Japan to Help Local Govts to Dispose of Flood-Caused Waste

July 12, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government will financially help local governments dispose of waste left after floods and mudslides caused by the recent torrential rain, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday.

"We've started support for disaster-affected municipalities by sending teams of experts and Environment Ministry officials," Abe told the fourth meeting of the government's disaster response task force created to deal with the rain.

"In the future, we'll provide financial assistance to help dispose of disaster-caused waste and restore waste disposal facilities damaged by the disaster," he continued.

Abe also said that public housing for 17,000 families and private rental housing for 54,000 families have been secured for disaster victims who lost their homes.

The rain, which lasted until the weekend, caused floods and mudslides in many parts of central to southwestern Japan. The death toll was highest for a rain-caused disaster in the country in the 30 years of the Heisei period.

At the meeting, Abe said he wants the government to respond appropriately to quickly changing needs of disaster victims, based on information obtained in the field.

Abe will visit Ehime Prefecture, one of the hardest-hit prefectures, on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

The prime minister is also considering visiting Hiroshima Prefecture, which logged the highest death toll among the affected prefectures. Jiji Press