Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting of the Central Disaster Prevention Council at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on "matters pertaining to the Act on Special Measures for Promotion of Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Management" and "matters pertaining to the Act on Special Measures Concerning Countermeasures for the Metropolitan Earthquake," among other matters.
The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
"Three years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. I would like to once again express my deepest condolences to all those who lost their lives in the disaster and my heartfelt sympathies to the families and everyone affected by this disaster.
Each time I go to the affected areas, I get the sense that reconstruction efforts are progressing step by step. To ensure that the affected people are able to resume their regular lives as quickly as possible, the Government will further accelerate the reconstruction process.
Drawing on our experiences from the Great East Japan Earthquake, it is important for us to make thorough preparations to protect the lives and property of the people from the large-scale disasters we fear may occur in the future.
Among them, there is concern that a metropolitan earthquake or a Nankai Trough earthquake will occur in the near future. This is anticipated to have a severe impact on Japanese society and the economy, including impact on central functions in the capital as well as widespread and catastrophic tsunami devastation.
The Government will continue to take all possible disaster management measures with a sense of urgency to protect the lives and property of the people in the event of such major disasters.
The items that the Council will discuss and decide on during today's meeting are all items that will lay the groundwork for making appropriate preparations and swiftly implementing disaster management and mitigation measures for the large-scale disasters that are anticipated to occur in Japan, including the Nankai Trough earthquake and the metropolitan earthquake.
In preparation for the metropolitan earthquake and the Nankai Trough earthquake, Acts on Special Measures for their countermeasures were passed during the recent extraordinary Diet session. Based on today's discussion and decisions, the Government will make concerted efforts to promote these countermeasures in a speedy manner.
I look forward to hearing lively discussion from you today."