TOKYO: Japan has not yet been engulfed in a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Monday.

“At the moment, we don’t find (coronavirus infections) to have become another nationwide big wave, or a fourth wave,” Suga told a House of Councillors committee meeting.

The prime minister stressed, however, “We need to respond with a strong sense of vigilance.”

Shigeru Omi, who chairs a government advisory panel on the pandemic, told the Upper House committee that Tokyo could face a similar situation to the western city of Osaka, where pre-emergency measures were invoked over the pandemic on Monday.

Referring to a revised pandemic relief program for eating and drinking establishments, Suga said the government will continue to fully support businesses and jobs while listening to operators of such establishments.

He noted that the unemployment rate in Japan’s restaurant and bar industry is the lowest among developed economies amid the global pandemic.

Also at the Upper House committee meeting, Suga said the government is preparing to submit promptly a bill to raise the retirement age for national government employees in stages, after a similar bill was scrapped last year.

The government now plans to exclude a special clause to delay the retirement of senior public prosecutors, which has drawn controversy.

On the proposed establishment of a new government agency for children, the prime minister said he expects the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to consider the matter while keeping eyes on the country’s future.

JIJI Press