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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Miyagi Prefecture to gauge the progress of the reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
First, the Prime Minister visited the Shichigahama Town Fisheries Promotion Center and bowed before a cenotaph. Afterwards, the Prime Minister inspected the progress of the restoration effort for the fisheries processing facilities. Following this, the Prime Minister inspected a testing lab and cultivation building, and tasted local seaweed. 
The Prime Minister then moved to Higashimatsushima City where he inspected the progress of the restoration effort for local farmland damaged in the tsunami. Afterwards, the Prime Minster helped pack heads of cabbage into boxes, and tasted the cabbage and other local produce.
Lastly, the Prime Minister visited public housing for disaster-stricken households and participated in a gathering over tea.
After his visit, the Prime Minister said,
“Today, I visited Shichigahama Town and Higashimatsushima City, where I visited a seaweed production site and an agricultural corporation. I was able to see firsthand that the reconstruction of regional industries is making real progress. Furthermore, I witnessed local residents working hard to develop branding for local produce, and saw for myself the results of their thorough and ambitious efforts to foster value-added industries through the integration of processing, retail, and other functions. I could feel the strong motivation of the residents to grow even better products than before the Great East Japan Earthquake. The Government will also do its part to fully support the motivation of the local people. Agriculture, fisheries and other primary industries are after all extremely important to the regions, both in terms of employment, and also reconstruction. As such, we would like to provide our full support for these efforts. 
Today, I had the opportunity to speak with the members of the first neighborhood community organization to be established in public housing for disaster-stricken households in Higashimatsushima City. Over the course of our discussion, I learned that while reconstruction has been progressing in terms of housing infrastructure, it also became clear to me that we need to devote greater effort to looking after the physical and mental health of residents who have been affected by the disaster. Today I therefore instructed Minister for Reconstruction Nemoto to formulate comprehensive policies that provide health management and everyday support for residents, including the elderly. This will involve further increasing the number of counsellors and reconstruction support staff, and securing the necessary human resources.