Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda attended the meeting of the Reconstruction Promotion Committee at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address, "A year and a half have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. In disaster-stricken areas, movements toward reconstruction are becoming visible, such as the start of the first case of the transfer of residential areas to plateaus and the construction of public housing for disaster-stricken households.
The government issued the notification on the amount of the third round of reconstruction grant allocations the other day, which was August 24. I would like to continuously put the utmost effort into the rebuilding of residences and the full-fledged reconstruction of industries and other infrastructure, by thoroughly accommodating the needs of disaster-stricken people and municipalities.
Regarding the reconstruction of Fukushima, on September 4 we presented the policy for initiatives envisioning an approximately 10-year time frame, based on requests from Fukushima Prefecture and relevant municipalities.
I would like to accelerate the reconstruction by deepening dialogues and discussions with municipalities by using this policy for initiatives as a draft plan.
Under such conditions, the Reconstruction Promotion Committee is scheduled today to have final discussions for the compilation of a mid-term report. The government is planning to advance the efforts for reconstruction by listening to various opinions. I would like to once again ask Dr. Makoto Iokibe, chairman of the committee, and other members to have lively discussions."