February 22, 2020

Representatives of the National Governors' Association on February 21 visited the Japanese Communist Party head office in order to ask for cooperation in containing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, handing over a 9-point urgent proposal. The same proposal was submitted to other political parties as well.

JCP Secretariat Head Koike Akira in response to their petition said, "Our party totally agrees to all the nine items called for in your urgent proposal. We will take your proposal seriously and will work together with other political parties to urge the national government to effectively deal with the issue."

The 9-pillar proposal presented by the National Governors' Association calls for: reinforcing the checkup system for early detection of infected persons; enhancing medical structures which can quickly respond to the spread of infection; developing a vaccine promptly and securing medical supplies; providing necessary information and improving systems for medical consultation; presenting a unified policy such as information disclosure on infected patients; strengthening the government's countermeasures in case of emergency; taking thorough frontline measures; and supporting local economies and tourism financially.

The prefectural governors' association also demands that the national government provide the necessary information for local municipalities to take corrective follow-up measures for the passengers who returned home after disembarking from the cruise ship or the government-chartered airplanes.

Koike especially pointed out the need for "direct financial support" because each municipality will have to bear the cost necessary to improve the medical care system for potential infected persons, secure enough number of hospital beds, and purchase protective gears. He also agreed with the governors about the need for information sharing with local governments and municipalities.

Past related articles:
> Japanese gov’t under criticism over its poor handling of new coronavirus outbreak [February 16, 2020]
> Video goes viral showing Tamura urging gov’t to improve anti-epidemic measures in Diet last year [February 13, 2020]
> LDP move to use coronavirus issue to add ‘emergency clause’ to Constitution unacceptable [February 9, 2020]
> JCP Takahashi urges gov’t to provide support to medical facilities to counter new coronavirus cases [February 7, 2020]
> JCP Tokyo assembly members demand strengthening of countermeasures against new coronavirus [February 4, 2020]
> JCP Koike demands countermeasures against new coronavirus [January 28, 2020]