62046 Firstly, a financially provision to secure the livelihood of the victims needs immediate attention as an interim measure.
62047 At present, more than 300,000 evacuees are still forced to live in the shelters with great inconvenience, and it is obvious that the financial problem will grow as time goes by.
62048 Demands for money in order to buy day-to-day items, to reopen stores, to repair houses and for other things are expected to increase sharply.
62049 Financial institutions including banks are lending necessary funds for immediate use to the evacuees who had fled from their homes with their bankbooks and cards left behind, and there is a need for them to supply enough funds to the victims in cooperation with the Bank of Japan.
62050 Additionally, it is necessary to put in the measures such as tax cuts, deferrals of public utility payments and others for the evacuees.
62051 We understand that efforts are being made on individual items, but it is important to provide them as a package.
62052 It is said that the prompt decision made by the government and the Bank of Japan to offer financial measures that were subsequently delivered as a comprehensive package helped to stabilize the public's mind.
62053 Furthermore, the funds to build temporary housing, to reconstruct the buildings and expressways that had been collapsed and the like are expected to grow substantially.
62054 While the accurate cost of damage is still under investigation, a private economic research institute has cited between three and eight trillion yen.
62055 The current 1994 annual budget is far from enough.
62056 It is necessary to establish a supplementary budget and attend to what is needed urgently.
62057 We will probably have to resort to government bonds as the source of funds.
62058 However, it is desirable to identify them as something like the "Earthquake Government Bonds" in order to distinguish them from the ordinary construction bonds.
62059 Both the government and the ruling party seem to have given their thought to this point so far.
62060 However, we are not so sure at all when it comes to the medium-term financial strategy.