Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday visited the island of Miyake, currently uninhabited after its residents were evacuated last year following volcanic activity, for the first time since his inauguration in late April.
Koizumi arrived on the island aboard a Self-Defense Forces helicopter. By bus, he toured a construction site for an erosion-control barrier and houses that were damaged by mudslides.
Tokyo Vice Gov. Yasushi Aoyama briefed Koizumi on the situation at the Miyake village hall. The island is presently under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Volcanic activity on Miyake, in the Izu Islands chain some 200 km south of Tokyo, began in late June last year. All 3,800 residents were evacuated in September as large-scale eruptions and pyroclastic flows continued.
Koizumi carried a gas mask during his visit as large amounts of poisonous gas are still issuing from the volcano. Small-scale eruptions have also continued.
In the afternoon, Koizumi visited Akiruno, in western Tokyo, where some of the students from Miyake are living.
Koizumi had planned to travel to the island on Aug. 31, but postponed the trip because of bad weather.
His predecessor, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, made a brief visit to the island in March.