Statement of Mr. Banri Kaieda, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry at the press conference following the announcement of Roadmap towards Restoration from the Accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station announced by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

April 17, 2011

1. Presentation at the earliest possible date of a roadmap towards settling the situation at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has been requested by people home and abroad, especially the residents around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
TEPCO has just released this roadmap, which is an important step forward. Taking this opportunity, we would like to move from the “emergency response phase” up until now to the “planned and stabilizing action phase” in which the settlement of the situation will be aimed under the solid roadmap.

2. In response to the release of the roadmap,
(1) The Government will request TEPCO to ensure the implementation of this roadmap steadily and as early as possible. To this end, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and others will make regular follow-up, monitoring of the progress of the works and necessary safety checks;
(2) The Government will request TEPCO to ensure the mobilization and deployment of workers, the procurement and preparation of equipment and materials, and the arrangement of accommodation and other facilities, which are necessary to ensure implementation of the roadmap;
(3) At the end of Step 2, the release of radioactive materials will be under control. At this stage, the Government will, following advices of the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, review the “Deliberate Evacuation Area” and the “Evacuation Prepared Area”. Up until that time, we will consider the details of review criteria, and will decontaminate the widest possible area.
By implementing this, we would like to announce, within 6 to 9 months as our target, to the residents of some of the areas whether they will be able to come home.

(Division in Charge)
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
Nuclear Safety Public Relations and Training Division