The is an agency of the Japanese government established on February 10, 2012 to coordinate reconstruction activities related to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Mission According to "Role of the Reconstruction Agency", the agency will: 1. Plan, coordinate, and implement the national policy on reconstruction;2. Bear the responsibility for a unified point of contact, assistance, etc. to local public bodies. History and function The Reconstruction Agency was established to replace the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan earthquake, created on June 24, 2011. The Reconstruction Agency was headed by the Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Noda was named direct head of the agency in an effort to strengthen the leadership of the organization. Tatsuo Hirano, a native of Iwate Prefecture, served as the agency's first Minister of State for Disaster Management until he was replaced by Osamu Fujimura on June 4, 2012. The Reconstruction Agency is not part of the Cabinet Office, but will have authority over other government ministries. The agency will exist for ten years, the length of time estimated to fully restore the region after the disaster, and be dissolved on March 3, 2021. A wooden tablet for the new agency was made from materials from the earthquake zone. Prime Minister Noda placed the tablet at the Akasaka Agency headquarters as a reminder of the responsibility to residents of the disaster-hit regions. The Reconstruction Agency established three Regional Offices for Reconstruction in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, and two smaller regional offices in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture and Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. The agency also sought to work with business associations in Japan in order to establish or revive economic activity in the Tohoku region affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. The agency, as well as the Japan Business Federation, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and their affiliated corporations, formed the Reconstruction Design Council in response to the Great East Japan earthquake. Timeline 2011 March 11 — Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami June 24 — (Law No. 76 of 2011) passed in the Diet of Japan June 24 — Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan earthquake created September 2 — Resignation of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda assumes office December 9 — (Law No. 125 of 2011) passed in the Diet of Japan 2012 February 10