New-flu infections hit 144 in Japan, Aso seeks calm response+

TOKYO, May 18 Kyodo -
(EDS: RECASTING LEAD, 2ND GRAF, 16-17TH GRAF, 22ND GRAF)
The number of new-flu cases in Japan has reached 144 after 48 more infections
were confirmed Monday in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, while many in the area
reported symptoms of the flu in a sign that suggests that the influenza may be
starting to spread on a full scale.

Prime Minister Taro Aso called on the public to remain calm. The spread of the
new H1N1 strain of influenza A has prompted more than 4,000 schools in the two
western Japan prefectures to close or consider closing, affecting more than 1.4
million pupils.
The Japanese government at this stage has no plans to ask people to refrain
from going on outings, holding meetings or scaling down corporate activity, Aso
said at a meeting Monday morning of the government task force on the influenza
epidemic.
The government will begin running television messages as early as Tuesday in
which Aso will call on people to remain calm amid the new-flu outbreak, the
Cabinet Office said.
The ages of those confirmed as infected with the new-flu strain ranged from 5
to 60.
Many of the infections have been found among high school students in the two
prefectures with no record of recent overseas travel, according to the health
ministry and local authorities.
The government task force decided not to upgrade its measures aimed at coping
with the spread of the new flu from the current phase 2, which refers to an
early stage of domestic outbreak.
''Many infected people have received appropriate treatment at an early stage
and recovered,'' Aso said at the meeting. ''I would like all the people in
Japan to act calmly.''
But the prime minister warned that those suffering from chronic diseases such
as diabetes could fall seriously ill if infected with the flu.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said the government will consider
raising its antiflu steps to phase 3 to tackle the spread of the infections
after hearing expert opinion.
The government will upgrade its measures when medical workers fail to detect
links among new-flu transmissions or grasp how the flu is spreading, officials
said, adding none of the infected people in Japan have fallen seriously ill.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, meanwhile, told a press
conference Monday that given that the new flu appears to be no more harmful
than seasonal ones, ''It may be better to switch to a new set of measures
premised on H1N1,'' rather than keep modifying the current action plans based
on a deadly H5N1 virus.
''That's one option, and we must decide within a week,'' during which the
schools in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures are to be temporarily shut to prevent
the spread of infections, he said.
''If the number of patients goes up further, we will consider switching to
recuperation at home for those who are still suspected of being infected or
others who have light symptoms, in order to reserve specialized medical
institutions for those with severe symptoms,'' the health minister said.
Masuzoe added that the government will also work on developing an antidote for
the new flu to prepare for a second outbreak expected in the future.
A total of 4,043 schools in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures had decided on
temporary closures or are considering such closures to prevent further spread
of the disease as of 5 p.m., according to the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology.
Meanwhile, 596 elementary, junior high and high schools in 35 of the country's
47 prefectures have changed their schedules for planned school trips to western
Japan because of the confirmed outbreaks in the region, according to figures
made available to Kyodo News by local and municipal governments. The number
includes cancellations, postponements and changes in destination.
The industry ministry, meanwhile, said Monday it will continue to monitor the
impact of the flu outbreak on corporate activity in Japan.
While ensuring the maintenance of lifelines and a stable supply of daily
necessities, the ministry also started considering possible support for smaller
companies through government-backed loans and other financial aid programs,
Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Harufumi Mochizuki told reporters.
The new flu, which has claimed a total of 76 lives in Mexico, the United
States, Canada and Costa Rica, has been spreading rapidly in western Japan and
has slowly begun to affect daily life in the region.
A subsidiary of West Japan Railway Co., a railway operator commonly known as JR
West, said it will close several kiosks in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, for the time
being because one of its employees has contracted the flu. Kobe city said the
infected employee is a 53-year-old woman who works at a kiosk at JR Sannomiya
Station.
At JR Ibaraki Station, which is close to Kansai Okura Senior High School that
is connected to many new-flu infections, a large number of passengers were seen
wearing masks.
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, a unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Inc., said a female employee in her 20s in charge of asset management at its
Sannomiya branch in Kobe, was confirmed to have contracted the new strain of
influenza A, adding the employee had not traveled abroad lately.
The bank said she had offered consultations to customers at the counter until
last Friday and that it has ordered 60 other workers at the branch not to come
to work and to stand by at home.
Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido met with Masuzoe to discuss the central government's
financial aid for municipalities tackling the new-flu outbreak.
Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, who also met Masuzoe later in the day, said in Osaka
the health minister should lead national efforts to combat the disease.
Hashimoto, who issued a warning against a flu epidemic in an emergency press
conference held in the early hours of Monday, urged junior high and high school
students to stay at home during the seven-day school closure period.
Meanwhile, the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, has told students who
visited Kobe on a school trip not to come to school for about a week.
Hyogo Gov. Ido said the measure is ''excessive,'' but Kitakyushu Mayor Kenji
Kitahashi told a press conference Monday the step is reasonable as it would
prevent the spread of new-flu infections in the southwestern Japan city.
The total infection figure includes four cases discovered during onboard
quarantine inspections at Narita airport among a group of Japanese students and
teachers who flew home earlier this month after a trip to Canada via the United
States.
Nearly 9,000 people in 41 countries and regions had been confirmed as infected
with the new flu as of Monday Japan time, including the 76 deaths.
==Kyodo