FUKUSHIMA ¨C Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday inspected Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) Holdings¡¯ disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.

Takaichi visited the northeastern prefecture for the first time since taking office in October.

The trip was apparently intended to demonstrate her administration¡¯s focus on rebuilding areas affected by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, ahead of the 15th anniversary next March of the tsunami-triggered nuclear meltdown accident there.

During her visit to the nuclear plant, which straddles the towns of Okuma and Futaba, the prime minister received a briefing about the progress of decommissioning work and met with Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori.

¡°The decommissioning work and the discharge of (tritium-containing) treated water into the ocean are progressing safely and steadily,¡± Takaichi told reporters.

Regarding the government and Tepco¡¯s goal of completing the decommissioning work by 2051, Takaichi said, ¡°With safety as the top priority, the government will take the lead and bear responsibility until the very end.¡±

Takaichi also inspected an interim storage facility for soil removed as part of radiation decontamination work.

Referring to the government¡¯s decision to finally dispose of the removed soil outside of Fukushima by March 2045, Takaichi said, ¡°This is the central government¡¯s promise and responsibility.¡± She expressed her intention to expand the reuse of the soil nationwide and revealed plans to present a road map for the final disposal of the soil from 2030 onward.

Later in the day, Takaichi visited a district of Futaba designated as a ¡°difficult-to-return zone¡± following the nuclear disaster.

Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa told Takaichi about new safety concerns arising from wild bears and boars appearing in overgrown, abandoned farmland. He also explained that there was a complete lack of progress in decontaminating reservoirs, which are essential for restarting agriculture.