Japanese PM proposes new blueprint for post-quake restoration
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Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday called for the nation to find the resolve to rebuild lives and areas devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami that pummeled east and northeastern regions of Japan and put forward a motion of how this could be achieved.
Speaking at a nationally televised news conference a month and a day after the Great Tohoku Earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck, the prime minister said that central and local government's efforts would switch from recovery to restoration.
"One month has passed since the greatest earthquake Japan has seen and now our efforts will shift to restoration of the quake- hit areas," Kan said.
The prime minister said that far from just reconstructing buildings and infrastructures destroyed by the quake and tsunami, he had a new vision regarding the nation's restoration process.
"The reconstruction (process) is not merely about restoring buildings back to their original state, the process will entail making them better than they were before," said Kan.
"I propose that above all we must build a region that is completely resistant to natural disasters, utilizing higher ground or plateaus. Secondly we must create a region that is economically friendly and thirdly, build a caring society that is kind to the weak," the prime minister said.
He went on to say that the restoration process must prioritize the wishes and opinions of those directly affected by the earthquake and tsunami and that the wisdom of experts nationwide would be called upon to achieve a forward-looking restoration agenda.
"The expertise and wisdom of officials, experts and academics, as well as the participation of local prefectural governors will be used to create a new reconstruction design counsel," Kan said.
"Various budgets and bills must be passed through the diet to achieve this and I'm hoping that members of the opposition parties will help out with crafting this blueprint."
"A specific proposal (on restoration) will be crafted by the end of this month," he said.
Kan later said that Japan had risen up from the burning ruins after WWII and that it was that kind of post-war determination that was needed once again to rebuild the nation going forward.
"We must renew the determination we had in the post-war period. Many people have perished, but it's not for us to be devastated and discouraged by the crisis -- we must honor those lost through our efforts to rebuild."
"What we need to do is achieve a complete restoration that we can be proud of and pass on to our children," said the premier.
The prime minister said that he himself was a beneficiary of the post-war reconstruction efforts and that he would see to it that the same vigor, solidarity and selflessness would lead to a new, rejuvenated Japan.
"I will put in all my energy and do my very best to revive this wonderful nation and I pledge this to Japan," the prime minister said.
The official death toll foam the Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami has topped 13,000, with the final figure expected to be upwards of 25,000 people, the national police agency said.
The colossal quake struck at 2:46 p.m. (0546 GMT) on March 11, with the epicenter at 130 kilometers east of the coast of Miyagi Prefecture at a depth of 24.4 kilometers under the seabed.
The quake triggered a deadly tsunami with waves up to 10 meters high sweeping inland as far as 10 kilometers, devouring houses, offices, cars, buses, boats and swept thousands of people out to sea.
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