The government plans to set up a ¥500 billion fund aimed at supporting firms developing vaccines for infectious diseases and new drugs, under the first economic package to be drawn up since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office last week, official sources have said.
Kishida has vowed to strengthen the government’s coronavirus response, as well as Japan’s science and technology. The idea for the fund comes after companies in the nation lagged behind foreign rivals in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, with the country having had to rely on foreign doses.
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