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Japan PM vows to 'prepare for worst' to deal with Omicron
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IANS | 06 Dec, 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday vowed to "prepare for
the worst" in dealing with the Omicron Covid-19 variant, while still
promoting the economic recovery of the country.
In his policy
speech at the beginning of an extraordinary parliamentary session,
Kishida also voiced hope for further debate on constitutional revision
and pledged to conclude a sweeping review of security policy in about a
year, reports Xinhua news agency.
Although the Covid-19 situation
in Japan has significantly improved, Kishida warned of "new risks
including the confirmation of the Omicron variant across a number of
countries".
"We will maintain our stance of being cautious and
prudent," the Prime Minister said, adding Japan has added 10,000
hospital beds for Covid patients since the summer and would possibly
approve the use of an oral treatment drug later this month.
He
said the digital certificates for people who have been fully vaccinated
against Covid-19 would be ready to give out on December 20 by the
government.
Referring to a decision to ban new entries of
foreigners into Japan due to concerns over the Omicron variant, Kishida
said he is "ready to accept criticism that I'm being too cautious before
we have an adequate grasp of the situation".
Moreover, the Prime
Minister pledged to support businesses and workers adversely affected
by the impact of the pandemic through an enormous stimulus package,
funded mostly with a record 36 trillion yen ($319 billion) fiscal 2021
supplementary budget expected to be passed by Parliament during the
extraordinary session.
Regarding the constitutional reform,
Kishida emphasized that lawmakers "have a responsibility to seriously
consider" whether or not to amend the supreme law.
"In a time of
rapid change, we should spark wide debate among the public on whether
the current Constitution is fitting for today," he said.
Kishida
said the government would "drastically" increase tax incentives for
firms to raise wages in response to his promise of achieving his "new
capitalism", which not only sparks growth in the Japanese economy but
also redistributes wealth to the middle class.
In order to
promote digital technology, he said his government would lay underwater
cables around Japan to form a "superhighway" for high-speed internet.
The extraordinary parliamentary session started Monday afternoon and would run through December 21.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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