A law that sets the framework to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11 disaster was enacted June 20 amid growing criticism that Tokyo has been sluggish in responding to the victims' needs.
A law that sets the framework to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11 disaster was enacted June 20 amid growing criticism that Tokyo has been sluggish in responding to the victims' needs.
But those in the stricken regions may have to wait even longer before seeing any concrete action due to continued political bickering, turf wars and uncertainties over the future of Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The basic reconstruction law was made possible only after the government revised its original bill to appease the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, who demanded the law include the establishment of a Reconstruction Agency that would take charge of all planning and coordination.
The law was enacted 102 days after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, the nation's worst disaster since World War II, because of feuding in the divided Diet, in which the ruling Democratic Party of Japan controls the Lower House and the opposition parties control the Upper House.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano was asked why it took more than three months to enact the basic law, compared with about 40 days for similar legislation after the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck in 1995.
"It was certainly late from an objective viewpoint, but that has not caused any particular inconveniences," Edano told a news conference.
Those in northeastern Japan disagree with the government's top spokesman.
Takenori Noda, mayor of Kamaishi city in Iwate Prefecture, traveled to Tokyo to petition central government officials to speed up measures to help the disaster-hit areas.
"I appreciate the basic law, which includes provisions on creating a Reconstruction Agency and special reconstruction zones. It came, however, too late," he said.
"The stricken areas are loaded with a mountain of problems, including employment and the question of double housing loans for those who have lost their homes but are still under repayment obligations," Noda said. "The communities risk going out of existence if we go on like this. I call for the implementation of energizing policy measures."
Tamotsu Baba, mayor of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, could not conceal his frustration with the lawmakers in Tokyo.
About 40 percent of the town's 20,000 residents have evacuated outside the prefecture to escape the continuing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
"If they can afford the time to wage their political struggles, they should have had time to enact the law earlier," Baba said.
However, the political feuding shows no signs of abating.
In mid-March, immediately after the disaster, Kan asked LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki to join the Cabinet as a deputy prime minister-cum-state minister in charge of post-earthquake reconstruction. Kan later leaned toward the creation of a "reconstruction headquarters," a plan proposed by Shizuka Kamei, leader of the junior coalition partner People's New Party.
But Tanigaki rejected the offer, and Kamei's plan failed to win the cooperation of the opposition bloc.
The DPJ's confrontation with the opposition parties continued after the original government-drafted reconstruction bill was endorsed by the Cabinet and submitted to the Diet in mid-May.
That bill entrusted central government ministries and agencies with the reconstruction measures.
The LDP and New Komeito opposed, saying a Reconstruction Agency should be in charge of the process.
In June, the Kan administration conceded, revising the bill to include a provision to install the Reconstruction Agency.
But the basic law only stipulates that the Reconstruction Agency "should be established as early as possible." No schedule was set.
The administration also said it would draw up a bill to create the Reconstruction Agency by the end of this year. But it has set no deadline for the legislation.
Discussions on what exactly the Reconstruction Agency should be in charge of are also moving slowly mainly because central government ministries and agencies do not want to see their jurisdiction diminished.
"However hard we may work, the Reconstruction Agency will not be set in place before next April," a Cabinet Secretariat official said.
Until the Reconstruction Agency is established, the Cabinet will be in charge of the reconstruction headquarters.
Under the law, a state minister will be nominated in charge of reconstruction affairs and will double as deputy head of the headquarters.
The Cabinet, however, already has the maximum 17 members under the Cabinet Act. There are no prospects of passing a bill to revise the act to add new posts.
The only option for the prime minister is to either reassign one of his Cabinet members to the new post or add the new position to the list of titles he already holds.
Since Kan has already said he will resign, some Cabinet members say the prime minister's days are numbered, so there is no need for him to nominate a new state minister.
Under the law, a local headquarters headed by a senior vice minister or a parliamentary secretary will be installed in the disaster zone. But senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries already say they are overloaded with work.
"As long as a bill to revise the Cabinet Act is not passed, it will be difficult to station people in the stricken area on a permanent basis," a senior government official said.
The disaster areas are seeking "special reconstruction zones" to speed up rebuilding efforts based on the actual needs of individual localities. Although the basic law mentioned the special zones, their creation would require the passage of a series of special bills, including provisions on deregulation and tax incentives.
Prospects remain murky on this front, too, because the opposition parties refuse to even discuss new bills until Kan steps down.
By way of stopgap fiscal resources for reconstruction, the basic law authorized the issuance of reconstruction bonds, stipulating that methods for their redemption should be made clear in advance.
However, the opposition parties oppose the issuance of new bonds and have rejected discussions on the issue.
Despite these potential problems, some leaders in Tohoku expressed cautious optimism that the enactment of the basic law will lead to action. They are urging the central government to speed up measures.
"The long-awaited reconstruction will eventually get started," Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai said.
He called for the early creation of the Reconstruction Agency because the existing local government headquarters "is not authorized to make any decisions on its own will."
"I want to see it opened in Miyagi Prefecture. I want to see the Reconstruction Agency given enough authority and financial resources so that it can act speedily," he said.
Takuya Tasso, governor of Iwate Prefecture, said of the law's enactment, "Better late than never."
Immediately after the disaster struck, Tasso called for the creation of a reconstruction authority, but he has been forced to wait in frustration.
"When the Great Kanto Earthquake occurred in 1923, a reconstruction authority was founded in about a month. This time around, there was no expression of the thoughts of the state as to what this earthquake meant for Japan as a whole and what overcoming the consequences meant for Japan," he said.
Jin Sato, mayor of Minami-Sanriku town in Miyagi Prefecture, said he has long criticized the government's lack of expediency.
"The bill defines the foundation part of rebuilding works," Sato said. "The state should have decided on it much earlier."
Norio Kanno, mayor of Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture, said the government cannot afford to dally any longer.
"I want them to react more speedily, according to needs of the times, considering what has to be done now," Kanno said.
Iitate will move its village government office to Fukushima city on June 22.