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On July 22, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 11th meeting of the Emergency Response Headquarters for the Heavy Rain in July 2018 at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“Yesterday, I visited some of the affected areas in Hiroshima Prefecture and listened to the earnest wishes and specific needs from evacuees related to their living at evacuation centers.
 
I spoke with the people affected and volunteers who were working hard every day in the extreme heat to clean up homes, and it further renewed my determination to ensure that the Government does everything in its power to rebuild people’s lives and restore ‘nariwai (occupations and livelihoods that sustain people’s daily lives)’ at the earliest possible date.
 
With regard to securing housing for the people affected, two days ago, Hiroshima Prefecture started accepting applications for provisional temporary housing, using private-sector rental housing, and approximately 450 applications have been received. Okayama Prefecture has already received approximately 1,100 applications, and they are being processed in order. With regard to ‘constructed’ emergency temporary housing, it has been decided that 140 dwellings would be built in Ehime Prefecture. In addition, in Hiroshima Prefecture, planned sites for such dwellings in Kure City, Mihara City, and Saka Town have been decided, and preparations are under way for construction. We will enhance our supports to further accelerate these efforts.
 
There is no time to lose in restoring nariwai. In the three prefectures I visited, there is a harsh reality that many people in the agricultural, forestry and fishery businesses as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are losing motivation to resume their business, given that their homes and other properties have also been damaged. Successive closures of businesses could deal a severe blow to local economies; we must respond to this situation at the earliest day possible before they make such a choice. It is necessary to give those businesses hope for the future. Both in Ehime last week and Hiroshima yesterday, I received specific requests, such as the assistance to restore facilities through group subsidy grants, similar to what we had after the Kumamoto Earthquake. In the recent heavy rain, mikan oranges that had become harvestable after many years were washed away, and many micro enterprises including town shops were hit, necessitating carefully tailored measures that take into account the characteristics of each region. As summer holidays have started, it is also important to deal with harmful rumors or misinformation which could affect the tourism industry. We also need to fully protect local employment. Furthermore, the vast amounts of sediment that cover the affected areas are impeding the resumption of businesses and the rebuilding of people’s lives and, from the stand point to prevent secondary disasters, must be removed urgently. We have 400 billion yen of the contingency fund and the budget for disaster response and recovery in total. I ask that, under the leadership of the Team to Support the Daily Lives of Disaster Victims, you urgently compile a package of measures that makes full use of these funds for rebuilding the lives of the people affected and restoring nariwai with the cooperation of the relevant ministries and agencies.           
 
Various consumer problems are expected to happen as the people affected make efforts to rebuild their lives; we have thus established a dedicated consumer hotline. Please ensure that the municipalities and people affected are fully aware of this hotline. Indeed, we have received several reports of malicious incidents involving false invoices targeted at people in the affected areas. For this reason, we have moved up the schedule for reviewing countermeasures to deal with such incidents, which we have been doing as part of our effort to protect consumers, and are to approve a package of false invoice countermeasures later today. I ask relevant ministries and agencies to coordinate in taking all possible measures to ensure peace of mind for the people affected who are working to rebuild their lives.       
 
With the typhoon season coming up, the Government needs to ensure be fully prepared for all possible contingencies against disasters. I ask all of you to swiftly identify, inspect and take all the possible measures for the areas where risks for river flooding and landslides have been increased after the recent disaster.
 
I will continue to exert every effort for implementing emergency response and recovery work in the affected areas, rebuilding the lives of those affected, and restoring nariwai at the earliest day possible, from the standpoint of the people affected and following through with the front-line approach. I ask for your continued cooperation and efforts.”