Victims of the recent Hokkaido earthquake and torrential rains in western Japan, as well as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, have called on the new Cabinet launched Tuesday to accelerate recovery efforts and for the ministers in charge to visit the affected sites.
"I hope the ministers will visit the disaster-hit areas not just once but continuously," said Masaru Ikeda, 76, who lives in makeshift housing in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, after his house was destroyed amid July's deadly rain storms.
The disaster killed more than 220 people across 15 prefectures, with Ehime, Hiroshima and Okayama hit the hardest.