this is a special edition of "newsline," about a news conference from japan's prime minister. he is faced with rising coronavirus cases and rolling out measures for the upcoming holidays. the doctor is on hand with an expert point of view. japan has seen a continuous rise in infections, even as major cities called on restaurants and bars to shorten business hours over the past month.

on thursday authorities recorded a number of record cases. >> translator: we would like to start with the prime minister, first the prime minister's speech will be followed by answering. >> translator: i would like to state a status quo to the general public as to i would like to request to all of you to take measures. the virus, the fight against the virus started a year ago. about a year ago, and this is the first winter after the outbreak, and around the metropolitan area, the number of infection is exceedingly 3,000 per day. it is increasing.

and it is some people. first, i would like to thank all of the frontline people, who i respect and give my gratitude. i have been given the priority to protect the people, and we provide the subsidy of predicting of the employment and also has been that the measure was encouraged to continue with the business operations, and there's 2.9% of the unemployment

compared to other countries, and this is out performing other countries in the unemployment rate. also that teleworking was encouraged, and i would like to state my gratitude to among the people. thank you very much for working with the government. and my joining our friends at a dinner party, i should have discouraged the people t gather in big groups and i violated this. i take this opportunity to deeply apologize to all of you. and in this month, the number of

people out in tokyo has not declined so significantly, so that is it inevitable even that we cannot control that infection so from tomorrow to the year end, a new year, i would like to appease you to cooperate with the government to control the infection. we want to make sure that people quietly spend the holidays. i believe you may have opportunities to gather together with friends and family but we must ask you to refrain from gathering in large numbers. we need to contain the virus during this year end and new year holiday, so i would like to ask you all for your cooperation. during the holidays, of course, the medical system, medical services will be reduced and we

do not want to heighten the burden on medical services, and for that we need the cooperation of each and every one of you. doctors and nurses will be receiving subsidies, 15,000 for doctors and also for nurses, and 27 million yen has been budgeted as support for the medical services. people at the front line, we want to support them. and 20,000 beds, for each bed we will be providing 15 million yen in subsidies, and by using this money we want to increase the number of beds to deal with the coronavirus. we want to also improve the

treatment of the people who are working in the medical system, so people that need treatment can be treated. during this time, the experts have been pointing out that there's a high risk of infection during eating out, about 60% of those who were infected and where the infection roots are not known may haveeen infected while eating out in restaurants and bars and i believe the way to reduce the number of infections is to shorten the business hours of bars and restaurants. i do understand the hardship these establishments will be facing, however we need to have your cooperation so that we can go back to normalcy as soon as

possible, and we will provide subsidies. it has been doubledo 600,000 to 2 million yen. no interests, no securities, loans, up to 40 million will be provided to businesses therefore please utilize this and we need to have your cooperation. also for shorter hours at bars and restaurants we will have subsidies, and we may want to have penalties so we can take more effect i-measures and for that we are considering the revision of the special measures law. however in the task force there have been divided opinions, and others say the restrictions are necessary, and others say the

restrictions on personal rights require caution, and we also are stepping up border control. it's been found there is a new covid variant detected in the uk, and today we have installed a ban for people that have been in the uk and also for foreign nationals who have been in south africa will also be subject to a ban on the entry into japan. as we move forward, we will protect the lives as well as livelihoods of the people here in japan. we will continue to be vigilant about the circumstances overseas, and where necessary we will step up measures and ultimately, decisive, of course, in controlling the infection of our vaccines. in the west, inoculations have

begun, and clinical trials have also began here in japan, and in february it's expected the data will come from the clinical trials. we will study the safety as well as efficacy. screening will be conducted based on the safety and efficacy, and vaccines will be approved and will be delivered to those that need the vaccine. ministries and agencies will work as one. to allow this to happen, as to the go-to campaign as of this year, 70 million people have made use of this campaign of which only 340 have been detected as confirmed positive cases. we believe the campaign has contributed to the regional economy. based on the advice of the experts, the campaign has

temporarily been suspended. i have decided to deliver on this decision. in order to step up control nationwide i have decided to suspend the campaign nationwide. we have received support and words of encouragement from the local communities. as a result, we have also received criticism as well as concerns and we have also been reprimanded that these measures are very difficult to understand. i also believe that i have not been able to provide ample explanation to the general public. and into the future, therefore, i would like to communicate into a very elaborate way in the future, i will work very hard on this. after i assume this post, this

is the 100th day, and during the presidential election of the ldp i promise to you, first of all, i would like to control and do everything possible to contain the new strain of virus. also our outstanding issues, green society, digitalization, and also couples have more babies, and during these measures, i would like to give the country my very best, and for the infertility next month, we will expand the subsidy, and from the fiscal 2021, the medical insurance will be covered and it will come down to about half of the price of the

digitalization, and so for the bright futures, to step into the brighter future, first we have to control the infection or pandemic. i would like to control so no more infection will expand. also in april there was an emergency statement and also for the expansion of the infection in the summer, i asked for your cooperation every since the summer and for predicting you and your loved ones and,milies start the inoculation, we would like to maintain the level of treatment, so please be -- spend that holiday season in a subdued, controlled and quiet manner in order to protect family members and loved ones, gather in very small groups in a very quietst

possible we would like to go back to normalcy before the abandonment, and i would thraoeulike to ask for the cooperation from each and one of you. >> thank you. now i would like to open this door for the questioning and answering. our prime minister and the doctor will respond to your questions. doctor, please come up to the stage. >> translator: first of all, i would like to ask two of the

broadcasters to pose a question of the first two, and come to the microphone and identify yourself to the prime minister and doctor. you go first. >> translator: thank you very much. my name is otto from tbs. mr. prime minister, my question is related to the coronavirus. the government said this is going to be the make or break three weeks and ask that the people control that, so however the pandemic is expanding and the people said you are too slow to suspend the travel initiative, and you said during the presentation that you reflected upon and apologized on the large group of gathering dinner party you participated in, and what do you think are

the analysis and the reasons of infections is not stopping or slowing down, and should you have done something different? and also the revision of the special measures, and what is your reason for revising the special measures. >> translator: concerning the measure of the special revisions act, it's exactly as i already have said, in the government's sub committee of discussions will be made and we will like to proceed. about the new the reasons i have the doctor with me, so i believe i would like to ask him to answer that,

but as for the government, i have been taking measures against the new as for the government, i have been taking measures against the new coronavirus, but this is unprecedented for us. we need to make difficult decisions on a daily basis. concerning the go-to travel campaign, as i said at the outset, take part in this. however, only 300 or so people tested positive after the travel. but after reaching stage 3 from the subcommittee, including dr. omi, they have recommended that this campaign be suspended

temporarily and, therefore, for tokyo, osaka, and hokkaido, we suspended the program for a while, but then after that i have decided that for the year-end and new year holidays, we will suspend the program nationwide, so that is the decision that i've made. and as i said earlier, for the revision of the special act, it seems that bars and restaurants may be the highest risk area and i would like to ask dr. omi to answer. but we have to ask bars and restaurants to shorten their business hours, but at the same time we want to have -- provide subsidies as well as penalties

in one set so that the measures that we take will be more effective. and we will be asking the subcommittee to discuss this, and we will follow the recommendations to be made in making our final decisions. dr. omi, please. >> the question you pose is why is the spread of the infection not being curbed. i would like to offer some remarks. today in hokkaido and also osaka, intensive steps have been taken. and because of these measures in hokkaido, there is a declining trend that is observed and also in osaka. the pace of increase have slowed

down. it is showing signs of slowing down and meanwhile, however, in tokyo as you are well aware, cases of infection continue to rise. and the infection is also seeping out to the adjacent prefectures as well and, therefore, tokyo, saitama, these prefectures plus tokyo, we found the infection rate is about 50% of the entire nation and has -- in the metropolitan area, it is crucial that we curb the increase, otherwise we will not be able to see the infection, the pace of infection decline nationwide. and as the year end approaches, the flow of people will be controlled to a certain extent. however, i would like to emphasize here year-end and the beginning of the year, after the holidays, economic and social

activities will become very, very active, which will mean that there is a possibility that there will be a resurgence of the spread of infection and, therefore, it is important that we control the infection at is point in time. after the u.n. holidays are over and we see a resurgence, it is not easy to curb the spread. it will be time consuming. we will not be able to curb the spread in a span of a week or so and, therefore, we need to take action now. we need to take whatever it takes with the national government and also local municipalities and businesses as well as the general public. we will need to work together as one to curb the infection. allow me to say a few more.

what needs to be done, april, when the state of emergency has been declared, there are two points apart from april. april we talked about reducing the flow traffic to 70% or 80%, which will mean that we'll be reducing the opportunity for people to be able to contact. but based on the six months' worth of experience, and because of the experience, we are now able to come to grips with what is crucially important. so that is one thing that sets us apart. second difference is that many people comply with the request of the national government and local governments. however, that -- sometimes the practice doesn't help us, and so that while i think that the response is not as strong as before, there are three key

points. and we have to attack these three points intensely. one is that traditionally you have said that five -- that aspects shsh shunned. that is, that the straubts and the that is, that the restaurants and drinking places are a high point of confrontation. and two is four or less people gather. and please gather with family members and the friends who you are with all the time. and number three, the third aspect is that when the national leaders and the local -- the government leaders should be the role models and keep sending the clear messages and the specific measures to the people. so these are the key points as

should be observed by the private sector and public sector. if we are successful, it is difficult -- it is possible for us to turn the curve. one more question. >> that wraps up our coverage of the news conference with japan's prime minister. the head of the government advisory panel omi. here's a look at what the weather will be like in your part of the world. ♪ ♪ ♪

shs ♪ notes ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ and before we go, pope francis celebrated christmas eve mass at vatican city with fewer

participants than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic. ♪ the 84-year-old pontiff led the mass at st. peter's basilica. the event was live streamed on the internet. the number of participants was limited to about 100 this year to prevent infection. they wore masks and practiced social distancing. usually thousands of the catholic faithful attend the midnight mass. two cat cavatican cardinals are reported to have contracted the virus. the country's death toll has topped 70,000, the highest in europe. ♪ and that's the news this

hour. i'm gene otani. for all of us here at "nhk newsline," thanks very much for joining us.