On March 11, DPJ President Katsuya Okada issued the following statement.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Recalling once again the many precious lives that were lost, I would like to offer my deepest condolences. I would also like to extend my sincere sympathies to all those who suffered as a result of the disaster, in particular the evacuees who are still being forced to live their lives in exile, or in temporary accommodation.

Utilising the experience and wisdom gained when on the front line of the disaster response, the Democratic Party has continued to make working towards the recovery of the affected areas our number one priority.　Following my appointment as party President, I visited Iwate prefecture on January 31, and Fukushima prefecture on February 23, to see the actual situation there and listen to the voices of survivors of the disaster. We will continue to work wholeheartedly toward disaster reconstruction, with efforts led by the DPJ Great East Japan Earthquake Restoration and Recovery Promotion Headquarters.

In Iwate and Miyagi prefectures work to provide public housing for disaster victims and move settlements to higher ground is underway, but still very few of these projects have been completed. We will focus all our efforts on restoring safe and secure residential areas, local communities, and workplaces. The concentrated reconstruction period will expire at the end of fiscal 2015. We believe that the state should basically take responsibility for reconstruction, while scrutinizing the actual content of projects, and we intend to urge the government to extend the concentrated reconstruction period.

Difficult issues still remain unresolved in the journey toward the revitalization of Fukushima. These include delays in the decommissioning of Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (TEPCO)’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, continued leaks of contaminated water, and the economic damage caused by the stigma of the accident. We will continue to propose concrete measures to eliminate residents’ anxieties, such as ensuring that health checks are properly implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Assistance for Children and Nuclear Disaster Victims Act. We will call on the government and TEPCO to continue to engage in responsible efforts to ensure that the hopes of the evacuees created by the nuclear accident to “return home, if not now then at some point in the future” do not go unanswered.

The DPJ promised the Japanese people that “There can be no revitalization of Japan without the reconstruction of Fukushima, and the revitalization of all the affected areas.” Holding these words close to our hearts, we will continue to walk forward alongside the victims of the disaster in order to bring about the speedy recovery of the affected areas.