Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held the 24th meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, a report was presented from Mr. Goshi Hosono, Minister for the Restoration from and Prevention of Nuclear Accident, on the safety evaluation of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and responses, the progress status of the Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Units 1-4, TEPCO, and other matters, and discussion took place on the proposal from Mr. Yukio Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on the revision of no-entry zones and evacuation zones, among matters.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said, "The work toward decommissioning of the nuclear reactors is underway in line with the mid-and-long-term roadmap. I would now like you to move forward with replacing temporary facilities at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station with permanent facilities, and other measures to obtain better confidence in the power station situation.
In particular, I ask you to thoroughly inform the local municipalities and residents about the current status of the power station and future responses, in detail and in an easy-to-understand manner so as to respond to their anxiety.
Also, today, we have decided to revise the no-entry zones and evacuation zones of Kawauchi Village, Tamura City, and Minamisoma City. For these municipalities which have made the first step forward toward people's return home, the Government will unite its efforts in creating an environment to restore normalcy to people's lives, in generating employment, and in implementing other measures, in order that residents can return their homes on the earliest possible date. With regard to the municipalities for which the revision of zoning will take place going forward, we need to continue working actively in concert with the municipalities, residents, and other stakeholders, and do our utmost to reach an agreement with them at an early stage.
Even now, more than one year after the accident, many people are living away from their home and enduring difficult lives in temporary shelters for an extended period of time. Without forgetting this reality, the national government must be responsible to thoroughly accommodate the needs of disaster-stricken municipalities and people. I ask the relevant ministers to continue their efforts toward revitalization and reconstruction of the disaster-stricken regions."