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On July 13, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the fifth meeting of the Emergency Response Headquarters for the Heavy Rain in July 2018 at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
 
“A week has passed since the record-breaking heavy rain and, to this day, amidst the extreme heat, front-line personnel continue to devote every effort to search for people whose safety has not been confirmed in the affected areas.
We have promoted push-mode support to assist the procurement of emergency supplies needed by the people affected by the Government’s discretion. At the Cabinet meeting which will be held shortly afterwards, we will approve the use of the contingency fund on the scale of approximately 2 billion yen. In addition, we will also approve today the moving up of the provision of regular local allocation tax totaling approximately 35 billion yen to the 58 affected municipalities that have submitted requests. I would like the affected municipalities to dedicate all of their efforts to the emergency response and recovery work, without worrying about their fiscal conditions and any hesitation about budgetary matters.
 
As of yesterday, disaster volunteer centers have been established in 57 municipalities, and more than 5,500 people are already volunteering in the affected areas. I would like to express my sincere respect and appreciation to the volunteers. With the three-day weekend starting tomorrow, many more volunteers will very likely head to the affected areas. I would like to ask that activities coordinated among the public and private sectors be undertaken for the affected areas, while giving due consideration to the necessary safety equipment and health management to prevent heatstroke.
 
Later today, I will visit some of the affected areas in Ehime Prefecture. I will hear directly from those affected as well as members of the affected municipalities to grasp the needs on the ground. I ask that everyone continue to make every effort for the emergency response and recovery work in the affected areas as well as rebuilding the lives of those affected from their standpoint, while focusing attention on the front-lines.”