Japanese PM vows to help rebuild typhoon-hit areas in western Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged Friday to make efforts to reconstruct the areas in western Japan recently ravaged by a powerful typhoon, Kyodo News reported."The government will do its best and ramp up efforts for recovery and reconstruction," Noda said during a meeting with Yoshinobu Nisaka, governor of Wakayama Prefecture and mayors in the prefecture, which was hit hard by heavy rainfall triggered by the season's 12th typhoon, Talas. Noda also expressed his admiration for Nachikatsuura Mayor Shinichi Teramoto, who lost his daughter in the disaster but has continued to lead efforts to help residents. Noda inspected landslide sites from above in a Self-Defense Forces helicopter on Friday, according to the report.He is also scheduled to make a trip to Mie and Nara prefectures, which were struck hard by heavy rainfall caused by the typhoon as well. Talas brought torrential rain, causing massive floods and mudslides in western Japan last weekend, with the death toll rising to more than 50 and restoration of water and power supplies still a priority.