Gov’t eyes to improve info dissemination to locals near plant: Edano
Apr. 14, 2011
The central government will study ways to improve communication with local authorities and residents near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday, amid a controversy stemming from remarks about the situation attributed to the premier.
''We are looking into how we can properly convey the information (to evacuees),'' Edano, the top government spokesman, told a news conference. ''As communication (between the central and local governments) has not been sufficient, we need to take this seriously.''
Kenichi Matsumoto, a renowned writer who serves as a special adviser to the Cabinet, sparked the controversy during a conversation with reporters Wednesday after his meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, quoting the premier as having said people evacuated from homes near the plant would be unable to return to their hometowns ''for 10 or 20 years.''
Matsumoto later retracted his remark, while Kan himself told reporters that day, ''I did not say that.''
While Edano backed the premier's account, he apologized that the incident ''as a result gave cause for worry'' to evacuees and stressed that the central government, for its part, will tell the concerned communities that no such remark was made.
He urged people meeting the premier to be careful in explaining what the premier had told them to avoid misunderstandings.
Kan's purported remarks drew criticisms from opposition lawmakers, with Tadamori Oshima, vice president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, saying the premier was ''unqualified as a leader'' if he had indeed made such a remark, which showed insensitivity to the feelings of the disaster victims.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of New Komeito, the country's second-largest opposition party, said remarks should only be made after their impact on evacuees and local governments had been considered.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on April 14, 2011)
''We are looking into how we can properly convey the information (to evacuees),'' Edano, the top government spokesman, told a news conference. ''As communication (between the central and local governments) has not been sufficient, we need to take this seriously.''
Kenichi Matsumoto, a renowned writer who serves as a special adviser to the Cabinet, sparked the controversy during a conversation with reporters Wednesday after his meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, quoting the premier as having said people evacuated from homes near the plant would be unable to return to their hometowns ''for 10 or 20 years.''
Matsumoto later retracted his remark, while Kan himself told reporters that day, ''I did not say that.''
While Edano backed the premier's account, he apologized that the incident ''as a result gave cause for worry'' to evacuees and stressed that the central government, for its part, will tell the concerned communities that no such remark was made.
He urged people meeting the premier to be careful in explaining what the premier had told them to avoid misunderstandings.
Kan's purported remarks drew criticisms from opposition lawmakers, with Tadamori Oshima, vice president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, saying the premier was ''unqualified as a leader'' if he had indeed made such a remark, which showed insensitivity to the feelings of the disaster victims.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of New Komeito, the country's second-largest opposition party, said remarks should only be made after their impact on evacuees and local governments had been considered.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on April 14, 2011)
