Japan Lower House Passes Infectious Disease Law Revision

From Jiji

November 8 2022

TOKYO – Japan’s House of Representatives passed on Tuesday a bill to revise the infectious disease prevention law to better prepare for possible future crises caused by such diseases.

At a plenary meeting, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, approved the bill by a majority vote with support mainly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

The bill, including a new rule obliging key hospitals to secure beds, is expected to be enacted during the current extraordinary Diet session running until December, after being sent to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber.

Under the revised law, prefectural governments would compile plans to tackle infectious diseases, including the numbers of hospital beds to be secured. All medical institutions would be obliged to accept talks with prefectural governments to form related agreements.

Big hospitals would also be obliged to provide medical services, including so-called fever outpatient services for people with suspected symptoms and support for other institutions.