SAYO, Hyogo Pref. (Kyodo) Prime Minister Taro Aso visited the flood-hit town of Sayo, Hyogo Prefecture, on Saturday and said he would look favorably on its request for the flood-hit area to be designated a "serious disaster."
"I heard requests for an early serious disaster designation. We will consider it along those lines," Aso told reporters after inspecting the town, which was swamped by typhoon-triggered flooding earlier in the month.
He added he will expedite the task of assessing the damage — a necessary step before designation as a serious disaster under the relief law for state support for rehabilitation work by municipalities.
Aso met with Sayo Mayor Noriaki Anzako at town hall, where he received requests for the disaster designation and financial support. He then visited a nearby shopping area that was damaged and listened to residents describe their living conditions in the wake of the floods.
The prime minister arrived at Kobe airport in the morning on a Self-Defense Forces plane from Tokyo's Haneda airport. He was initially scheduled to fly to Sayo, in the northwest, on an SDF helicopter to survey the damage from the air before his visit but had to cancel the plan due to bad weather.
He instead traveled to Sayo by car from Kobe, where he met Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido and received a written request for central government aid to help restore the area and people's livelihoods.
