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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed junior high school students from Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture who were taking part in a special tour of the Prime Minister's Office and Official Residence.

After attending a commemorative photograph session with the junior high school students who were taking part in the special tour, the Prime Minister said in his address,

"As part of making the Prime Minister's Office accessible to the public, we previously invited students from elementary schools in the neighborhood of the Prime Minister's Office to take a tour of the Office.
Today, we invited you to tour the Prime Minister's Office as representatives of the disaster area.
I visited your home, Fukushima Prefecture, immediately after assuming the office of Prime Minister last year. 
I had the opportunity to have various discussions with those in the affected areas, as well as those who, regrettably, have been unable to return to their homes and have been forced to lead inconvenient lives due to the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident.
Listening to their stories about how they wished life would quickly go back to the way it was before, I came away with a renewed sense of resolve that the Government must make every effort to enable their return to normal lives as quickly as possible.
A major goal of the Abe administration is the reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture and Tohoku.
I have instructed all ministers that in addition to their work as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries or the Minister for Foreign Affairs and so on, that they work hard for the reconstruction of Fukushima as though they were all the 'Minister for Reconstruction.'
We will make every effort for the reconstruction of Tohoku, which was faced with the adversities of the tsunami, earthquake, and the nuclear accident. However, of course, there is no reconstruction of Tohoku without the reconstruction of Fukushima. Nor is there reconstruction of Japan without the reconstruction of Tohoku. With that spirit in mind, we too will work hard towards reconstruction. 
I believe today's tour of the Prime Minister's Office has given you a sense of familiarity for a place that is shown in daily TV news coverage.
I hope that you find politics and government administration accessible to you and that you will take an interest in politics. 
I am sure that you have all kinds of dreams. One of the major jobs of politics is also to create an environment that will allow everyone to work hard towards their dreams, and in this process, move even a small step closer to their dreams.
I wish you all the best in chasing your dreams. We, for our part, will work hard for the reconstruction of Fukushima. I would be happy if you from your respective positions would make efforts for the reconstruction of your hometowns."