All national papers wrote that the Suga administration approved on Tuesday a set of administrative measures designed to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination process, including monetary incentives for clinics to increase the number of shots given and the mobilization of paramedics, medical lab technicians, and pharmacists to administer vaccines. The GOJ also called for the use of telemedicine for pre-vaccination consultations so that people can spend less time at vaccination centers.   

According to Nikkei, the average number of shots given per day nationwide has been about 400,000, some 600,000 short of Prime Minister Suga’s call for 1 million. In order to fill this gap and prevail in what he has described as the “all-out battle” against the virus, the premier is reportedly willing to mobilize all available government resources. He has even reinterpreted the existing regulations to enable medical professionals other than physicians and nurses to administer shots and increase coordination between the central and local governments and medical associations to eliminate bottlenecks.