TOKYO: The Japanese government will allocate 52 billion yen in special tax grants to a fund Ishikawa Prefecture will set up for reconstruction after the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio said Friday.

At a meeting of the government’s task force for the reconstruction of the central Japan peninsula, Kishida said the high percentages of elderly residents and low fiscal resources at the six severely affected municipalities, as well as past similar fund allocations, were considered in deciding the amount of tax grants to the Ishikawa fund.

The planned amount exceeds the 51 billion yen allocated for reconstruction after the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto was struck by big quakes in April 2016.

The Ishikawa government will submit a bill to establish the reconstruction fund to the prefectural assembly in June. It plans to use the fund to carry out projects such as tackling soil liquefaction, repairing water pipes in houses and subsidizing interest payments for residents who rebuild their houses.

At the meeting, Kishida also said that the central government will allocate special tax grants to cover 80 pct of the costs for projects to deal with soil liquefaction that the central prefectures of Niigata and Toyama, also affected by the Noto Peninsula temblor, will conduct.

He instructed other ministers to speed up publicly funded demolitions of houses and buildings destroyed by the quake, citing as an example the morning market area in the Ishikawa city of Wajima, devastated by a blaze after the jolt.

Kishida also called for support for smaller businesses and preparations for the wet season prone to flooding.

JIJI Press