Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Disaster Waste Management at the Prime Minister's Office.

Discussion took place on the progress of disaster waste management and the wide-area disposal of disaster waste, and efforts toward the reuse of disaster waste.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said, "In order to carry forward the disposal of disaster waste, which is the basic precondition of the restoration and reconstruction, it is necessary for the government to continuously unite efforts. In this ministerial meeting, we were able to compile the future policy of the government regarding the following three items.
Firstly, regarding the disaster waste disposal, approximately 3.29 million tons of waste, or 17.5% of the total, is already being disposed as of June 22. Regarding the wide-area disposal, the number of prefectures accepting disaster waste is steadily increasing. Since the previous ministerial meeting, there have been nine more prefectures that newly started full-fledged disposal, and six more prefectures that announced full-fledged acceptance. As a result, it is now expected that the wide-area disposal of combustibles and wood debris in Iwate Prefecture can be completed in the near future, if the acceptance is realized in municipalities with which the coordination is currently under way, in addition to municipalities wherein the disposal is already being implemented. Wide-area disposal of debris in Miyagi Prefecture is also progressing, with Kitakyushu City having newly announced full-fledged acceptance, in addition to the steady implementation of acceptance by Tokyo. Based on such situation, we would like to further carry forward the wide-area disposal.
Secondly, in order to further enhance the feeling of assurance when accepting the waste, we will be newly promoting general measures to prevent damage by unsubstantiated reputation. With the basic precondition of ensuring safety, through measures such as the strengthening of monitoring and the establishment of a system to cope with unsubstantiated reputation, I expect the national government to securely respond to the situation.
Thirdly, concrete debris and tsunami sediment are utilized as materials for the reconstruction of municipalities. We even try to use, as far as possible, noncombustible wastes, which still have no prospects for reuse, in the regions near the affected municipalities where such wastes were generated. We would like to continuously work for the realization of the use of noncombustible wastes as recycled materials, through measures such as the matching of supply and demand for the utilization of recycled materials on the occasion of cooperation by relevant local organizations, by obtaining cooperation from the relevant ministries and agencies.
I ask the relevant ministers to continuously offer further cooperation in advancing the diffusion and expansion of wide-area disposal and reuse of disaster waste."