The government plans to revise a number of administrative procedures, including the use of seals and face-to-face interactions, to prevent infections of the new coronavirus.
The revisions are necessary to implement a package of emergency economic measures, and the government will also consider applying these changes in other areas.
At Monday's meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to advise Seigo Kitamura, state minister for regulatory reform, to discuss the policy at the government's Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform.
According to a person related to the government, the procedures for utilizing support steps such as subsidies or benefits, which are included in the emergency economic measures, call for seals or face-to-face interviews in some cases.
Employees who come in to affix seals to documents such as applications, or engage in face-to-face over-the-counter procedures, those actions can increase the risk of infection. The government will therefore consider alternatives to seals and person-to-person interactions through a revision of laws and regulations.
The government has set a goal to reduce person-to-person contact by 80%, and called for self-restraint on outdoor movements, increasing the usage of telecommuting and other methods of shelter-in-place capability.
A fiscal 2020 supplementary budget bill to finance the stimulus package will be enacted on Thursday. The government decided to push forward the revision of application procedures.
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