Prime Minister Naoto Kan held the eighth meeting of the Headquarters against Foot-and-Mouth Disease at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister delivered an address, saying, "What must be done first of all is to prevent the disease from spreading, for which I intend to make the utmost effort. It has been reported that the slaughtering and burial of infected and suspected animals which were spreading the disease was completed on June 24. I have heard there have been no new suspected cases in the past 10 days, which I perceive to be a very good sign. However, we must not relax our vigilance at this stage. We must swiftly slaughter vaccinated animals. I ask the relevant ministries to tackle the issue in a thorough manner.

Moreover, in the event of a new outbreak, it is important that all prefectures be prepared to take the same response taken by the Cabinet for the early containment of the disease in Miyakonojo City and Hyuga City, which was based on the experience of Ebino City. I expect the thorough implementation of slaughtering within 24 hours after diagnosis, disinfection work targeting passenger vehicles as well, and other measures in line with the newly created manual, in order to ensure a flawless response. Furthermore, I ask for an appropriate response with regard to providing accurate information so as to not cause an overreaction to foot-and-mouth disease."