Japan reviews recovery strategy one year on

Tokyo A year after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Japan has moved from the recovery phase to that of reconstruction, according to Japanese officials.

The country is reviewing all it's policies in the areas of identifying future sources of energy, to placing the blueprint of building sustainable communities and businesses that can withstand a possible future tsunami, said Noriyuki Shikata, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Relations of the Japanese Prime Minister.

Japanese officials are specific about what they mean by the term "reconstruction". "It means creating something new as a model that can be used in other areas in Japan," said Shikata, who spoke at a press briefing at the Foreign Press Centre yesterday.

The timeframe set for such reconstruction is 10 years. As of the end of January this year, a total of $4.7 billion (Dh17.2 billion) has been paid out as compensation to individuals and businesses in the disaster stricken areas.

The government has placed an incentive scheme to encourage residents, local and international businesses to reside and work in the disaster affected areas. Special zones for construction are being identified, with two already being allocated and approved. These will be tax exempt for corporations for the first five years.

Call centre

Amazon has already established a call centre for it's Japanese customers and Ikea has opened a new store in the city of Sendai, which was one of the worst hit by the tsunami, said Shikata. In addition, Japan is looking at reducing its dependency on nuclear energy following the radiation leaks from the Fukishima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. About 30 per cent of power generation is nuclear based and there were plans to increase it to 50 per cent by 2030, according to Shikata

However, last year's disaster has changed this and the Japanese government is looking at using solar and wind as renewable energy instead.

The government believes that there have been indications that Japan is on the road of recovery. The food monitoring system for example has been strengthened and there has been a rise in the number of foreigners visiting Japan, according to Shikata.

Oil supplies: Keeping an eye on Iran

Japan has been in talks with Gulf countries including the UAE and Qatar as an alternative source providers for its oil supply.

Because of its high dependency on oil from the Middle East which constitute 90 per cent of its imports, Japan is looking at alternatives and watching closely the tensions arising between the global community and Iran, said Noriyuki Shikata, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Relations of the Japanese Prime Minister. Japan has reduced it's oil imports from Iran by 40 per cent over the past five years. "We are consulting closely with our friends including the US on the situation surrounding Iran. We come from the view that we need to prevent Iran's nuclear programme", said Shikata.

— N.A.R.