Home > News > The Prime Minister in Action > September 2018 > Joint Meeting of the Ministerial Council on the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake and Typhoon No. 21, and the Tourism Strategy Promotion Council
The Prime Minister in Action
Joint Meeting of the Ministerial Council on the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake and Typhoon No. 21, and the Tourism Strategy Promotion Council
September 28, 2018
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement
Photograph of the Prime Minister making a statement
[Provisional Translation]
On September 28, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a joint meeting of the Ministerial Council on the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake and Typhoon No. 21, and the 24th meeting of Tourism Strategy Promotion Council at the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the meeting, after discussing the draft Immediate Measures to Secure the Safety and Peace of Mind of Foreign Tourists during Emergencies, a report was made on the state of damage in the disaster-affected areas. Thereafter, a discussion was held on the status of each ministry and agency’s response, the support measures and Typhoon No. 24.
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“First and foremost, today we have just approved the Immediate Measures to Secure the Safety and Peace of Mind of Foreign Tourists during Emergencies, in response to the lessons learned from the recent series of disasters. We will swiftly implement a series of measures such as a 24 hour-a-day multilingual call center, expanding the English-language announcements in Shinkansen (bullet trains), and allocating Chinese or Korean speaking personnel to airports. To achieve our goal of welcoming 40 million foreign tourists to Japan per year by 2020, we will send a renewed message to the world that Japan is a safe and secure destination.
Three weeks have passed since the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. During this period of time, there has been steady progress in the restoration of lifelines thanks to the efforts of the various parties concerned. Nonetheless, many people are still forced to live hard lives. In addition, the decline in domestic and overseas visitors throughout Hokkaido is heavily affecting the tourism industry. The Government must exert every effort to provide robust support for restoring the lives and ‘nariwai’ (occupations and livelihoods that sustain people’s daily lives) of the people in the affected areas.
To that end, today we designated the recent earthquake as ‘Disaster of Extreme Severity,’ and compiled a series of measures, which we need to implement urgently, based on the needs of the disaster-affected areas. Specifically, we will implement various measures such as emergency temporary housing for those affected by the disaster; urgent responses to rivers blocked by landslides; support for agricultural, forestry and fishery businesses, including dairy businesses, aimed at the resumption of their operations as soon as possible; assistance that is mindful of the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; introducing the “Hokkaido Fukko Wari” discount, which subsidizes up to 70% of the travel and lodging fees throughout Hokkaido, from October 1 in addition to strengthening the provision of information for foreign tourists; formulating measures based on emergency inspections of electrical infrastructure and others; and establishing hubs with home power generation equipment, in preparation for the increased electricity demand in winter.
Today, we also designated Typhoon 19,* Typhoon No. 20** and Typhoon No. 21*** as ‘Disasters of Extreme Severity’ and compiled a series of assistance measures for the recovery and reconstruction work in response to the damage caused by the strong winds of Typhoon No. 21. Specifically, we will implement the following measures: a series of measures towards the full and early restoration of the terminal facilities and the repair of the damaged access bridge of Kansai International Airport, through close cooperation among the relevant ministries and agencies, the operating company and others; the promotion of regional attractions and the dissemination of reliable information through traditional and social media, as well as support for promotional campaigns by airline companies and others, aimed at restoring the demand for tourism at an early date; the early recovery of port functions, by rapidly repairing the affected port facilities, including Kobe Port; a series of assistance measures that is mindful of the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; a range of support for agricultural, forestry and fishery businesses, which enable them to resume operations as soon as possible.
We will allocate 15.3 billion yen for the Hokkaido Fukko Wari discount and other measures from the contingency fund. This will be approved at the cabinet meeting today. I would like all of you to implement these support measures with a sense of speed, so that people in the affected regions can move forward and work to rebuild their lives and to restore their ‘nariwai.’
Currently, Typhoon No. 24**** is approaching Japan with extreme strength, and the Government has increased its level of vigilance. I would like all of you to work as one to prevent damage and injuries as much as possible, working closely with municipalities and other related organizations, making full use of the experiences gained from Typhoon No. 21. I also ask the people to take action to protect their lives, such as making prior preparations and being mindful of evacuating early.
*Typhoon Soulik
**Typhoon Cimaron
***Typhoon Jebi
****Typhoon Trami
On September 28, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a joint meeting of the Ministerial Council on the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake and Typhoon No. 21, and the 24th meeting of Tourism Strategy Promotion Council at the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the meeting, after discussing the draft Immediate Measures to Secure the Safety and Peace of Mind of Foreign Tourists during Emergencies, a report was made on the state of damage in the disaster-affected areas. Thereafter, a discussion was held on the status of each ministry and agency’s response, the support measures and Typhoon No. 24.
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“First and foremost, today we have just approved the Immediate Measures to Secure the Safety and Peace of Mind of Foreign Tourists during Emergencies, in response to the lessons learned from the recent series of disasters. We will swiftly implement a series of measures such as a 24 hour-a-day multilingual call center, expanding the English-language announcements in Shinkansen (bullet trains), and allocating Chinese or Korean speaking personnel to airports. To achieve our goal of welcoming 40 million foreign tourists to Japan per year by 2020, we will send a renewed message to the world that Japan is a safe and secure destination.
Three weeks have passed since the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. During this period of time, there has been steady progress in the restoration of lifelines thanks to the efforts of the various parties concerned. Nonetheless, many people are still forced to live hard lives. In addition, the decline in domestic and overseas visitors throughout Hokkaido is heavily affecting the tourism industry. The Government must exert every effort to provide robust support for restoring the lives and ‘nariwai’ (occupations and livelihoods that sustain people’s daily lives) of the people in the affected areas.
To that end, today we designated the recent earthquake as ‘Disaster of Extreme Severity,’ and compiled a series of measures, which we need to implement urgently, based on the needs of the disaster-affected areas. Specifically, we will implement various measures such as emergency temporary housing for those affected by the disaster; urgent responses to rivers blocked by landslides; support for agricultural, forestry and fishery businesses, including dairy businesses, aimed at the resumption of their operations as soon as possible; assistance that is mindful of the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; introducing the “Hokkaido Fukko Wari” discount, which subsidizes up to 70% of the travel and lodging fees throughout Hokkaido, from October 1 in addition to strengthening the provision of information for foreign tourists; formulating measures based on emergency inspections of electrical infrastructure and others; and establishing hubs with home power generation equipment, in preparation for the increased electricity demand in winter.
Today, we also designated Typhoon 19,* Typhoon No. 20** and Typhoon No. 21*** as ‘Disasters of Extreme Severity’ and compiled a series of assistance measures for the recovery and reconstruction work in response to the damage caused by the strong winds of Typhoon No. 21. Specifically, we will implement the following measures: a series of measures towards the full and early restoration of the terminal facilities and the repair of the damaged access bridge of Kansai International Airport, through close cooperation among the relevant ministries and agencies, the operating company and others; the promotion of regional attractions and the dissemination of reliable information through traditional and social media, as well as support for promotional campaigns by airline companies and others, aimed at restoring the demand for tourism at an early date; the early recovery of port functions, by rapidly repairing the affected port facilities, including Kobe Port; a series of assistance measures that is mindful of the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; a range of support for agricultural, forestry and fishery businesses, which enable them to resume operations as soon as possible.
We will allocate 15.3 billion yen for the Hokkaido Fukko Wari discount and other measures from the contingency fund. This will be approved at the cabinet meeting today. I would like all of you to implement these support measures with a sense of speed, so that people in the affected regions can move forward and work to rebuild their lives and to restore their ‘nariwai.’
Currently, Typhoon No. 24**** is approaching Japan with extreme strength, and the Government has increased its level of vigilance. I would like all of you to work as one to prevent damage and injuries as much as possible, working closely with municipalities and other related organizations, making full use of the experiences gained from Typhoon No. 21. I also ask the people to take action to protect their lives, such as making prior preparations and being mindful of evacuating early.
*Typhoon Soulik
**Typhoon Cimaron
***Typhoon Jebi
****Typhoon Trami
