Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly held the 32nd meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters and second meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Council at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on "measures in response to the issue of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)," "future responses toward the enhancement of the Regional Disaster Prevention Plan," "implementation of Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drills," and "revision of the Manual for the Nuclear Disaster Countermeasures."

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said in his address,

"With regard to the issue of contaminated water at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the Government will not leave it up to TEPCO, but will stand at the forefront and resolve the issue.
Today, we compiled a basic policy for contaminated water countermeasures, moving us away from the haphazard measures implemented thus far that only responded to problems after they occurred and toward a fundamental resolution of the contaminated water issue. In order to resolutely implement this basic policy, we will establish the 'Meeting of Ministers and Others Relevant to Decommissioning and Contaminated Water Countermeasures,' and shall implement countermeasures with the full force of the Government. In addition, we will take necessary fiscal measures.
Also, in addition to strengthening collaboration and coordination among relevant parties in the Government, TEPCO, and other organizations, in order to swiftly respond to the needs of regional municipalities and communities, we will fundamentally strengthen local systems. I want relevant ministers to cooperate for the enhancement of the system and to quickly work for the realization of that. In addition, information shall be provided to the public as a matter of course, and we will also strengthen the dissemination of accurate information to the international community.
The world is watching closely to see whether or not we can realize the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, including how we deal with the contaminated water issue. The Government will unite its efforts to resolve these issues.
Meanwhile, in order to significantly heighten the peace of mind of those in areas around the nuclear power station, we will undertake the fundamental strengthening of evacuation plans in line with the situation in each region. Based on the response policy decided upon today, I want relevant ministries to work seriously on the resolution of the issues of each region. We shall confirm progress on that work as needed.
With regard to Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drills, we will implement drills for the first time since the accident, and I want everyone to work with a sense of urgency to ensure that a response can be made swiftly and that the safety of residents can be resolutely protected during a large-scale disaster."