Topic I: Police Rescue Operations under Harsh Natural Conditions(1) Mountain Rescue Operations
I. Mountain Rescue Team Operations
The number of accidents in mountainous
areas has been increasing in recent years. The
number in 2014 was higher than that in 2005
by 911 (or 65.9%). In the event ofmountain-climbing accidents, prefectural
police set up a mountain rescue team toconduct emergency search and rescue ofpeople in distress in the mountains. The police
also establish temporary security outposts as
the headquarters for rescue operations,provide mountain climbing instructions toclimbers while patrolling the mountains, andconduct safety checks of trails and surveys ofpotentially dangerous areas.

Drills conducted by mountain rescue teammembers

Column: Climbing Notifications
Climbing Notifications, also called
climbing planning sheets or climber cards,
record information such as the names andclimbing routes of climbers. It is
recommended that every climber/party
submits a notification to the relevant local
government or police in advance, so thatthey can promptly respond to emergencies
in the mountains. Climbers can submit
notifications
directlytothelocal
government or police, or can put them in apost box placed at the trailhead of amountain or in mountain lodges. The police
have been collaborating with other agencies
concerned in encouraging climbers tosubmit notifications partly because thepreparation of a notification gives climbers
an opportunity to review the safety of theirclimbing plans. Some local governments
require climbers to submit notifications
pursuant to ordinances.

Chart I-1 Number of mountain accidents
per year (2005 - 2014)

II. Rescue Equipment and Regular
Search-and-Rescue Drills
The police possess mountain rescue
vehicles and snow vehicles utilized by rescue
teams to access rescue sites, as well as
stretchers and rescue slings for transporting
victims. With the aim of ensuring swift andefficient rescue operations by using thesevehicles and equipment, mountain rescue
teams conduct practical drills based on actual
accidents in the past.

Notification form sample- 21 -

(2) Water Rescue Operations
Prefectural police have supplied a total of
approximately 160 police boats to police
stations responsible for the safety and securityof major ports, remote islands and rivers, andthese boats have been used for water rescue
operations conducted in cooperation with theJapan Coast Guard, as well as for patrols andcrime control activities.

and security of the disaster-stricken area
(hereinafter, the “police of the affectedareas”). Disaster-relief operations include thegathering of information concerning thedamage caused by the disaster, the rescue ofdisaster victims, and the search for missing
persons.
In a disaster causing an unexpectedly large
amount of damage that makes it difficult forthe police of the affected areas to cope withthe situation on their own, Police Disaster
Dispatch Units 1 , as a structure to support
disaster security operations, are set up andsent to the afflicted areas.

Police boats

Case: In August 2014, the city of Hiroshima
was struck by a series of large-scalelandslides. With the dispatch of Police
Disaster Dispatch Units from across thecountry, the Hiroshima Prefectural Police
rescued victims, searched for missing
persons, and engaged in around-the-clock
disaster security operations in thedevastated areas where torrents of mud
water left piles of rocks, fallen trees andother debris.

Case: In November 2014, waves striking
one side of a fishing boat caused it tocapsize on the coast of Kochi Prefecture.
The captain, 63, and two other crew
members were thrown overboard. At therequest of Kochi Coast Guard Office, theKochi Prefectural Police dispatched thepolice boat "Ootosa" to the rescue site. At
that time, a gale warning had been issued
for the marine areas which included therescue site, and the waves were as high as 2meters. The police boat, in cooperation witha rescue helicopter that was sent to the site
by the prefectural government, rescued thethree victims by the use of lifebuoys andslings.

Rescue operation utilizing a police helicopter

Police boat rescue operation(3)Operations of Police Units during
Large-Scale Disasters
I. Disaster Relief Operations of Police
Disaster Response Units
When a disaster takes place, mobile police
units and additional police officers aredispatched for relief operations by theprefectural police responsible for the safety

1: Disaster Response Units (DRUs) are organized on thebasis of Inter-Prefectural Emergency Rescue Units(IERUs) and consist of Readiness Units and RegularUnits. Approximately 10,000 officers nationwide belong
to Readiness Units and are mobilized immediatelyfollowing the occurrence of a large disaster. Otherofficers of DRUs belong to Regular Units which are sent
to disaster-stricken areas to engage in a broad range ofoperations in response to local needs when a prolonged
period of time is necessary for these operations.

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walk due to a broken leg, out of a mountainlodge and rescued her with a police
helicopter.

II. Development of Training Facilities toImprove Police Capabilities to Cope with
Disasters
In order to further enhance the capabilitiesof IERUs and other operation units, there is anecessity to develop facilities that can be used
as a training center for officers in preparation
for disaster security operations.
Specifically, as IERU members and otherpolice officers need to undertake safe andeffective training and drills given in asystematic and step-by-step manner toimprove their capabilities to respond todisasters such as landslides due to heavy rainsor large-scale earthquakes that are likely totake place in the future in Japan, the police areproceeding with plans to develop training
facilities.

Gas concentration measurements

Search for victims near the top of Mt. Ontake

Training facilities (Conceptual plan)

Column: The Volcanic Eruption of Mt.
Ontake and Ensuing Police Operations
Mt. Ontake, a volcano straddling
Nagano and Gifu prefectures, erupted in
September 2014 with many climbers falling
victim to the disaster. On the steep slopes
near the mountaintop where a thick layerof volcanic ash covered the ground andvolcanic gases were released, police fromthe two prefectures rescued and provided
relief to victims, with the help of mobile
units from the Metropolitan Police
Department. The Nagano prefectural police
mountain rescue team climbed to themountaintop and rescued people stranded
there. The Gifu prefectural police mountainguard, on patrol near the mountaintop,
carried a woman, 39, who was unable to- 23 -