Yasutoshi Nishimura, the state minister in charge of economic revitalization, responds to questions on Dec. 16 at the Lower House Cabinet Committee. (Kotaro Ebara)
The “decisive” three-week period for bringing the COVID-19 situation under control ended, and the government has admitted defeat.
“Unfortunately, there has been no declining trend” in new infections, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the economic revitalization minister who is also the government’s point man in dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic, said on Dec. 16, the end of that three-week period.
Government officials had said the period would be critical for halting the spread in novel coronavirus infections, and they deployed a concentrated package of measures. But the numbers around Japan have kept rising.