The government will send an emergency medical team of 180 top-level doctors and nurses to Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, the venue for the July 21-23 Group of Eight summit, to prepare for emergencies, particularly acts of terrorism, involving leaders from the eight countries, officials said Thursday.
The doctors, including brain and heart surgeons, will be dispatched by the Japan Association for Acute Medicine and the Health and Welfare Ministry, and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the officials said.
Among them will be Dr. Shuji Shimazaki, professor at Kyorin University and one of Japan's top experts in emergency medical treatment, and Dr. Kazuhiko Maekawa, professor at the University of Tokyo, who led the medical team dealing with victims of last September's nuclear accident in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, they said.
Masaharu Ito, director general of the health ministry's Health Policy Bureau, will lead the team, they said.
The ministry, National Police Agency, the Foreign Ministry, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and the Okinawa Prefectural Government plan to set up a joint emergency medical headquarters in Nago to support the team, they said.
It is unusual for such a large-scale medical team to be dispatched for a state event.
"We considered risk management for the summit from the medical viewpoint. We can respond to whatever happens to dignitaries," one official reckoned.
The team will place emphasis particularly on responding to terrorist attacks involving biological and chemical weapons, the officials said, adding that the team will be equipped with vaccines, antidotes and gas masks.
A helicopter equipped with medical equipment will be stationed in Nago, and if more specialized treatment is necessary, Self-Defense Forces aircraft will be on station for airlifts to a hospital on Honshu, the officials said.