His remark comes a day after Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide tapped Kono to oversee the coronavirus vaccine rollout in Japan. Kono said he will be in charge of distributing and preserving the vaccines, as well as securing sites to vaccinate people.

The Japanese government sees vaccinations as a key to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide pledged to make the vaccines available by late February.