Japan is ready to mobilize the whole country and provide all assistance possible to China in combating the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) outbreak, heavyweights of the ruling camp said on Friday.
Toshihiro Nikai and Tetsuo Saito, the secretary generals of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito, made the remarks in a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou.
Noting that China is making all-out efforts to prevent and control the epidemic, Nikai expressed condolences over the NCP outbreak in China.
A friend in need is a friend indeed, said Nikai, adding that the Japanese side is ready to spare no effort to provide all possible assistance to China and work with China to combat the epidemic.
He said that as long as Japan and China unite and cooperate, nothing is impossible and the two neighbors are sure to achieve an outright victory over the epidemic.
Japan has collected 120,000 sets of protective suits and will send them to medical institutions in Hubei, Zhejiang, and Guangdong Provinces as well as other places as soon as possible, said Nikai.
On behalf of Komeito, Saito expressed his sincere condolences to the Chinese side over the outbreak and thanked China for its efforts to ensure the health and safety of Japanese citizens there. He also believed that through strengthened cooperation, the two countries will certainly be able to prevent the spread of the epidemic and overcome it at an early date.
For his part, Kong said that China and Japan always help each other in times of major disasters.
After the NCP outbreak, Japan's central and local governments, the ruling party and all sectors of society immediately expressed their condolences, provided a large amount of anti-epidemic supplies and fully supported China's fight against the epidemic, said Kong.
China appreciates and thanks Japan for its help, and stands ready to strengthen communication and cooperation with Japan to overcome the difficulties, he added.
