Abe Seeks Disaster-Linked Extra Budgets

October 3, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed his government to draw up extra budgets for fiscal 2018 in the first meeting of his new cabinet launched on Tuesday.

The government is preparing to compile two supplementary budgets. One will focus on the restoration from the recent natural disasters, including a massive earthquake that rocked the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido last month, and the other will center on projects related to disaster prevention.

In a press conference held before the cabinet meeting, Abe said the government and the ruling camp will work as one to accelerate moves to restore and reconstruct areas hit by the fatal disasters.

"We will implement our emergency countermeasures on disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as national resilience, intensively over the course of three years," he said.

At the cabinet meeting, a speech to be delivered to the public by Abe was adopted.

The cabinet members also decided on the basic policies of fully getting rid of deflation, broadly reforming social security systems, revitalizing regional economies and clearing up diplomatic issues remaining from World War II. Jiji Press