Emergency Policy and System Design in Japan : In the Context of COVID-19

After the outbreak of COVID-19 was confirmed in China in December 2019, it soon spread globally in early 2020. In Japan, The Act on Special Measures Concerning Countermeasures against the Novel Influenza, first enacted in 2012, has been revised several times. The rate of vaccine doses injected, which experienced a late start, reached the top rank worldwide in November 2021. Thus, the cumulative number of infections and deaths has been maintained at lower level. Many troubles and forbearances have occurred in this process. To prepare for the next wave in early 2022, institutional measures may be needed : the Special Account and the Agency for Health Crisis Management, the Government Bonds without the "redeemable in 60 years" rule, and the Verification Committee for Countermeasures against COVID-19 by the Diet. They could be submitted to the judgement by the future generations.