Abe Stresses Policy of Putting Lives First after Quake

September 6, 2018

Tokyo- After a powerful earthquake jolted northern Japan early Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed relevant cabinet ministers to make every effort to rescue victims, evacuate residents and recover vital infrastructure.

At a meeting of the ministers, Abe said, "The government is working as one to deal with it (the aftermath of the quake) under the policy of putting human lives first."

The 6.7-magnitude quake, which occurred in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, registered up to upper 6, the second-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7.

Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi asked for the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel on a disaster-relief mission.

At the ministerial meeting, Abe said 4,000 SDF personnel have already been mobilized in Hokkaido. The government plans to expand the scale of the mission to 25,000 personnel, he added.

The government set up a task force at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office to collect information.

Soon after the predawn quake, Abe told relevant government ministries and agencies to check for damage from the quake and do all they can to rescue any victims.

In addition to Abe, other senior government officials gathered at the prime minister's office, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Hachiro Okonogi, minister for disaster management, and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management Kiyotaka Takahashi. Jiji Press