Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 31st meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, deliberations took place on the revision of the areas to which evacuation orders have been issued in Kawamata Town, following which a report was presented on the measures in response to the issue of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Prime Minister said,

"As of today, all of the revisions of the areas to which evacuation orders have been issued have been completed in 11 municipalities. I believe the restoration process of Fukushima has now reached a new starting point towards the realization of the return of residents.
The Government will stand at the forefront in realizing the restoration of Fukushima. Taking this opportunity of the completion of the revisions of the areas, I would like to ask all ministers to once again listen carefully to the opinions of the people in the areas. Based on this, I would like specific measures to be examined with urgency for the restoration of Fukushima, under the leadership of the Minister for Reconstruction, with the close coordination of the relevant ministers.
Decontamination and interim storage are especially critical issues. Together with strengthening the system for accelerating these measures, I would like to ask that the progress of the decontamination program be fully reviewed and that decontamination work is advanced in coordination with the reconstruction efforts.
Another issue is the stability of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. In particular, the issue of contaminated water is of great concern to the people and is an urgent issue which must be addressed. The Government will take thorough measures, without leaving it up to TEPCO. I would like to ask the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to work with speed in giving full guidance to TEPCO and to take swift, certain, and multi-tiered measures. I would like to ask the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, as a regulatory body, to exert every effort in ascertaining the causes and implementing effective measures for ensuring safety. Thank you for your cooperation."