Japan plans to revise the existing special law for combating the spread of the novel coronavirus to give greater authority to local governments across the country, officials said Sunday.
"A new law is necessary," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on a TV program, as the number of infections has been spiking since the government fully lifted a nationwide state of emergency in May and eased restrictions on business and social activities thereafter.
As prefectural governors have been calling for more power to be given to local governments in their fight against the pandemic, it is the first time that Suga has touched on the need to amend the special measures law against new types of infectious diseases.