Updated:April 20, 2016

Mayor’s comment on the enactment of “The New Act on Remote Islands near the National Border”

April 20, 2016

Today, the National Diet passed an “Act on Special Measures Concerning the Preservation of Inhabited Remote Island-Region and the Maintenance of Local Communities in Specific Inhabited Remote Island-Region (called “The New Act on Remote Islands near the National Border”)”.
This New Act was submitted by legislators and was hoped to be passed in the Diet in order to preserve the national territory of remote islands on the national border and to maintain the population.

　Through this Act, we will obtain great benefit: measures to cheapen the transportation charges on the routes from/to remote islands and to ease the expense of daily commodities in order for residents in remote islands region near the National Border to live in safety and security. In addition, based on the act, we can expect to activate the local communities by way of expanding the opportunity for employment and the population for exchange.

　I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all those concerned for their effort and contributions to enact this new act. Especially, I would like to thank Mr. Tanigawa, a member of the House of Representatives and chairman of special committee for promotion of remote islands in LDP, Mr. Kaneko (House of Councillors), Mr. Kitamura (House of Representatives), Mr. Koga (House of Councillors) and the Prefectural Assembly members from Sasebo including Chairman Tanaka, and Sasebo City Assembly members.

　I would like to make a full effort to promote the local communities in order to maintain the lives of residents in the remote-islands region. My fellow citizens, your kind guidance and cooperation in this regard would be much appreciated.

Norio Tomonaga
Mayor of Sasebo