Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura on Wednesday ordered the health ministry to make preparations for a possible upgrade of the World Health Organization's pandemic alert for a new strain of influenza to the highest level of 6.
Meeting with Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe at the ministry, Kawamura said, "If the phase is upgraded to 6, Japan has to do everything it can. Japan's crisis management will be put to the test."
He also called on the ministry to continue making all-out efforts to block the entry of the virus into Japan, such as conducting health checks on passengers at airports, and to be fully prepared in the event that a person infected with the new influenza is found in the country.