Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced that Japan will allocate an additional €613 million for the reconstruction of areas devastated by the earthquake that struck the central part of the country on January 1st, bringing the total allocated funds to €1.6 billion.
The 7.5 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks ravaged parts of the Ishikawa region along the Sea of Japan coast, resulting in 241 fatalities.
Over 10,000 people are still living in shelters, with some areas still cut off from water supply.
Prime Minister Kishida announced the new financial aid on Saturday during a visit to the earthquake-affected regions to assess the situation.
Speaking to journalists in the severely damaged town of Wajima, Kishida noted, "Living conditions in temporary shelters are improving, but the reality remains challenging."
He added that the visit "reaffirmed the government's resolve to provide more support."
The Cabinet is expected to approve the additional resources of about 100 billion yen (€613 million) in the coming days.
This emergency financial aid package is the third since the New Year's Day earthquake, with the total aid amount now exceeding 260 billion yen (€1.6 billion).
Kishida stated that the latest funds would partly finance a grant system to assist families with children in rebuilding their destroyed homes and that efforts to construct prefabricated temporary housing would be accelerated.
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