DPJ eyes reconstructing quake-hit areas within 10 years+

TOKYO, April 27 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ruling party is trying to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami within about 10 years, a senior lawmaker said Wednesday.
The Democratic Party of Japan's plan calls for investing and mobilizing personnel intensively in the areas in the initial three years to lay the ground for full-scale reconstruction, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada said in an interview with Kyodo News.
The DPJ will accelerate its discussions to develop the two-stage plan after the country's Golden Week holidays end on May 8, party lawmakers said, so that it can be reflected in a set of proposals on reconstruction to be drawn up in June by a government panel.
Transforming the fishing industry in the northeastern region of Tohoku into a globally competitive one and promoting the use of environmentally friendly natural energy when building towns are among major ideas being drafted in the party's reconstruction vision, the lawmakers said.
The Reconstruction Design Council, an advisory panel to Kan that was launched earlier this month, is in charge of developing the big picture for reconstruction.
The council has been asked by Kan to prepare the first set of proposals by the end of June, which is around when he is planning to craft a ''sizable'' extra budget to finance post-quake measures.
==Kyodo