Japan Parliament enacts postdisaster reconstruction law

Japan's parliament enacted the basic legislation for postdisaster reconstruction on Monday, 102 days after the massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan on March 11.

At a plenary session, the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, or Japan's parliament, approved the legislation, which was passed by the House of Representatives on June 10, by a majority vote with support from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and such opposition parties as the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.

Because of wrangling in a divided parliament, the enactment of the basic law for postdiaster reconstruction took much longer than only about one month the parliament spent to pass a similar law after the powerful quake hit Kobe, western Japan, on Jan. 17, 1995.

Monday's opening of the plenary session was delayed because opposition parties criticized that Foreign minister Takeaki Matsumoto and Defense minister Toshimi Kitazawa overlooked the parliament by leaving the country for talks in the United States without seeking approval at the opposition-controlled Upper House.

The new law calls for the establishment of a postdisaster reconstruction task force in the cabinet that designs and coordinates measures to rebuild the areas hit by the March disaster. All cabinet ministers join the task force led by the prime minister.

(Published by Jiji Press - June 20, 2011)