Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has vowed to secure sufficient funding for programs to enable residents to return to areas affected by the disaster on March 11, 2011.



Ishiba spoke to reporters on Tuesday after attending a ceremony in Fukushima Prefecture to remember victims of the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck eastern Japan 14 years ago.



The second phase of the government's roadmap for post-disaster reconstruction ends on March 31 next year.



Ishiba said the next five years will be a critical time to promote measures for residents to return and for them to recover their livelihoods.



He also said the period will be a time for laying a course for decommissioning the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and final disposal of soil removed during decontamination work.



The prime minister said that in order to make a further push for reconstruction over the next five years, his government will review its basic policy by summer and secure sufficient funding that would exceed the 1.6 trillion yen, or about 10.8 billion dollars, earmarked for the current five-year period.



Ishiba stressed that lessons from the disaster must not be forgotten. He said the Reconstruction Agency will serve as the command post and Cabinet ministers will fulfill their responsibilities.



Asked whether he plans to review the roadmap for decommissioning the reactors, Ishiba said there are partial delays at this point, but there has been no major impediment to the overall process. He says the government will continue to be at the forefront, such as by supporting technological development, with safety as the top priority.