Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Disaster Waste Management at the Diet building.

Discussion took place on the efforts toward the advancement of disaster waste management.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said, "I would like to unite the government's efforts in order to advance disaster waste management, which is the basic precondition for recovery and reconstruction. Concerning the wide-area disposal of debris, we have decided to implement new supportive measures for municipalities accepting debris, besides the existing measures for municipalities affected by the disaster. In addition to this, I would like to implement the following four measures.
Firstly, I would like to see innovative measures taken to reuse disaster-related debris in subbase materials for roads, embankment materials for coastal forests and artificial hills, and other places, without being bound by precedents. At the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake, the resulting debris was used to create Yamashita Park in Yokohama. This time, I would like to have disaster debris reused for the purpose of protecting people against future tsunamis by developing coastal forests and artificial hills for evacuation, and pass them down to the future generations.
Secondly, I would like to request cooperation from private companies, such as cement and paper mills, which have incineration facilities.
Thirdly, concerning the wide-area acceptance of debris, I would like to formally request the cooperation of the prefectural governments in writing based on the Special Measures Act for Disaster Waste Management, and in the meanwhile decide on the standards for accepting debris and the methods of waste management.
Fourthly, I ask each Cabinet member and the three political-level appointees in each ministry to take every opportunity to urge municipal governments to cooperate.
I ask the relevant ministers once again for further cooperation in advancing the spread and expansion of the wide-area disposal and reuse of disaster waste."