Kan calls for closer ties with opposition to rebuild Japan

TOKYO (Kyodo) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday he wants to deepen ties with opposition parties in crafting almost all policies vital for the reconstruction of Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, while acknowledging that more time would be required to completely tackle the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In a news conference held three weeks after the twin natural disasters in the northeastern region, Kan said the government will set up a new task force, comprised of lawmakers, experts and local authorities, on reconstruction work by April 11.
He invited opposition lawmakers, who take control of the upper house of parliament, to be part of the panel to draft measures necessary to rebuild the region.
''If possible, I'd like to have help from people in the opposition camp...and make plans together,'' Kan said. ''I yearn for such a situation to be created.''
Kan made the remarks at a time when some lawmakers inside and outside of his Democratic Party of Japan are becoming more vocal about the need to form a grand coalition government with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party.
On the nuclear crisis, the premier said, ''I'm getting ready to face a long-running battle'' as he acknowledged that the nuclear power station, located around 220 kilometers from Tokyo, is not ''stable enough yet.''
But Kan promised that he will ''inevitably win the battle'' and bring the plant currently experiencing radiation leaks under control.
Kan, however, stopped short of saying whether Japan will stop promoting nuclear energy. He said the government must first ''fully review'' the accident once the current situation eases and it would not be effective to decide in advance on issues related to the country's future energy policies at this point in time.
He said the government will scrap some of the policies under the budget for fiscal 2011, which began Friday, to generate more money for reconstruction work, adding that the first of a number of extra budgets will be submitted to the Diet by the end of this month.
He said the forthcoming extra budget, seen to be around 2 trillion yen, will finance costs of clearing rubble and building temporary housing, as well as measures to restore economic activities and create jobs.
Kan floated an idea of creating a new type of town with environment-friendly features in the devastated region that could be ''models for the rest of the world.''
But Kan was vague about how Japan, already suffering from a ballooning public debt, would secure necessary money for reconstruction work.
When asked about the possibility of the government raising taxes or issuing a huge amount of deficit-covering bonds, he said the issue of financing will be ''one of the important themes of the task force.''
''My position is that I will first hear a range of opinions'' and discuss with opposition parties on how to put together a series of extra budgets to address the aftermath of the worst natural disasters in Japan's postwar history, which have left at least about 28,000 people dead or missing.
Kan said the government may also need to compensate damage and some financial losses caused by the crippled plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
But he said even facing massive damages claims, the utility is a private company and it ''basically'' needs to deal with them by itself.