Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed his intention to implement all possible measures against the novel coronavirus in his first press conference of the year, recognizing that the administration's handling of the pandemic will influence the outcome of the House of Councilors election this summer.
"We will also be prepared for a worst-case scenario of community-acquired infections' spreading rapidly," Kishida said on Tuesday, announcing a shift in policy from one of containing the spread of infections to preventing such situations as the collapse of medical services in anticipation of a possible increase in the number of COVID-19 patients.
