Abe: "G7 Leaders to Discuss COVID-19 Cooperation in Virtual Meeting Tonight"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) will hold a video conference at 11 p.m. on the 16th (Korean time) to discuss cooperation related to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to NHK and other broadcasts, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at the House of Councillors Budget Committee on the same day that an emergency video call meeting among the G7 leaders regarding COVID-19 "will be held from 11 p.m. today," adding, "We must cooperate with countries around the world to respond. We will join forces to overcome this crisis."

Prime Minister Abe stated, "Due to the spread of (COVID-19), not only the Japanese economy but also the global economy is being severely affected," and added, "We want to carefully monitor global economic trends, consider various possibilities, and implement necessary and sufficient economic and fiscal policies." He continued, "We want the government and the ruling party to refine the message that we will face this with determination, without being bound by previous ideas."

Furthermore, he expressed concern that as jobs disappear, there may be cases where even public utility charges such as electricity bills become difficult to afford, and announced that allowances for people who are greatly anxious due to a significant decrease in income will be finalized within this week.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.