Many Areas of Japan Eager to Host Disaster Agency Branches

   Tokyo, June 16 (Jiji Press)--Many areas of Japan, including prefectures and cities, are eager to host regional branches of the national government's envisioned disaster management agency, a signature project of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, according to a recent survey by Jiji Press.
   The survey, which was conducted this month, covered all 47 prefectures as well as municipal governments and other bodies, with the number of entities keen to invite such branches totaling 28.
   By Friday, 13 prefectures, 10 cities and the Union of Kansai Governments had submitted their requests to the central government. Nagoya, the capital of the central prefecture of Aichi, plans to make a similar request next month.
   The governors of the eastern Japan prefecture of Gunma and the central prefecture of Mie, and the mayor of the northeastern city of Fukushima have voiced interest in hosting disaster management agency branches.
   Among the potential hosts, Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, and Iwaki, a city in neighboring Fukushima Prefecture, highlighted in their respective bids their experiences of dealing with the aftermath of the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami that hit hard both prefectures and other parts of the Tohoku northeastern region.

(2025/06/16-16:20)