The Iwate Prefectural Association of Town/Village Council Chairs (Chairman: Teruo Kon, Chair of the Yamada Town Council) had their 54th meeting with the governor on August 25th at the Hall for Local Authorities in Sanno-cho, Morioka City. Along with submitting a formal request to Governor Tasso, they also held an opinion exchange.

Their formal request had 13 items, including:
▽A faster reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
▽The realization of the ILC
▽Attracting businesses and jobs to the region
▽The continuation of running some prefectural high schools
The issues facing the towns and villages of Iwate were consolidated into a formal request, which Chairman Kon handed to Governor Tasso.

There were two topics discussed during the opinion exchange.
▽A faster reconstruction from the disaster
▽Policies that promote Iwate’s agricultural, forestry, and fisheries industries
When it comes to the reconstruction, the towns and villages on the coast are focused on quickly completing road construction and maintenance.

Governor Tasso commented about the reconstruction: “A network of roads, vertically and horizontally connecting the coastal region to the inland region- Those roads are indispensable to the reconstruction. The prefecture will work together with the cities, towns, and villages to call on the national government to open the Sanriku Coastal Highway and other reconstruction roads and arterial roads.”

Regarding the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries, Governor Tasso said, “Our products are highly praised. I think we can increase the incomes of producers in Iwate if we aim to sell to countries that other prefectures are not exporting to, or to domestic markets that other prefectures are neglecting.”

Chairman Kon said, “I want the prefecture to deliberate on the issues that the town and village councils have brought up, and realize our requests.”