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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Kumamoto Prefecture.
The Prime Minister first attended a memorial ceremony for those who lost their lives in the Kumamoto Earthquake, held at the Kumamoto Prefectural Office, where he delivered an address.

Following that, the Prime Minister visited Kumamoto Castle, where he received an explanation on the state of damage and other matters.
Next, Prime Minister Abe visited Kamitori Shopping Street. Later, he gave an address at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Camp Ken-gun.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister visited stores at a temporary housing site in Mashiki Town, and then met with people affected by the disaster.

After his visit, the Prime Minister said,
"First, I would like to offer my condolences for the victims who passed away.
I would also like to extend my sympathies to all of those affected by the disaster.
Just now, I heard from people living in temporary housing in Mashiki Town.
The first thing that they said was that they were greatly helped and encouraged by all of the many volunteers who travelled here from across Japan at the time of the disaster.
At the same time, they said that it has been one year since the disaster, and that they want to move to permanent residences where they can live with peace of mind as soon as possible. They also said that they want us to offer responses that are suited to the situations and conditions of each person.

The national government will exert every effort in cooperation with towns and prefectures to advance the construction of public housing for disaster-stricken households and reconstruction housing so that people can move into permanent housing in line with their individual situations.

In addition, earlier, I was in Kumamoto City, where I visited Kamitori Shopping Street.
I had also visited immediately after the disaster. During my visit this time, I could truly feel the determination of everyone there to work even harder while making use of group subsidies, and to combine efforts to restore the street's dynamism. 
Although the street's dynamism has already been greatly restored, the Government will respond to the determination that everyone has and cooperate so that the street becomes even more dynamic than before the disaster, and enable everyone to be able to set new goals.

I also observed the reconstruction work at Kumamoto Castle. Kumamoto Castle is above all the symbol of Kumamoto, and it can also be termed a center of tourism.
I believe that the people of Kumamoto as well want Kumamoto Castle to be restored as soon as possible.

A basic plan for the restoration of the castle will be formulated within this fiscal year. The Government will offer cooperation and support toward the formulation of this plan.
The Government will also support the restoration of Kumamoto Castle financially.
We will continue to offer support under the basic mindset of doing everything that can be done for those affected by the disaster toward the recovery of residences and livelihoods, including mental and physical health care.

I think it is very important to offer responses for people affected by the disaster, especially those who are being forced to live in an extremely unsettled manner in temporary housing and elsewhere, while paying close attention to their feelings.
In that sense, I believe that it is vital that we implement mental and physical health care and look after people, and that we offer responses in line with each situation.
The important thing is to offer responses by asking what towns, prefectures, and the national government can do through cooperation, and always listening to the wishes of those affected by the disaster.
As I have stated, we will offer thorough support while paying close attention to the feelings of the people affected by the disaster."