
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement (1)
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement (2)
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement (3)
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement (4)
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement (5)
[Provisional Translation]
On July 14, 2021, the Prime Minister held the third ministerial meeting on the progress in countermeasures against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the progress in countermeasures against COVID-19.
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“Today, we held discussions among the relevant ministers, as many people are worried about the infection situation of COVID-19 and vaccine distribution.
The number of new infections has continued to increase, mainly in Tokyo, with 1,149 new cases recorded today. The number of patients with severe symptoms is 54, remaining at almost the same level. Under the declaration of a state of emergency, we will thoroughly implement measures against infection and push ahead with vaccinations.
As for inoculations, thanks to the dedicated efforts of local governments and medical practitioners, the total number of vaccine doses administered has far exceeded 60 million. Around 80 percent of the elderly have received their first dose, with 50 percent receiving their second, and 30 percent of the total population have received their first dose.
The proportion of elderly people to new infections in Tokyo stood within the range of 20 to 30 percent at the beginning of this year, but it has dropped to around 4 percent, according to the latest data. We believe that vaccinations have helped to curb the increase in the numbers of patients with severe symptoms and deaths.
Up until now, we have provided maximum support to ensure that we can administer vaccines, which we obtained in a global race, to many people at the earliest possible time, in order to protect the lives and health of the public, and thanks to everyone’s cooperation, vaccinations have progressed at a faster pace than expected.
Under these circumstances, local governments, especially those that have made progress in inoculations, have concerns about vaccine supply in the time to come, and some stopped accepting new reservations. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused. Nevertheless, this does not mean that vaccination efforts have come to a halt, and we will distribute vaccines so that we can administer 1.2 million doses per day, the figure far surpassing our initial target.
To this end, as I mentioned in a press conference last week, we have decided to deliver a greater number of vaccines to municipalities that have made strides in vaccination efforts and showed local governments prospects for the specific number of vaccine doses to be distributed in the first half of August two days ago.
We will continue to share the supply and demand for vaccines with local governments and work closely together to proceed with vaccinations in a well-planned manner.
Although we retracted our requests to liquor wholesalers and financial institutions by yesterday, we apologize to dining and drinking establishments, liquor wholesalers and retailers, and other stakeholders for causing anxiety and confusion.
As experts point out, while suspending the serving of alcohol at dining and drinking establishments is the key to measures against infection, this is an issue of life or death for the workers at such establishments. In light of these points, we will continue to carefully listen to the opinions of various stakeholders, including these establishments, and strive to create a necessary environment by, for example, swiftly rendering the payments in exchange for their cooperation.
I ask each minister to continue to collaborate closely with municipalities and make all-out efforts to implement preventive measures against infection and vaccinations.”
On July 14, 2021, the Prime Minister held the third ministerial meeting on the progress in countermeasures against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the progress in countermeasures against COVID-19.
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“Today, we held discussions among the relevant ministers, as many people are worried about the infection situation of COVID-19 and vaccine distribution.
The number of new infections has continued to increase, mainly in Tokyo, with 1,149 new cases recorded today. The number of patients with severe symptoms is 54, remaining at almost the same level. Under the declaration of a state of emergency, we will thoroughly implement measures against infection and push ahead with vaccinations.
As for inoculations, thanks to the dedicated efforts of local governments and medical practitioners, the total number of vaccine doses administered has far exceeded 60 million. Around 80 percent of the elderly have received their first dose, with 50 percent receiving their second, and 30 percent of the total population have received their first dose.
The proportion of elderly people to new infections in Tokyo stood within the range of 20 to 30 percent at the beginning of this year, but it has dropped to around 4 percent, according to the latest data. We believe that vaccinations have helped to curb the increase in the numbers of patients with severe symptoms and deaths.
Up until now, we have provided maximum support to ensure that we can administer vaccines, which we obtained in a global race, to many people at the earliest possible time, in order to protect the lives and health of the public, and thanks to everyone’s cooperation, vaccinations have progressed at a faster pace than expected.
Under these circumstances, local governments, especially those that have made progress in inoculations, have concerns about vaccine supply in the time to come, and some stopped accepting new reservations. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience caused. Nevertheless, this does not mean that vaccination efforts have come to a halt, and we will distribute vaccines so that we can administer 1.2 million doses per day, the figure far surpassing our initial target.
To this end, as I mentioned in a press conference last week, we have decided to deliver a greater number of vaccines to municipalities that have made strides in vaccination efforts and showed local governments prospects for the specific number of vaccine doses to be distributed in the first half of August two days ago.
We will continue to share the supply and demand for vaccines with local governments and work closely together to proceed with vaccinations in a well-planned manner.
Although we retracted our requests to liquor wholesalers and financial institutions by yesterday, we apologize to dining and drinking establishments, liquor wholesalers and retailers, and other stakeholders for causing anxiety and confusion.
As experts point out, while suspending the serving of alcohol at dining and drinking establishments is the key to measures against infection, this is an issue of life or death for the workers at such establishments. In light of these points, we will continue to carefully listen to the opinions of various stakeholders, including these establishments, and strive to create a necessary environment by, for example, swiftly rendering the payments in exchange for their cooperation.
I ask each minister to continue to collaborate closely with municipalities and make all-out efforts to implement preventive measures against infection and vaccinations.”
