Tokyo: The Japanese government plans to provide up to 6 million yen to households with elderly members in areas hit by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.

Up to 3 million yen will be provided to households, depending on the damage to their homes. In addition, up to 3 million yen will be given to those with elderly or disabled members.

Kishida unveiled the additional aid at the first meeting of the government’s support headquarters for recovery and reconstruction after the 7.6-magnitude quake. The support headquarters replaced the quake response headquarters a month after the disaster.

“We will work responsibly until the return of the affected people and the revival of the affected areas,” Kishida stressed. “The government will work as one to strongly promote recovery and reconstruction efforts.”

The prime minister ordered an acceleration of the construction of temporary housing. He also indicated a plan to take measures, such as lowing interest rates on housing loans, to prevent young people and households raising children from moving out of the affected areas.

Also at the meeting, the headquarters reaffirmed a plan to for the central government to carry out infrastructure restoration work at Noto Airport and eight seaports in place of local governments.

Disaster management minister Yoshifumi Matsumura said that the central government will provide local governments by the end of this month with instructions on how to draw up their recovery plans.

Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase, who joined the meeting online, asked the central government to put together by the end of this fiscal year its second aid package to help the affected people rebuild their daily lives.

JIJI Press