JCP sets up task force to deal with bird flu

The Japanese Communist Party assembled its Dietmembers on March 2 to set up a task force to carry out nationwide surveys of avian flu to help prevent the spread of the disease and compensate for damages.

The task force is a reorganization of the existing JCP parliamentary committee dealing with mad cow disease (BSE) and bird flu. Led by JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi, the task force will respond to the rapid spread of bird flu.

In its March 2 meeting, the task force decided to carry out surveys and representations in all the prefectures including Tokyo and Hokkaido, and to revise the Infectious Livestock Disease Prevention Law to require stock breeders to report any incidence of outbreaks as well as to legally compensate them for damages.

Kami Tomoko, House of Councilors member and the acting chair of the task force, said, "To urgently arrest the spread of the epidemic, the JCP will work in all prefectures without waiting for government action." (end)