Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda attended the first meeting of the Council on Disaster Countermeasures Promotion held at the Prime Minister's Office.

Discussion took place on the way forward for the Council on Disaster Countermeasures Promotion, among other matters.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address, "In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, there is a renewed understanding that a disaster beyond our expectations will occur.
How the Government shall respond to such a disaster is, I believe, a pressing issue for the Government to consider. Through this Council's discussions, I would like progress to be made on the deliberations regarding the aspects of the legal system for disaster countermeasures as well as the responses that shall be taken for large-scale disasters.
It is the Government's fundamental responsibility to protect the lives and property of the people. From now on, 'beyond expectations' or 'unforeseen' are excuses.
I believe it is a cardinal rule of crisis management that one anticipates something within or beyond one's expectations to occur. From this standpoint, too, I ask that lively discussions take place among all the members of the Council."