
Satoshi Ninoyu, Japanese minister in charge of disaster management, pledged all-out efforts on Saturday to support the reconstruction of areas hit hard by a major earthquake in northeastern Japan on Wednesday.
“The government will do its best,” Ninoyu said after receiving a written request for financial aid to the reconstruction in a meeting with Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori at the prefectural office. The quake occurred off the coast of Fukushima.
“A sense of speed is important,” Ninoyu told reporters after the meeting with Uchibori. “We’ll make efforts to provide support tailored to Fukushima residents.”
Earlier in the day, Ninoyu visited the Fukushima city of Soma, where the quake measured upper 6, the second-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale.
JIJI Press