Late at night, Prime Minister Naoto Kan held a meeting of the Headquarters for Countermeasures against Avian Influenza at the Prime Minister's Office.

Discussion took place on response measures during the meeting, which followed on the meeting of the Headquarters the previous day and which was convened urgently following the confirmation of a new case of avian influenza in Shintomi Town, Miyazaki Prefecture.

In his opening address, the Prime Minister said, "Unfortunately, a second outbreak – a possibility we were very worried about - has been confirmed. Although the first case was at a farm with about 10,000 chickens, the latest case is at a large complex with over 400,000 chickens. Furthermore, given that there are quite a number of poultry farms nearby, I understand the situation is extremely serious.
We have been taking prompt action, and moving forward, we must set up a more thorough system, and do absolutely everything in our power to stop the spread of this disease. I appeal to all of you to do everything you can to respond to the situation."