Press Conference

Press Conference by the Defense Minister (08:45-08:47 A.M. April 28, 2009): Press Conference by the Defense Minister (Doorstepping)
Time & Date: 08:45-08:47 A.M. April 28, 2009
Place: In front of the Cabinet Meeting Room in the House

(This is a provisional translation of an announcement by the Defense Minister and the abstract of the Q&A session at the subsequent press conference for reference purpose only)
The original full text is in Japanese.

1. Announcements

None.

2. Questions and Answers

Question:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the pandemic alert level to Phase 4 for New-Type Influenza. How do you take this, and how will the Ministry of Defense respond to the situation?

Minister:
The Government of Japan has established the Headquarters for Countermeasures against New-Type Influenza. Based on the basic response policy decided by the headquarters, the Ministry of Defense will consider specific countermeasures in line with the Ministry of Defense Program on New-Type Influenza Countermeasures, while sharing information and coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies.

Question:
What are the specific tasks of the Ministry of Defense?

Minister:
I think that we need to conduct various reviews on our response to the situation.

(For the remainder of the press conference, please refer to the Japanese version.)