Speech by the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, at the First Extraordinary Session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, 2020

In opening the first extraordinary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly in 2020, I would like to speak about our response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On March 9, Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member Mr. Koga Toshiaki passed away. On March 21, Tokyo Honorable Citizen Ms. Miyagi Mariko passed away. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to their families. May they rest in peace.
I would also like to extend my deepest condolences to the families of those who passed away from COVID-19. May they rest in peace.

Using our full resources during the next one month

Ten days have passed since the Tokyo Metropolitan Government adopted emergency measures following the declaration of a state of emergency by the national government on April 7. I am requesting the people of Tokyo to stay at home to all extent possible in order to greatly reduce person-to-person contact and curb the spread of infection. I have requested various facilities to suspend or curb operations from April 11 to May 6. Nothing is more important than the lives and health of the people of Tokyo and we must also protect at all costs the healthcare settings that support them. Under this strong conviction, we quickly advanced negotiations with the national government, which led to promptly requesting a broad range of facilities to suspend or curb business operations early on. I am deeply grateful to the citizens of Tokyo and business operators for their cooperation.

Experts have indicated that in order to bring infections under control within around a month, it is necessary to reduce person-to-person contact by 80 percent. Protect yourself. Protect your family and the people you care for. Protect our society. To do that, the fight against this virus must not drag on. We will devote all our resources during this one month to somehow realize an 80 percent reduction in contact, and I hope to overcome this difficult situation as soon as possible together with the members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the citizens of Tokyo. I ask for your continued understanding and cooperation.

Supplementary budget compilation and ordinance enactment by discretionary action

Next, I would like to report on discretionary action taken to compile the supplementary budget and enact an ordinance for the purpose of preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus disease. On March 31, I took discretionary action to add 25 billion yen to the general account budget for fiscal 2019. This was done in order to raise the loan goals and meet the demand for funds as there were far more applications than we had initially anticipated for emergency loans to SMEs affected by COVID-19.

In addition, on April 7, a supplementary budget bill for the fiscal 2020 general account for the amount of 23.2 billion yen was prepared and enacted also by discretionary action. These measures are designed to respond promptly to urgent issues, centering on the enhancement of the provision of health care, such as strengthening the outpatient consultation system, supporting the securing of hospital beds, and making use of lodging facilities for the treatment of patients with mild symptoms, as well as subsidizing the extension of opening hours of after-school clubs for primary school children.

Furthermore, in response to the declaration of a state of emergency by the Japanese government, we have enacted a new ordinance on countermeasures for COVID-19. In order to further strengthen response to this infectious disease, this ordinance sets down the responsibilities of the metropolitan government, the people of Tokyo, and businesses, and also establishes a council to investigate and deliberate matters from an expert perspective. In accordance with this ordinance, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will implement countermeasures appropriately and promptly, while asking residents and businesses for their efforts to prevent the spread of this disease and to cooperate with the measures taken by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and to not stigmatize COVID-19 patients or those around them.

All of these measures were enacted by discretionary action in order to take appropriate actions in a timely manner. I ask for the approval of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

Part 4 of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Emergency Measures

The day before yesterday, in order to move forward with our countermeasures, we announced the fourth round of Emergency Measures based on the opinions of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, municipalities, business community, and experts. The battle we have been waging against this virus has had a serious impact on the lives of Tokyo residents and business activities. It is the role of public administration to take proactive measures and we will boldly take actions to stop the spread of the disease, and support residents and businesses.

These emergency measures are structured on three pillars. The first of these measures is to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In order to prevent the spread of infection, we will take a wide range of measures, including the establishment of a payment system for SMEs that fully cooperate with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's call for the suspension or shortening of operations, the strengthening of the virus testing system and the system for accepting patients, and financial support for municipalities.

The second is strengthening the safety net to support economic activities and people's lives in Tokyo. Among other measures to dispel the concerns of Tokyo residents and businesses, we will strengthen our support for SMEs in terms of cash flow and business continuity, provide temporary housing for those who have lost their homes, and support the municipalities in their efforts to prevent pregnant women from becoming infected.

And the third is efforts to promote social structural change and overcome the crisis we are facing. In order to maintain social life while reducing contact between people, we will improve online education and health care, and promote telework to not only overcome the current crisis, but also improve quality of life and develop high value-added industries.

Among these emergency measures, in order to expeditiously advance those that should be immediately implemented, we have submitted a 357.4 billion yen supplementary budget proposal to this extraordinary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. Including this proposed budget, the TMG’s funding for the emergency measures will amount to around 800 billion yen, making the relief package the largest ever in the TMG’s history, well surpassing those compiled during the 2008 global financial crisis and in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. It is said that Japan is facing its greatest national crisis since World War II. The TMG will work as one and devote our efforts to advancing the emergency measures in order to overcome this crisis situation in cooperation with our residents and businesses.

Furthermore, we have submitted to this extraordinary session of the Metropolitan Assembly a proposed Ordinance on Special Measures for Protecting the Rights and Interests of People Affected by the Spread of COVID-19 and Other Matters, which stipulates the extension of expiration dates concerning their administrative rights and interests and exemption from administrative obligations unable to be performed before deadlines. Your deliberation is highly appreciated.

Nothing is more important than residents’ lives and health

Ozaki Haruo, president of the Tokyo Medical Association, recently declared a state of medical emergency as the “health care system is at risk of collapsing,” calling on every Tokyo resident to refrain from going out. This is an earnest plea from the frontlines of health care. Each of us must take this to heart, and thoroughly engage in actions to keep us from becoming infected or infecting others. Do not make non-essential or non-urgent outings. In case you have to go out, avoid the three Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, and close conversation), maintain 2 meters’ distance between people, and be sure to practice handwashing and cough etiquette. I strongly request that you uphold these practices.

I will say it again and again. There is nothing more important than the lives and health of Tokyo’s citizens. To ensure that, doctors, nurses, and other medical staff are working extremely hard on the frontlines in the fight against this infectious disease. So are people engaged in essential work to maintain our social lives, such as the supply of daily necessities and the logistics that supports it. They are working hard every day to fulfill their missions. The TMG personnel are also making strenuous efforts in their respective jobs. And, despite being put to tremendous inconvenience, the citizens and businesses have been extremely cooperative with us. As the governor of Tokyo, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and utmost respect to everyone.

When Goto Shinpei, who served as the seventh mayor of the city of Tokyo, was a Minister of Home Affairs bureaucrat, he implemented a large-scale border quarantine over a short period of time on about 230,000 soldiers returning from cholera-plagued China after the Sino-Japanese War. While coming under heavy criticism then, Goto resolutely carried through his mission and prevented the spread of the infection in the country. As the current governor of Tokyo, I am determined to take the lead and devote my energies so that Tokyo can come together to quickly overcome this difficult situation. Once again, I would like to ask for the understanding and cooperation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members and the people of Tokyo.

Including the matters to which I have already referred, a total of eight bills have been presented to this extraordinary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, including two budget bills and two proposed ordinances, to be deliberated among the Assembly members.

This concludes my speech to the Assembly. Let’s overcome this difficult situation together. Thank you.

• This speech is also available in other languages. (日本語／中文／한국어)