Anamizu: The Japanese government will further expand its aid to those affected by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio said during his visit to a disaster area Saturday.

“We will work together to help people in disaster areas to restore their normal lives,” Kishida said at an evacuation center in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan.

The prime minister apparently intends to reflect firsthand opinions from affected people in the government’s restoration and reconstruction support measures.

This is Kishida’s second visit to areas hit by the 7.6-magnitude earthquake.

An elderly man at the evacuation center told the prime minister that about 540 people hope to move into the planned 280 reconstruction housing units.

Kishida vowed that the government will “firmly support” the construction of such housing, adding that fiscal concerns should not hinder the project.

Later in the day, Kishida traveled to the Ishikawa city of Wajima and inspected the damage to the Shiroyone Senmaida terraced rice fields overlooking the Sea of Japan.

JIJI Press