Address by Prime Minister TAKAICHI Sanae to the 2026 Memorial Ceremony for the Great East Japan Earthquake

I offer with great humility my commemorative address on behalf of the Government at the 2026 Memorial Ceremony for the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Fifteen years have now passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake struck.

Here in Fukushima, among other places, many irreplaceable lives were lost, and some people remain unaccounted for even today. The massive earthquake and tsunamis, and also the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company, deprived many Fukushima Prefecture residents of their day-to-day lives. My heart aches in empathy and overflows with sorrow and condolences for those who have lost beloved family members, relatives, and friends. Today I offer my deepest and sincerest commiserations once again.

Many people are forced to live their lives as evacuees even now because of the nuclear accident. I express once more my most profound sympathies to all those affected by the catastrophe, including those unable to return to their hometowns.

In the 15 years since the earthquake wreaked its devastation, reconstruction has progressed steadily in the earthquake- and tsunami-stricken areas.

Even in the areas of Fukushima affected by the nuclear disaster, in the areas where evacuation orders have been lifted, progress is being made in improving the living environment and revitalizing and bolstering industries and regenerating means of livelihood. In the difficult-to-return-to zones as well, evacuation orders were lifted for all Specified Reconstruction and Revitalization Bases. In the Specified Living Areas for Returnees, decontamination and other efforts are progressing toward bringing about the return of residents, with new areas designated in the city of Minamisoma and the village of Katsurao, and additional areas added in the towns of Namie, Futaba, and Tomioka, thereby steadily advancing initiatives toward the lifting of evacuation orders. 

It should go without saying that this is the result of the tireless efforts and support of the local residents and also all those affiliated with the agencies and organizations involved, including Fukushima Prefecture and its municipalities.

Medium- to long-term support will be critical for reconstruction from the nuclear disaster. The Government will continue to stand at the fore, pressing ahead with the safe and steady decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company, on which reconstruction is premised. We will also continue to improve the living environment to accelerate the return of residents who wish to do so, while supporting the restoration and bolstering of industries and the regeneration of livelihoods through the resumption of farm operations and forest management. In addition, we will promote industrial clusters through initiatives such as the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework and the Fukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation (F-REI). With regard to the removed soil and other matter stored at the Interim Storage Facility, we will press forward with managed recycling and reuse as part of reconstruction as we work to foster understanding, and we will gradually concretize the roadmap toward final disposal outside Fukushima Prefecture after 2030.

The third reconstruction and revitalization period will begin in April. Grounded in our strong determination to, as a first step, resolve the various challenges facing us in the reconstruction process over the next five years, no matter what, we will devote our full efforts to the recovery and revitalization of the affected areas.

We have learned invaluable lessons from the heavy toll imposed by the earthquake and its consequent disasters. It is our responsibility to pass those lessons on to future generations, never allowing them to fade.

We will utilize the experiences from the Great East Japan Earthquake to promote thorough pre-disaster prevention measures against urgent large-scale natural disasters that are expected to occur in the future. At the same time, we will accelerate preparations to establish the Disaster Management Agency within this year, which will serve as the command center for integrated disaster response from the onset of a disaster through recovery and reconstruction, thereby advancing the creation of a disaster-resilient nation.

I would like to conclude my address by offering my earnest and heartfelt prayers that the souls of all those who passed away find eternal peace, and that all the bereaved families be comforted with peace and tranquility.