The nation's governors on Saturday asked the government to increase the amount of extraordinary grants made to prefectural governments for funding coronavirus countermeasures.
With infections returning with a vengeance, the National Governors' Association filed the request to increase the grants, which stand at ¥3 trillion ($28 billion) so far, in an urgent proposal it adopted during an online meeting on Japan's response to the pandemic.
The grants are being used to fund measures for improving medical capacity and supporting bars, restaurants and other businesses that suspend operations as requested to slow the spread of the virus.