The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, recently held the 50th meeting of the Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, the participants discussed the response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"Coronavirus variants thought to be highly infectious have been confirmed in numerous countries around the world, and some of them have also been detected in Japan from those who have returned from overseas. In response, we reinforced our border control measures this past weekend and beginning today we suspended in principle the new entry of foreign nationals from all countries and regions.

With regard to these coronavirus variants, there are three points that I want the citizens to know. First is its high degree of transmissibility. According to the UK government’s assessment, the new variant in the UK may be up to 1.7 times more infectious than the one we have been battling until now. Some experts point out that in the UK, many versions of novel corona viruses have been replaced by this new variant.

Second is on the effectiveness of vaccines. At this point in time, as far as we know, there is no evidence showing that the vaccines currently being given overseas do not work on the new variant. Third, preventive measures against infection remain fundamentally the same as the ones we have been using until now", said the Prime Minister.