[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a Meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Torrential Rains in Fukuoka Prefecture, Oita Prefecture, and Other Regions at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, there was a report on the state of damage and the status of the Government’s response.

Based on the report, the Prime Minister said,

“Firstly, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences for the victims who passed away as a result of the river flooding and landslides caused by the recent torrential rains, and extend my sympathies to the bereaved families. I would also like to express my sympathies to all those injured or affected by this disaster.

More than 20 people are still missing, and a force of about 12,000 people, comprising rescue teams of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), police, fire departments, and the Japan Coast Guard, are now working hard to carry out rescue and relief activities. I would like them all to continue to exert their full efforts in thorough search activities, keeping in mind the feelings of the families, who are praying for the safety of the missing people, while paying due care to secondary disasters.

In the disaster-affected areas, many people are living in a restricted, unsettled manner in evacuation shelters. As the weather continues to grow considerably hotter, measures to counteract the heat in the evacuation shelters are an urgent issue. We must thoroughly grasp the needs of the people affected by the disaster, and rapidly implement support that considers their sensitivities.

Further, we will clear away driftwood and restore roads and other infrastructure, which are currently obstacles to the rescue activities and lifeline restoration, and exert our full efforts in securing housing and other matters, so that those affected by the disaster can rebuild their lives as quickly as possible.

I would like each of you to exert leadership and press ahead to carry out measures in response to the situation that is changing one minute to the next.

If local conditions permit, I would like to visit Fukuoka Prefecture and Oita Prefecture tomorrow to see the actual situation for myself and to directly hear the views of those affected. In order to resolve the difficult situation as quickly as possible, I would like the Abe Cabinet to work as one to exert our full efforts to advance measures, in sympathy for all those affected by the disaster.”