Abe Celebrates Opening of Highway Section in Fukushima

March 10, 2018

Date, Fukushima Pref.- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended on Saturday the opening ceremony of a section of a highway in Fukushima Prefecture being promoted as a state project to support reconstruction from the March 2011 disasters.

Referring to the targeted completion of the Soma-Fukushima highway in fiscal 2020, when the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held, Abe said, "I hope people from around the world will use this highway and experience a reconstructed Fukushima."

Of the 45-kilometer Soma-Fukushima highway, a 17-kilometer section linking the Fukushima cities of Soma and Date opened on Saturday.

The new road is expected to contribute to boosting the number of tourists and facilitating the distribution of products.

Abe was visiting Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, to take a firsthand look at progress in reconstruction work ahead of the seventh anniversary on Sunday of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 plant. Jiji Press