Prime Minister Naoto Kan held the 16th meeting of the Headquarters for Emergency Disaster Response and the 14th meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, concerning the Great East Japan Earthquake, at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address, "Today's meeting is a joint meeting of the two Headquarters, and I asked that a substantial amount of time be spared for this meeting. I would like the meeting to be an opportunity for all Cabinet members to share understanding as to what has been carried out by the two Headquarters as a whole, and with that shared recognition I want you to engage in disaster responses going forward.
I had a chance to talk with people evacuating from Futaba Town of Fukushima Prefecture the day before yesterday and listened thoroughly to what they have to say about the very strong anxieties that the people from the regions affected by the nuclear incident have. That was another occasion when I questioned to what extent we may lighten their anxieties through our response.
While the situation of tsunami stricken regions remains extremely severe, we see various positive moves spreading that have started instantaneously for reconstruction. How can we develop these energies further? That, I believe, is an item on the agenda for each one of the two Headquarters."