Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru visited Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on December 14.

This was his first trip to the disaster-hit facility since taking office in October.

Ishiba inspected severely damaged units 1 and 2 from the outside while being briefed by TEPCO officials about the progress of decommissioning the plant.

The Japanese leader spoke with workers involved with the decommissioning and told them the government will provide support so that their efforts will pay off.

After touring the plant where some reactors experienced meltdown after tsunami swept through the facility following a major earthquake in March 2011, he made remarks to reporters.

S/ Ishiba Shigeru, Prime Minister / We must establish a path toward realizing the de-commissioning and the final disposal of materials such as decontaminated soil.

Noting that the coming five years are extremely important for addressing the challenges of reconstruction, he said he wants to secure the financial resources needed to vigor-ously move forward with the government's reconstruction policies.