"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)
Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] Press Conference by the Prime Minister on Considering Lifting the Declaration of the State of Emergency and Other Matters

[Place]
[Date] March 17, 2021
[Source] Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet
[Notes] Provisional Translation
[Full text]

(On lifting the declaration of the state of emergency)

I have confirmed the situation through talks I have held with the relevant ministers. We are heading in the direction of lifting the declaration of the state of emergency, which reaches its deadline on the 21st, and tomorrow we will make a final decision after listening to the views of the experts on the advisory committee.

(On the number of cases of new infections in Tokyo today)

In any event, I intend to listen to the views of the experts on the advisory committee, including regarding such matters.

(On the state of a rebound in infections)

Today I listened at length to what was said by the advisory board members of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and also received a proposal from them. Tomorrow, they will propose to the Advisory Committee that we head in the direction of lifting the declaration.

(On why the Prime Minister decided on a course of lifting the declaration at this juncture)

It is not a matter of "why" but rather that there are figures for each stage, which we have been clarifying to the public until now. It is a matter of the number of cases of new infections and the hospital bed occupancy rate having come into alignment with lifting the declaration.

(On the risk of the number of new infections increasing as a result of lifting the declaration)

As for that, needless to say, we intend to take countermeasures and response measures going forward in order to reliably prevent a rebound.

(On whether it is possible to prevent a rebound upon lifting the declaration of the state of emergency)

It is a fact that numbers have realistically dropped by roughly 80 percent since the state of emergency was declared, and my understanding is that currently, the numbers are holding steady or climbing slightly.

(On the Prime Minister's assessment of the past two weeks)

As I said just now, we were in an extremely severe situation with the hospital bed occupancy rate right around 50 percent at the time, but I believe we have decidedly cleared that.

(On the review of the social networking service "LINE" being used within the government)

We are not undertaking a review; rather, we are confirming the facts.