Shinako Tsuchiya, Minister for Reconstruction and Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima
According to "Role of the Reconstruction Agency",[2] the agency will:
1. Plan, coordinate, and implement the national policy on reconstruction; 2. Bear the responsibility for a unified point of contact, assistance, etc. to local public bodies.
History and function
The Reconstruction Agency was established to replace the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan earthquake, created on June 24, 2011.[3] The Reconstruction Agency was headed by the Prime MinisterYoshihiko Noda. Noda was named direct head of the agency in an effort to strengthen the leadership of the organization.[4]Tatsuo Hirano, a native of Iwate Prefecture, served as the agency's first Minister of State for Disaster Management until he was replaced by Osamu Fujimura on June 4, 2012.[5] The Reconstruction Agency is not part of the Cabinet Office, but will have authority over other government ministries.[6] The agency will exist for ten years, the length of time estimated to fully restore the region after the disaster, and be dissolved on March 3, 2021.[7][8][9] A wooden tablet for the new agency was made from materials from the earthquake zone. Prime Minister Noda placed the tablet at the Akasaka Agency headquarters as a reminder of the responsibility to residents of the disaster-hit regions.[10]
The Reconstruction Agency established three Regional Offices for Reconstruction in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, and two smaller regional offices in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture and Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. The agency also sought to work with business associations in Japan in order to establish or revive economic activity in the Tohoku region affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. The agency, as well as the Japan Business Federation, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and their affiliated corporations, formed the Reconstruction Design Council in response to the Great East Japan earthquake.[4][11]
Timeline
2011
March 11 — Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
June 24 — Basic Act on Reconstruction in response to the Great East Japan earthquake (東日本大震災復興基本法, Higashi Nihon Daishinsai Fukkō Kihonhō) (Law No. 76 of 2011) passed in the Diet of Japan[12]
June 24 — Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan earthquake created
September 2 — Resignation of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda assumes office
December 9 — Law to Establish the Reconstruction Agency (復興庁設置法, Fukkō-chō Setchihō) (Law No. 125 of 2011) passed in the Diet of Japan
2012
February 10 — Opening of Reconstruction Agency
June 4 — Osamu Fujimura became the agency's second Minister of State for Disaster Management[5]
Reconstruction Design Council in response to the Great East Japan earthquake (復興推進会議, Fukkō Suishin Kaigi)
Study Group of the Reconstruction Design Council in Response to the Great East Japan earthquake (復興推進委員会, Fukkō Suishin Iinkai)[13][14][15][16]
Criticism
A character representing tritium, a radioisotope of hydrogen, appeared in an online flyer and video on the agency’s website on April 13, 2021 and was removed on the next day following criticism.[17]
The establishment of the Reconstruction Agency received criticism for both the slow pace of its establishment, and for the location of its headquarters. Residents and officials in regions affected by the disaster, notably Yūhei Satō, governor of Fukushima Prefecture, publicly noted the lack of speed in which the agency was created:[18]
From the victims' perspective, I can't help but ask, 'Couldn't they have launched the agency more quickly?'
— Yūhei Satō, CNN, Mar. 1, 2012
Legislation in the National Diet to establish the agency was slowed by the resignation of Prime Minister Naoto Kan in September 2011. The bill to create the agency passed in December 2011, nine months after the disaster occurred, delaying the opening of the agency until February 2012. Kan acknowledged the slow pace of government response to the disaster on March 3, 2011, and pledged to speed up recovery efforts.[4][19] Residents displaced by the tsunami have opposed Agency-led plans to rebuild towns on higher land away from the coast, and see it as a disconnect between the central government and the population in the Tōhoku region.[20] After a strict review of initial projects, the Agency approved a large number of projects in a second round of reviews in May 2012, including funds for urban and agricultural renewal.[21]
Ministers
Tatsuo Hirano (1st: February 10, 2012 - December 26, 2012)
Takumi Nemoto (2nd: December 26, 2012 - September 3, 2014)
^復興庁発足は2月10日、首相と復興相が確認 [Reconstruction Agency to be established February 10, Prime Minister and Minister of State for Disaster Management confirmed]. Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese). Tokyo. 2012-01-19. OCLC10795749. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
^Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office (c. 2011). "The Role of Reconstruction Headquarters". Tokyo: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
^Government of Japan (2012). Road to recovery(PDF). Tokyo: Government of Japan. p. 35. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
^"Fukkō-chō". Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office (2011). "The Role of Reconstruction Headquarters". Tokyo: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
Reconstruction Agency (2012). 復興の現状と取組 [Reconstruction: conditions and planning] (PDF) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Reconstruction Agency. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
