Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda hosted an annual ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office to commend individuals and organizations who have significantly contributed to public safety.

The awards ceremony is held every year as a tribute to National Public Safety Day, which is July 1, based on the purpose wherein each and every person reviews the safety of facilities and actions, pays attention to ensuring safety, gains momentum in making such attentiveness a habit, and to prevent the occurrence of disasters that endanger the safety of people's daily lives such as industrial disasters, traffic accidents and fires.

After conferring the awards, the Prime Minister said in his address, "I would like to express my deep respect for your efforts over a long time in taking initiatives in regional communities and workplaces to prevent accidents and ensure safety, such as the prevention of traffic accidents involving the elderly and children, safety education at schools, safety instructions within business establishments, and prevention of fire.
It is very important that each and every person considers safety in every aspect of their daily life and works to prevent accidents and disasters. In order to ensure safety and assurance in people's lives, the national Government puts effort into preventing the occurrence of various accidents and disasters. At the same time, the Government also would like to back up the voluntary approaches taken jointly by citizens and regional communities.
I sincerely hope for your continuous efforts in providing educational activities and taking leadership in giving instructions."