Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 27 - May 10 [GREAT EAST JAPAN DISASTER]

Disaster law will apply to quake-caused liquefaction

The Special Financial Aid Act for Heavy Disasters is likely to be applied also to liquefaction damage caused by the March 11 earthquake, in response to a proposal put forward by Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Shiokawa Tetsuya.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio on April 27 mentioned this possibility at a press conference, saying, “We are now carrying out working-level discussions to expand the law’s coverage.”

JCP Shiokawa has been pointing out that liquefaction damage is not presently applicable to the Special Financial Aid Act for Heavy Disasters, and called for bail-out measures to deal with the liquefaction damage in Ibaraki Prefecture as well as in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Chiba’s Urayasu City.

Ibaraki’s Kashima and Chiba’s Katori city mayors have also been calling for financial support from the government to compensate their municipalities for the liquefaction damage.