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In another sign that global concerns over a pandemic have not lessened, Japan's Health Ministry is seeking nearly a 10-fold increase in their pandemic budget for 2009.
They are asking for nearly 60 Billion yen (535 million US Dollars), up from only 6.3 Billion yen this year.
With a population of 127 million people, this works out to just over $3 per person. Not a lot to spend on a national security issue of this importance.
Ministry to seek 59.8 bil. yen to fight possible new flu pandemic
Saturday 23rd August, 06:11 AM JST
TOKYO —
Japan’s health ministry will seek 59.8 billion yen in the budget for fiscal 2009 to prevent a possible outbreak of a new human flu pandemic, especially one linked to bird flu, ministry sources said Friday.
The sum, which is much larger than the 6.3 billion yen allocated in the budget for the current fiscal year, will be included in the ministry’s budgetary requests for fiscal 2009 starting April 1.
Japan's government has been very proactive in pandemic preparedness, acquiring antivirals and pre-pandemic vaccines, while the private sector in Japan has been less inclined to prepare.
This article, from July of this year, shows how far some firms have to go to prepare for a pandemic.
Many, apparently, have no plans to prepare.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Many public firms not ready for flu pandemic
Kyodo News
A majority of listed companies surveyed have devised no countermeasures for a new type of influenza that some fear may develop, a think tank survey showed Wednesday.
According to the InterRisk Research Institute & Consulting Inc. survey, 52 percent of 448 firms surveyed said they have no plans to work out measures against a possible new influenza pandemic for which people have little immunity.
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