Japan PM Takaichi Visits Quake-Hit Kumamoto

Hikawa, Kumamoto Pref., Aug. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday visited Kumamoto Prefecture for the first time since the southwestern prefecture was hit by a major earthquake Tuesday. After arriving, she boarded a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter and inspected from above the Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping facility in the town of Kashima, where an explosion occurred after the temblor, which registered up to 7, the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, in the prefecture. She also flew over Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s plant in the city of Yatsushiro where a chimney collapsed following the quake, and received detailed explanations. Temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius in the city of Kumamoto, the prefectural capital, on Monday, making measures to prevent heatstroke even more important. Takaichi visited an evacuation center in the town of Hikawa, severely damaged by the disaster, and exchanged opinions with residents. The government has judged that a certain level of progress has been made in rescue operations. It plans to focus on preventing disaster-related deaths and restoring key infrastructure. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]