Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the first meeting of the Heavy Snow Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters in 2014 at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on the status of the responses of ministries and agencies.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,

"Due to the heavy snow and other adverse weather conditions over the weekend, regions including Yamanashi Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture experienced record levels of snow accumulation. In addition, the collapse of roofs and other structures was observed in Gunma Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, Akita Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, among other areas. Consequently, the disaster has resulted in the deaths of many people across the country. Moreover, there have been many incidences of isolated communities and stranded motor vehicles.
I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the many people who passed away as well as my sincere sympathies to those affected.
So far, the police, the fire department, the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) have been directly engaged in the initial response, including rescue efforts and the transport of supplies, in collaboration with relevant local governments. There are areas, however, which still remain isolated. In order to further accelerate our response to a situation that may become protracted on a national scale, I have decided to establish the emergency disaster response headquarters.
I would like to make the following three requests to you.
First, please ensure that not a single person more dies from coldness or any other causes attributable to isolation.
Secondly, in preparation for the next snowfall as well, please make maximum collective efforts to speed up the snow removal and other responses by significantly boosting the mobilization of SDF personnel and equipment such as helicopters, and by collaborating with the relevant agencies of the police, fire department, and MLIT.   
Please work to restore lifelines, such as electricity, gas, and water, and ensure that roads are accessible, making every effort to swiftly improve the lives of the people.
These are the three requests I would like to make.
Working closely with relevant local governments and with Minister of State Furuya acting as a control tower for the Government's response, I ask that the relevant ministries and agencies work as one and take all possible responses to protect the lives and property of the people."