Japan to approve extra budget for quake-hit regions as evacuees battle with infectious virus

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday said an extra budget for 2016 will be approved next month to make provisions to deal with the ever-increasing fallout following powerful earthquakes rocking the nation's southwest earlier this month.

Senior officials from Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition Komeito party ally said they planned to get the budget passed through the Diet with cooperation from opposition parties on May 17, once it's submitted.

Local media quoted the prime minister as telling a consortium of business leaders in the quake-hit Kyushu region as saying, "The Cabinet would like to approve the budget on May 13 and submit it to the Diet."

A local business cooperative leader said the central government's assistance would be essential for the restoration and revitalization of the quake-ravaged region.

"Reconstruction of quake-hit areas centering on Kumamoto and Oita prefectures will not be possible without the support of the government," said Yutaka Aso, chairman of the Kyushu Economic Federation.

"We would like the government to take initiatives such as compiling a budget," Aso was quoted as saying.

The prime minister said that all out efforts would be made to help small and medium-sized businesses to get back on their feet, as well as ensuring the region's agricultural and tourist industries are also supported.

The extra budget, the government indicated earlier his month, may come from reserve funds to the tune of 350 billion yen (3.15 billion dollars), which may be made available for costs associated to the quake-hit regions' restoration.

"Taking into account the prime minister's instructions, the government would like to make use of this reserved fund. The government will firmly support disaster-hit local authorities on the fiscal front," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga previously told a press briefing.

Confirmation of Abe's Cabinet approving the extra budget comes as the quake-hit regions are reeling with tens of thousands still taking refuge in temporary evacuation facilities, that themselves are struggling to combat squalid conditions and the spread of disease.

According to the the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the almost 30 people who have suffered recently from severe diarrhea and vomiting at a shelter in Minamiaso, in the Aso District of Kumamoto Prefecture, may have been exposed to a highly infectious virus.

The institute said that infectious gastroenteritis, which is caused by noroviruses, flu, and respiratory infections, such as those caused by the human respiratory syncytial virus, are rated as Level 3, meaning caution is required at the shelters and officials and volunteers there, as well as the quake victims, need to to stay on alert.

One person, local media said Wednesday, has been confirmed as having the norovirus infection, and the institute is advising volunteers in the area, particularly middle-aged people, to be vaccinated against these diseases and others such as tetanus, measles and rubella -- the latter two of which are rated as Level 2.

The institute said that evacuees are now facing the increasing risk of the rise of infectious diseases and along with taking basic preventative measures, urged those feeling unwell to seek medical help immediately. Enditem