At a meeting of LDP executives that was held a short while ago, I made a statement that I would not run for the LDP presidential election. I had concluded that I should devote myself to the response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

For the past one year since I became the Prime Minister, I have made utmost efforts to tackle various issues facing the country, primarily the countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahead of the LDP presidential election, scheduled to start on the 17th of this month, I initially planned to run myself, but eventually realized that working on both the countermeasures against COVID-19 and election campaigning would require so much energy. I thought to myself that I will not be able to balance both and I had to make a choice between the two. Thus, I concluded that I should rather focus on efforts to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 because I had repeatedly said I would do so as a promise to the people.

As prime minister, it is my responsibility to protect the lives and livelihoods of the people, so I will devote myself to accomplishing this task.

I would like to hold another press conference next week. Thank you.