embankments; the influence of nuclear power plant accidents; etc. Therefore, it is not possible to lump every local area together as “the damaged area”, and the restoration approaches are greatly varied for each area. Especially in the areas where people have been forced to evacuate and live in different towns for a long time due to the nuclear accidents, the effects of disaster are felt even now. People are urging for the problems resulting from the nuclear accidents to be remedied completely so they can finally return to their homes. However, the affected areas have been facing great impediments in their restoration efforts.

On another front, local communities have started their efforts to rebuild and revitalize their areas depending on their actual circumstances. On April 11, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures announced the "Basic Policy for Restoration from Tsunami Damages Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake" and the "Miyagi Prefecture Basic Policy for Disaster Relief (Draft) – Links In and Among Miyagi, Tohoku, and Japan: from Revitalization to Further Development", respectively. Fukushima prefecture also started to formulate a policy for restoration.

On the same day, April 11, the Japanese government created the "Advisory Committee Tasked to Work Out a Vision on Countermeasures for the Great East Japan Earthquake" to discuss the restoration of the affected areas.

Iwate prefecture then formulated the "Basic Plan for Restoration – Protecting Lives and Living with Sea and Land: for Creation of Our Hometown, Sanriku, Iwate-" and the "Implementation Plan for Restoration (Part 1)" as part of the "Basic Policy for Restoration from Tsunami Damages Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake". Miyagi prefecture announced the 1st and 2nd drafts of the "Miyagi Prefecture Plan for Restoration from Disaster – Links In and Among Miyagi, Tohoku, and Japan: from Revitalization to Further Development", and the restoration plan is to be formulated in September. Fukushima prefecture formulated the "Vision for Restoration in Fukushima Prefecture", and it has been working on the "Restoration Plan" in which concrete approaches and principal projects are to be described.

Municipalities in the affected areas have also been progressing work to formulate their restoration plans, even though their situations are different depending on their circumstances.

The Advisory Committee Tasked to Work out a Vision on Countermeasures for the Great East Japan Earthquake announced the "7 Principals for Restoration Vision" on May 10 and organized the "Proposal for Restoration – Hope in Disaster". After enforcing the "Basic Law for Reconstructing Areas Hit Hard by the Great East Japan Earthquake", the Japanese Government created the Task Force for Restoration from Disaster by the Great East Japan Earthquake and formulated the "Basic Policy for Restoration from Disaster by the Great East Japan Earthquake" on July 29.

In accordance with the above approaches, MLIT has repeatedly discussed measures to support the affected areas, from temporary countermeasures to restoration, and has announced the "MLIT Approaches for Reconstruction and Restoration from the Great East Japan Earthquake" $ ^{1} $ . The four principles that are comprehensively developing policies depending on the issues of each affected area, are: the rebuilding and securing of livelihood of the affected; town rebuilding with new concepts; revitalization of local industries and economies, and supporting city and traffic infrastructures; rebuilding national land structures to make them disaster-resistant.

This shows how to formulate town reconstruction plans in order to create local-centered visions, and the orientation for restoration and maintenance of city and traffic infrastructures that support the revitalization of local industries and economies. It is based on requests of the affected municipalities that the Japanese Government should urgently outline how to progress restoration and revitalization in the future (e.g. the vision for building a safe and tsunami-resistant town, infrastructure preparation, etc.).

Furthermore, MLIT created the MLIT Task Force for Restoration from the Great East Japan Earthquake, with the Minister as chief of headquarters, in order to immediately and smoothly promote its policies regarding restoration from the disaster. It is to work together with restoration support from all those concerned in Government.

One thing learned from this unprecedented tsunami disaster is that it is necessary to take measures for the areas where conventional hard measures cannot provide protection from huge tsunamis. Therefore, MLIT has to create systems to promote "tsunami-resistant town building" by "multiple protections" combining hard and soft policies with consideration to the characteristics of each area. In accordance with prefectures and municipalities creating their restoration visions, MLIT is to build a systematic framework to promote the construction of tsunami-resistant towns.

As part of that, on July 6, the Planning section of the Traffic System Subcommittee of Council for Transport Policy and Social Capital Development Council of the MLIT announced the "Concept for Building Tsunami-Resistant