Chairman Kobayashi’s Comments on Expanded State of Emergency

August 19, 2021

The Japanese government has expanded the state of emergency from the current six prefectures to seven more prefectures. It has also been extended until September 12. Due to the rapid spread of the more contagious Delta variant, the daily case count exceeded 20,000 for the first time at the end of last week and the number of seriously ill patients has been increasing rapidly. In view of this critical situation, I believe the government’s decision was unavoidable.

I call on the government to acknowledge that Japan’s stressed healthcare system now falls within the scope of disaster medical care, particularly in the greater Tokyo area, and to show strong leadership in rapidly building an adequate healthcare system in close cooperation with local authorities and medical institutions. Specifically, this will involve securing additional hospital beds, expanding medical services for people being treated at home, increasing the number of overnight treatment facilities, and establishing a system for administering newly approved drugs. The government should also continue to do its utmost to secure and promptly supply vaccines and steadily vaccinate Japan’s working community.

Up to now, clusters have typically been traced back to restaurants, but Japan is now experiencing a spate of infections that are originating from other places. It is more important than ever that citizens across the country appreciate the gravity of this crisis and take all measures possible to help prevent further spread of the virus. Effective measures to thin out crowd numbers and curb the movement of people must be taken. Furthermore, the COVID-19 threat has been exacerbated by the spread of more contagious variants, so if we hope to mitigate this threat, we will need to take the correct legal steps and otherwise ensure that our emergency responses are appropriate. All of these matters must be addressed urgently.

In close cooperation with the government, all members of the JFTC shall remain dedicated to preventing the spread of infections. In addition to promoting telecommuting and online meetings, we shall continue to help make vaccinations more easily and readily available in the workplace.