[Title] To My Fellow Citizens

It will soon be 12 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the Tohoku region and its surrounding areas, causing unprecedented damage.

The earthquake deprived a great number of people of their precious lives. My heart still aches with sorrow when I reflect on the feelings of those who lost their beloved family members, relatives and friends.

Bearing in mind the reality experienced by those who still face various challenges in the affected areas, including victims of the nuclear power plant accident, the Government of Japan will make its utmost efforts for the reconstruction of such disaster-stricken areas. In addition, preventing the lessons gained through the tremendous sacrifices caused by the earthquake from fading away, and taking advantage of the lessons learned from a series of natural disasters, we will work on disaster prevention, disaster mitigation and building national resilience for the development of a more disaster-resilient Japan.

To express our mourning for all the victims of this disaster, we will offer a minute of silent on March 11 at 2:46 PM and pray for the repose of their souls. I ask my fellow citizens, in concert with this, wherever they may be, to also pray in memory of the souls of the victims so they rest in peace by observing a moment of silence or through other forms of expressing condolences.

KISHIDA Fumio

Prime Minister of Japan

February 24, 2023