The heads of city/town councils of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures met on July 6th at the Setamaya Citizen’s Hall in Sumita Town to form a resolution to petition the national government to host the ILC.

Around 27 chairs and vice-chairs were in attendance, including 5 from Iwate (Ichinoseki City, Rikuzentakata City, Ofunato City, Hiraizumi City, and Sumita Town), and 4 from Miyagi (Kesennuma City, Tome City, Kurihara City, and Minami Sanriku Town). Head of the group, Chair Akihiro Kumagai (also chair of the Ofunato City Council) said, “In order to rebuild from the 2011 disaster and create a sustainable community, we need mechanisms that will develop our towns together.”

They also formed a resolution to petition the government for
-increased maintenance of national road #343
-securement of a separate budget for using areas that were affected by the disaster
-financial measures for getting money to maintain roads for construction projects for the reconstruction
-stimulation to the region’s forestry industry

Other plans for the group this year include planning a dialogue with Iwate and Miyagi’s prefectural assemblies.