Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant complex and nearby areas on Sunday to check on progress in reconstruction following the 2011 crisis.
His visit came after Olympics minister Yoshitaka Sakurada stepped down last week when remarks he made were deemed offensive to people affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which also triggered one of world's worst nuclear disasters.
"The government will do its utmost to rebuild (this area), engraving in our heart once again that each minister is in charge of reconstruction," Abe said following his visit to the disaster-hit nuclear complex, his first since September 2013.