Reconstruction Agency

The Reconstruction Agency (復興庁, Fukkō-chō) is an agency of the Japanese government established on February 2, 2012 to coordinate reconstruction activities related to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.[1]

Reconstruction Agency
復興庁
Fukkō-chō
Agency overview
FormedFebruary 10, 2012 (2012-02-10)
Preceding
  • Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake
Jurisdiction Japan
HeadquartersSankaidō Building, 1-19-13 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 〒107-0052
35°40′11.23″N 139°44′39.01″E
Employees250
Annual budget¥2.433 trillion
Ministers responsible
Deputy Ministers responsible
  • Keiichirō Tachibana, State Minister for Reconstruction
  • Masayoshi Hamada, State Minister for Reconstruction
  • Ichirō Tsukada, State Minister for Reconstruction
Websitewww.reconstruction.go.jp/english/

Mission

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 Minister Yoshihiko 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]

Tatsuo Hirano, former Minister of State for Disaster Management, at the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012

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]

Structure

Reconstruction Agency (復興庁, Fukkō-chō) (Minato-ku, Tokyo)

  • Iwate Response Office (岩手復興局, Iwate Fukkōkyoku) (Morioka, Iwate Prefecture)
  • Miyagi Response Office (宮城復興局, Miyagi Fukkōkyoku) (Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture)
    • Kesennuma Branch Office (気仙沼支所, Kesennuma Shisho) (Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture)
    • Ishinomaki Branch Office (石巻支所, Ishinomaki Shisho) (Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture)
  • Fukushima Response Office (福島復興局, Fukushima Fukkōkyoku) (Fukushima, Fukushima Prefecture)
  • Aomori Office (青森事務所, Aomori Jimusho) (Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture)
  • Ibaraki Office (茨城事務所, Ibaraki Jimusho) (Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture)
  • 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

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:[17]

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][18] 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.[19] 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.[20]

Ministers
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See also

References
  1. 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: Yomiuri Shinbun. 2012-01-19. OCLC 10795749. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  2. 復興庁 [Official website: Reconstruction Agency] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Reconstruction Agency. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  3. Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office (c. 2011). "The Role of Reconstruction Headquarters". Tokyo: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  4. "Reconstruction Agency to woo savvy execs". Japan Times Online. Tokyo: Japan Times Ltd. 2012-03-14. OCLC 45062153. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  5. Noda, Yoshihiko (2012-06-12). "A Cabinet reshuffle, and looking to the future". Tokyo: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Public Relations Office. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  6. "New reconstruction agency launched with Hirano in charge". Japan Today. Tokyo: GPlusMedia Co., Ltd. 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  7. Government of Japan (2012). Road to recovery (PDF). Tokyo: Government of Japan. p. 35. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  8. "Fukkō-chō". Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  9. "Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011". Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago, Ill.: Encyclopædia Britannica. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  10. "Japan gov't officially lunches reconstruction agency of earthquake". Xinhuanet (English ed.). Beijing, China: Xinhua News Agency. 2012-02-10. ISSN 0898-865X. OCLC 47220431. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  11. Reconstruction Agency (2012). 復興の現状と取組 [Conditions of reconstruction and planning] (PDF) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Reconstruction Agency. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  12. "Basic Act on Reconstruction in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake" (PDF). Tokyo: Reconstruction Agency. 2011. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  13. "Organization of Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake" (PDF). Tokyo: Reconstruction Agency. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  14. 復興庁の組織について [Organization of the Reconstruction Agency] (PDF) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Reconstruction Agency. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  15. "Reconstruction Agency faces urgent problems". Daily Yomiuri Online. Tokyo: Japan Times Ltd. 2012-02-12. ISSN 0890-8710. OCLC 456167871. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  16. "The Reconstruction Design Council in the Great East Japan Earthquake" [Organization of the Reconstruction Agency] (PDF). Tokyo: Cabinet Secretariat. c. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  17. Peter Shadbolt (2012-03-01). "Japan one year on: What's changed?". CNN. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
  18. Dvorak, Phred (2012-03-11). "Japan's Prime Minister Vows To Speed Up Reconstruction". Wall Street Journal. New York, N.Y.: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. ISSN 0099-9660. OCLC 43638285. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  19. "Year after tsunami, battles rage in Japan over how, where to rebuild". Miami Herald. Miami, Fla.: Herald Print. and Pub. Co. 2012-02-11. ISSN 0898-865X. OCLC 466657471. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  20. "Disaster reconstruction subsidies welcomed by local governments in Japan". McClatchy Washington Bureau. 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2012-06-04.

Official sites

Publications
  • 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.
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