Govt. To Seek Expert Advice On Event Restrictions
Japan's minister in charge of the coronavirus response says the government will seek expert advice on whether to further ease the restrictions on public events.
Nishimura Yasutoshi took up the issue during a video conference with the leaders of three major business organizations.
Currently, the maximum number of attendees at an event is limited to 5,000. The government plans to lift this restriction on August 1.
Nishimura said the government will carefully make a decision after hearing the opinions of experts at this week's meeting of a government subcommittee on the coronavirus.
Nishimura noted the number of cases remains at a high level. He said that if restrictions on the number of participants are eased, people may gather before and after the events.
Koga Nobuyuki, the chairman of the Board of Councillors of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, said the coronavirus outbreak has caused a significant delay in plans for digitization. He called for speeding up the process and drastic reforms.
The chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mimura Akio, said small and medium-sized companies are doing their best to secure jobs, but they may face difficulty if second and third waves occur.
He asked the government to create an environment where people and businesses can step up their activities without being overly fearful.
The chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, Sakurada Kengo, said the central and local governments also need to provide information on the ages of people who contract the virus and the places where they became infected. He said this information should be provided quickly in an easily understood format.
