The Reconstruction Agency was established Feb. 10, 11 months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the Pacific coastal areas of the Tohoku region. Political confusion has delayed the establishment of the agency that will serve as a command center for reconstruction from the disasters and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis.
With the establishment of the agency, the administrative system designed to push forward the reconstruction efforts is now laid out. The ability of the new agency will be put to a severe test. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, the state minister who serves as chief of the agency, must exercise leadership to promptly carry out the reconstruction efforts.
The agency, especially, must break the bureaucratic red tape and the walls between various government ministries and agencies so that they will quickly respond to the voices of local governments and residents concerned and meet their needs.