JAPAN/FILE: Prime Minister Naoto Kan visits northern Japan's devastated areas marking three months after an earthquake triggered a massive tsunami and a nuclear crisis
Record ID:
464241
JAPAN/FILE: Prime Minister Naoto Kan visits northern Japan's devastated areas marking three months after an earthquake triggered a massive tsunami and a nuclear crisis
- Title: JAPAN/FILE: Prime Minister Naoto Kan visits northern Japan's devastated areas marking three months after an earthquake triggered a massive tsunami and a nuclear crisis
- Date: 12th June 2011
- Summary: RIKUZENTAKATA, IWATE PREFECTURE, JAPAN (FILE - APRIL 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TSUNAMI HIT TOWN VARIOUS OF EVACUEES IN EMERGENCY SHELTER FOOD ON TINFOIL
- Embargoed: 27th June 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA1WM70F8AQ4LN2V3O7WNIC3ZX0
- Story Text: It has been three months since Japan was hit by a devastating 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami which triggered a nuclear crisis the country is still battling to control and Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited the northern region's devastated zones on Saturday (June 11) to mark the event.
Kan, joined by local government officials, prayed for the victims of the twin disaster at precisely 2:46 p.m. (0546GMT) the time when the tremor and massive waves struck in the coastal city of Kamaishi in Miyagi Prefecture.
Kan also met local government and industry leaders in Kamaishi where he listened to criticism on the central government's sluggish steps on recovery projects and vowed that their voices would not only be heard but also acted on.
"I'd like to promise again that I'll implement what I was advised from you today," Kan said.
A total of 15,405 people were confirmed dead by Japan's National Police Agency as of Friday (June 10), while 8,095 were missing.
Over 90 thousand people are still living in temporary shelters, including thousands from the radiation-contaminated areas near the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Kan, who took office almost exactly a year ago as Japan's fifth minister in as many years , is having to deal with the humanitarian, political and economic fallout of the radiation crisis at the Fukushima plant that was knocked out by the tsunami, while trying to decide on how to pay for rebuilding the tsunami-hit region, and prepare tax reforms to pay for rising social security costs.
The unpopular premier survived a no-confidence vote on Thursday (June 2), winning a few more months to cope with the nation's nuclear crisis, but still faces a threat of a policy deadlock.
He has already offered to resign once he has dealt with the worst of the country's crisis.
Engineers are working hard in Fukushima to plug radiation leaks and bring the plant northeast of Tokyo under control.
The government estimates the material damage from the quake and tsunami alone could top 300 billion US dollars, making it by far the world's costliest natural disaster. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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