TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged Thursday that the central government will cover all costs for local governments to ensure that every citizen can take coronavirus vaccinations free of charge.

“All necessary expenses will be covered by the state so that differences in financial capability won’t hamper preparations” for the vaccination rollout, Suga said in a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament.

On Thursday, the committee started talks on the central government’s fiscal 2021 draft budget.

In response to a call by ruling Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Hakubun Shimomura for the proactive dissemination of information on inoculations, administrative reform minister Taro Kono, who is in charge of vaccination preparatory work, promised to work on providing “accurate information on the effectiveness and side reactions.”

Kono also suggested that information will be provided mainly through television and newspaper, media familiar to the elderly, who will be given priority in getting vaccinated.

JIJI Press