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On July 14, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the sixth 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,
 
“Yesterday, I visited some of the affected areas in Ehime Prefecture and listened to the earnest wishes and specific needs from evacuees related to their lives at evacuation centers. I also saw the hardships of those affected, who were cleaning up their homes, amidst the intense heat, as well as volunteers who were dedicating themselves to support those affected, and officials and persons in charge working hard to respond to the situation. It reminds me of the importance of overcoming this disaster through the united efforts of everyone involved while responding immediately to the needs on the ground, which are changing every moment, in order to ensure that those affected can rebuild their lives at the earliest possible date.
 
Through these visits, I am especially and strongly aware of the necessity to make many more people better informed of the assistance schemes available for those affected by natural disasters. With regard to Disaster Victim Certificates, for example, the Government has been constantly taking steps to make the damage certification assessments more efficient and faster in light of recent disasters, such as the heavy rains in Kanto and Tohoku in 2015 and the heavy rain in northern Kyushu last year. Specifically, we have greatly simplified the procedures such that a house would be considered ‘totally destroyed’ if floodwaters rise to 1.8 meters or higher above floor level, and if the damage covers a large area, an entire area would be considered ‘totally destroyed’ based on a sample survey of houses located in the four cardinal points of the area.
 
Disaster Victim Certificates are necessary to be eligible to move into temporary housing and receive support grants for reconstructing livelihoods and other assistance. The certificates provide the basis from which the people affected rebuild their lives. We will exert every effort to increase public awareness of these schemes and intensify our efforts to dispatch national and local government personnel to support affected municipalities, so that those affected can obtain Disaster Victim Certificates as early as possible and get off to a quick start towards rebuilding their lives.
 
In addition, today we will designate the recent disaster as a ‘specified disaster’ with a Cabinet decision to protect the rights of the affected people. This will allow those who cannot renew their driver’s license to extend its expiration date. It will also allow the affected people to receive free legal services (Japan Legal Support Center) for various legal issues that arise in the aftermath of a disaster.
 
We are also making steady progress with the restoration of lifelines, including the opening of all sections of the San-yo Expressway at 6:00 am this morning. Tomorrow, circumstances permitting, I plan to visit some of the affected areas in Hiroshima Prefecture to inspect the state of damage, as well as listen to the needs of the affected people and municipalities. I will continue to make every effort for implementing emergency response and recovery work in the affected areas as well as rebuilding the lives of those affected at the earliest possible date, from the standpoint of the people affected and focusing attention on the front-lines. I would like to ask for your continued cooperation and efforts.”