Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly held the 10th meeting of the Reconstruction Promotion Council and 34th meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office.
During the meeting, discussion took place on “lifting evacuation orders from areas of Tamura City,” and reports were given on “accomplishments in reconstruction and the policy for reconstruction initiatives” as well as “progress toward ‘the policy for accelerating Fukushima's reconstruction from the nuclear disaster.’”
Based on the discussions, the Prime Minister said,
“Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of March 11th, 2011 and the Great East Japan Earthquake.
We are entering a new stage of reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake. In terms of reconstruction from the earthquake and tsunami, the rebuilding of residences and reconstruction of communities are fully underway, and measures to accelerate projects have also produced results.
Regarding the restoration process of Fukushima, as was decided a moment ago, evacuation orders will be lifted from areas of Tamura City in April, and concrete initiatives toward the realization of the return of residents will enter into full effect.
In addition, as I requested, there has been long-standing discussion on the Joban Expressway. In this regard, as the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism just reported, the route will be fully reopened by Golden Week(May) next year.
Although we are making progress in areas such as the rebuilding of residences and reconstruction of communities, support for people who have been forced to evacuate their homes for increasingly long periods of time, as well as the restoration of people’s daily lives and work places are becoming crucial issues.
In particular, we need to undertake thorough initiatives on issues related to health and daily life, such as the prevention of isolation among elderly long-term evacuees and measures to care for the emotional well-being of children.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo in 2020. I want to show all the people around the world who gave us their endless support and encouragement a new Tohoku and a Japan that is reconstructing from the earthquake.
I ask that no one forget the lessons of the earthquake, and that we all exert our full efforts toward the further acceleration of reconstruction with our eyes fixed on the future.”