Tokyo, Aug 8, 2020, SPA -- Japanese prefectural governors today, on Saturday asked the central government to increase the amount of extraordinary grants for local governments to fund various measures against the coronavirus pandemic, Kyodo reported. With the number of infections resurging in Japan, the National Governors' Association filed the request to increase the grants, which now total 3 trillion yen ($28 billion), in an urgent proposal it adopted at an online meeting on the coronavirus response. Japan's prefectural governors hold an online meeting on Aug. 8, 2020 to discuss measures against the coronavirus pandemic. The grants are used to fund measures such as the improvement of medical capacity and aid for bars, restaurants and other businesses which suspend operations in cooperation with local governments' request to do so, as part of efforts to stem the spread of the virus. --SPA 03:31 LOCAL TIME 00:31 GMT 0016 www.spa.gov.sa/w1387242