TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio instructed a panel of ministers on Friday to draw up an outline by June of measures to fight hay fever in next year’s pollen season and over the next 10 years.

The panel, chaired by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, held its first meeting on the day. Its members include the agriculture, environment and land ministers.

Kishida has described hay fever as “a social problem in our country.” At Friday’s meeting, he said, “The issue is not something that can be resolved overnight. It requires long-term efforts.”

The prime minister identified three pillars for measures against hay fever: cutting down cedars and replacing them with trees that emit less pollen, improving pollen forecasts using supercomputers and artificial intelligence, and improving the way hay fever is medically treated.

The panel will work to come up with concrete measures before the government compiles its annual basic economic and fiscal policy guidelines in June.

“Cedars that emit less pollen account for less than one pct (of Japan’s planted cedars),” agriculture minister Tetsuro Nomura told a press conference the same day. “We will focus on replacing cedars.”

JIJI Press