Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held the fourth meeting of the Reconstruction Promotion Council at the Prime Minister's Office.

At this meeting, opinions were exchanged on issues such as the "basic approach for the future reconstruction-related budget," "simplification of procedures for budgets accidentally carried forward and others," and the "utilization of recycled materials."

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

"Since the occurrence of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government has been putting its utmost effort into recovery and reconstruction. As a result, emergency rehabilitation of infrastructure was put forward, and industry in the expansive disaster-stricken area is also recovering to the level before the disaster.
However, through such efforts, future issues also became clear: reconstruction of the living of residents, namely 1) reconstruction of residences and streetscape of areas stricken by the tsunami, 2) recovery of areas stricken by the nuclear disaster, and 3) support for people who were forced to evacuate for a long period, are the top prioritized issues. The government is determined to continuously focus on these issues by concentrating its efforts.
As for the reconstruction budget, we must listen earnestly to the opinions asking to use the budget by putting top priority on the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas. I have been saying that we should strictly narrow down allocation for other purposes, while sufficiently allocating the budget for the true needs in the disaster-stricken areas.
Under such policies and also considering the results of the 'new review of government programs,' the Reconstruction Promotion Council decided today the 'Basic Approach for the Future Reconstruction-Related Budget.' I would like to ask the ministers to securely carry forward their work in line with this basic approach, and at the same time to promptly work on the simplification of clerical procedures on budgets accidentally carried forward and application for redelivery, which were mentioned by the Minister for Reconstruction and the Minister of Finance, from the standpoint of the disaster-stricken areas."