Extract of the 2022
White Paper on Fire Service

Materials created by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency wereextracted and translated by the International Fire Service Information Center

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency(FDMA)

Extract of the 2022 White Paper on Fire Service
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Section1 Fire Prevention /Japanese original P.49............................................................................................ 1[ Current Status and Recent Trends with Fires ] ........................................................................................................ 1[ Current Status of Fire Prevention Administration ] /Japanese original P.61.......................................................... 2
1. Current Status of Residential Fire Alarm Installation.......................................................................................... 2
2. Fire Prevention Properties................................................................................................................................... 2
3. Fire Prevention Management System.................................................................................................................. 2(1) Fire Prevention Managers................................................................................................................................ 2(2) Supervisors of Fire Prevention Management................................................................................................. 2(3) Periodic Inspection and Reporting System for Fire Prevention Properties.................................................. 3
4. Disaster Prevention Management System........................................................................................................... 4(1) Disaster Prevention Managers........................................................................................................................ 4(2) Supervisors of Disaster Prevention Management.......................................................................................... 4
5. Onsite Inspections and Corrections of Violations............................................................................................... 4(1) Current Status of Onsite Inspections and Corrections of Violations............................................................. 4(2) Fire Safety Certification Mark System............................................................................................................. 5(3) Initiation of a System for Publicly Announcing Violating Properties............................................................. 5
6. Fire Protection Equipment, etc............................................................................................................................. 5(1) Current Status of Fire Prevention Consent..................................................................................................... 5(2) Current Status of the Installation of Fire Protection Equipment, etc............................................................. 5(3) Fire Protection Equipment Engineers and Fire Protection Equipment Inspectors....................................... 5(4) Flame Retardancy Regulations....................................................................................................................... 6(5) Regulations for Equipment and Tools that Use Fire....................................................................................... 6
7. Inspection System for Fire Protection Machinery and Tools, etc....................................................................... 6(1) Inspections....................................................................................................................................................... 6(2) Self-labeling..................................................................................................................................................... 6
8. Performance Inspections of Technical Standards for Fire Protection Equipment, etc...................................... 7
9. Current Status of Investigations into the Causes of Fires................................................................................... 7
10. Promoting Countermeasures to Product Fires.................................................................................................... 7

Section2	Countermeasures to Disasters at Facilities for Hazardous Materials/Japanese original P.71...................................................................................................................... 9[ Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters at Facilities for Hazardous Materials ].............................................. 9
1. Fire Accidents....................................................................................................................................................... 9(1) Number of Fire Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials and their Damage..................................... 9(2) Causative Factors behind the Fire Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials.................................. 10(3) Fire Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities..................................................................................................... 10(4) Fire Accidents during the Transportation of Hazardous Materials.............................................................. 11(5) Fire Accidents during the Temporary Storage or Handling.......................................................................... 11
2. Spillage Accidents.............................................................................................................................................. 11(1) Number of Spillage Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials and their Damage............................ 12(2) Causative Factors behind the Spillage Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials........................... 13(3) Spillage Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities.............................................................................................. 13(4) Spillage Accidents during the Transportation of Hazardous Materials....................................................... 13(5) Spillage Accidents during the Temporary Storage or Handling................................................................... 13[ Current Status of Hazardous Materials Administration ] /Japanese original P.75.............................................. 13
1. Regulations on Hazardous Materials................................................................................................................. 13(1) Regulatory Structure for Hazardous Materials............................................................................................. 13(2) Current Status of Facilities for Hazardous Materials.................................................................................... 13(3) Hazardous Material Engineers...................................................................................................................... 13(4) Safety Systems at Offices.............................................................................................................................. 15(5) Safety Inspections......................................................................................................................................... 15(6) Onsite Inspections and Orders...................................................................................................................... 15i

2. Securing Petroleum Pipelines............................................................................................................................ 16(1) Safety Regulations for the Petroleum Pipeline Business............................................................................. 16(2) Ensuring the Safety of Petroleum Pipelines................................................................................................. 16

Section3	Countermeasures to Disasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes/Japanese original P.81.................................................................................................................... 17[ Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes ].............................................. 17
1. Number of Accidents and Damage.................................................................................................................... 17
2. Characteristics of Accidents.............................................................................................................................. 17(1) Number of General Accidents by Type of Accident..................................................................................... 17(2) Number of General Accidents by Cause of Accident................................................................................... 17(3) Number of General Accidents by Type of Specified Business Establishment............................................ 18(4) Number of General Accidents at Specified Business Establishment by Type of Business Category....... 18[ Current Status of Countermeasures to Disasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes ]/Japanese original P.82 ..................................................................................................................................... 18
1. Current Status of Special Disaster Prevention Areas........................................................................................ 18
2. Disaster Prevention Systems in Prefectures and at Firefighting Agencies...................................................... 18(1) Establishing Disaster Prevention Schemes.................................................................................................. 18(2) Emergency Responses when Disasters Occur............................................................................................ 18(3) Maintaining the Firefighting Capabilities of Municipalities Containing Special Disaster Prevention Areas............... 20
3. Disaster Prevention Systems at Specified Business Establishments.............................................................. 20(1) Establishing Disaster Prevention Organizations for Self-defense............................................................... 20(2) Installation of High Capacity Foam Systems................................................................................................ 20(3) Enhancing Disaster Prevention Systems for Self-defense.......................................................................... 20
4. Layout Regulations for Business Establishments............................................................................................. 20(1) Layout Regulations........................................................................................................................................ 20(2) Status of New Establishment Notifications, etc. ......................................................................................... 21
5. Other Disaster Countermeasures....................................................................................................................... 21(1) Establishing Disaster Response Systems.................................................................................................... 21(2) Establishing Green Buffer Zones for Disaster Prevention............................................................................ 21
6. Recent Disaster Countermeasures at Petroleum Industrial Complexes.......................................................... 21(1) L iaison Conferences of the FDMA and Related Ministries to Examine Disaster Prevention Measures
at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. ...................................................................................................... 21(2) Earthquake and Tsunami Measures for Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc........................................... 21(3) Skill Contest for Self-defense Disaster Prevention Organizations at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. ....... 22(4) H
 olding Investigative Committee Meetings to Strengthen the Disaster Prevention Systems ofPetroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. .......................................................................................................... 22

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Section1 Fire Service Structure /Japanese original P.111......................................................................... 23
1. Fire Defense Organizations................................................................................................................................ 23(1) Standing Firefighting Agencies..................................................................................................................... 23(2) Volunteer Fire Corps...................................................................................................................................... 23
2. Fire and Disaster Defense Facilities, etc............................................................................................................ 24(1) Maintenance of Fire Trucks and Other Vehicles........................................................................................... 24(2) Fire Defense Communication Equipment..................................................................................................... 24(3) Water Sources for Firefighting....................................................................................................................... 25

Section 4 Education and Training Structure /Japanese original P.129...................................................... 26
1. Education and Training for Firefighters.............................................................................................................. 26
2. On-the-job Training............................................................................................................................................. 26
3. Education and Training at Fire Academies........................................................................................................ 26(1) Establishment of Fire Academies.................................................................................................................. 26(2) Types of Education and Training................................................................................................................... 26
4. Education and Training and Technical Assistance at the Fire and Disaster Management College................ 26(1) Enrollment in Education and Training........................................................................................................... 26(2) Facilities and Equipment............................................................................................................................... 27(3) Technical Assistance for Fire Academies..................................................................................................... 27iiSection 5 Ambulance Service System /Japanese original P.132................................................................ 28
1. Implementation of Ambulance Services............................................................................................................ 28(1) Ambulance Service Dispatch........................................................................................................................ 28(2) People Transported by the Severity of Their Injury or Illness...................................................................... 28(3) People Transported by Ambulance by Age Group and Type of Incident.................................................... 28(4) Time Required to Arrive at the Scene........................................................................................................... 28(5) Time Required to Check the Patient into a Hospital.................................................................................... 29(6) First-aid Treatment Administered by Ambulance Team Members............................................................... 29
2. Implementation Structure for Ambulance Services........................................................................................... 29(1) Number of Municipalities Offering Ambulance Services.............................................................................. 29(2) Number of Ambulance Teams, Ambulance Team Members and Associate Ambulance Team Members.......... 29(3) Trends in the Number of EMTs and Ambulance Teams with EMTs.............................................................. 31(4) Number of Ambulances................................................................................................................................. 31(5) Ambulance Services along National and Other Expressways..................................................................... 31
3. Promoting Coordination between Firefighting and Medical Care.................................................................... 31(1) Standards on Patient Transport and Their Acceptance............................................................................... 31(2) Ambulance Medical Care Structure.............................................................................................................. 32(3) Acceptance of People Using Ambulance Transport at Medical Institutions............................................... 32
4. Promotion of More Sophisticated Ambulance Services................................................................................... 33(1) Promotion of Education for Ambulance Service Personnel......................................................................... 33(2) Increase in the Treatment Scope of EMTs.................................................................................................... 33(3) Enhancement of Medical Control System.................................................................................................... 33(4) Use of Emergency Resuscitation Statistics (Utstein data)........................................................................... 34

Section 6 Rescue System /Japanese original P.146.................................................................................... 35
1. Implementation Status for Rescue Activities..................................................................................................... 35(1) Number of Rescue Activities and Number of People Rescued................................................................... 35(2) Implementation Status of Rescue Activities by Type of Incident................................................................ 35
2. Implementation Structure for Rescue Activities................................................................................................ 35(1) Number of Rescue Crews and Number of Rescue Crew Members............................................................ 35(2) Possession Status of Rescue Equipment for Rescue Activities.................................................................. 36
3. National Firefighting and Rescue Skills Meets.................................................................................................. 36

Section 8	Integrated Fire Service Support and National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response/Japanese Original P.154............................................................................................................... 37

1. Integrated Support System for Fire Service...................................................................................................... 37(1) Mutual Support Agreement for Fire Services............................................................................................... 37(2) Establishment of Integrated Support System for Fire Service.................................................................... 37
2. National Fire-Service Teams for Disaster Response........................................................................................ 37
	(1) Creation of National Fire-Service Teams for Disaster Response and Their Enshrinement in
Law via Revisions to the Fire Defense Organization Act............................................................................. 37(2) Organization of and Dispatch Plans for National Fire-Service Teams ........................................................ 39(3) Number of National Fire-Service Teams Registered and Their Equipment................................................. 42

Attachment

Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture /Japanese original P.8 (Attachment)............................ 44

iii

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

1 Fire Prevention

Section☞ Japanese Original P.49

the previous year), or 70.4% of the 50,006 fires that
occurred ten years prior (2011). Furthermore, the numberof fatalities from fires has also largely been trending
downward since 2011. The number of fatalities from fires
in 2021 was 1,417 (an increase of 91, or 6.9%, from theprevious year), or 80.2% of the 1,766 fatalities of ten years
ago (2011).(Fig.1-1-1, Attachment 1-1-54, untranslated)

Current Status and Recent Trends with Fires
Looking at the number of fires since 2011, there has
been a downward trend. The number of fires that occurredin 2021 totaled 35,222(an increase of 531, or 1.5%, from

Fig. 1-1-1 Changes in the number of fires and their trends(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Fire Reports”.
2 The figures for each year are calculated from fires that occurred between January and December. The same holds true in this section
hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
3 See the left axis for the number of fires, number of fatalities, number of fires ratio, building floor area burned ratio, number of fatalities ratio,
and amount of damages ratio, and the right axis for the building floor area burned and the amount of damages.
4 The number of fires ratio, building floor area burned ratio, number of fatalities ratio, and amount of damages ratio are ratios found by taking
the values from 2011 to be 100.

-omitted-1

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters☞ Japanese Original P.61

3. Fire Prevention Management System

Current Status of Fire Prevention Administration(1) Fire Prevention Managers
The Fire Service Act requires that people withmanagement authority for fire prevention properties that
contain large numbers of people (hereinafter referred
to as “management officials”) appoint fire prevention
managers*5 who form the core of voluntary fire prevention
management structures, and to have them perform
operations necessary for fire prevention management that
stipulate the implementation of firefighting, reporting, andevacuation drills.
As of March 31, 2022, the number of fire prevention
properties that were legally required to establish fire
prevention management structures and appoint fire
prevention managers totaled 1,079,288 nationwide. Of
these, 896,597 properties, which corresponds to 83.1%,
have appointed fire prevention managers and notified
firefighting agencies to this effect.
Additionally, the number of fire prevention properties
where the fire prevention manager has prepared a fire
prevention plan for fire prevention management*6 in orderto carry out proper fire prevention management operations
at their own office and notified firefighting agencies tothis effect was 847,507, or 78.5% of the total number ofproperties. (Attachment 1-1-55, untranslated)

1. Current Status of Residential Fire
Alarm Installation
The Fire Service Act and municipal ordinances
require the installation of residential fire alarms, and fire
departments nationwide are working with volunteer fire
corps, women’s (female) firefighting clubs, voluntarydisaster prevention organizations to ensure that they
are installed and maintained. As of June 1, 2022, thenationwide installation rate*1 was 84.0% and the ordinancecompliance rate*2 was 67.4%. When viewed by prefecture,
Fukui Prefecture had the highest installation rate, and thehighest ordinance compliance rate. (Attachment 1-1-54,
untranslated).

2. Fire Prevention Properties
The Fire Service Act defines the primary properties
that are subject to fire prevention administration, such asarchitectural structures, as “fire prevention properties.” Italso mandates the establishment of personnel structures
for fire prevention, the installation of fire protection
equipment, etc.*3 and the use of flame retardant materials
at those fire prevention properties listed in Appended
Table I of the Order of Enforcement for the Fire Service
Act according to their purpose, size, and so forth.
As of March 31, 2022, the number of fire prevention
properties throughout Japan totaled 4,247,828 (thisnumber is from the Survey on the Actual Conditions ofFire Prevention Properties (targeting those fire prevention
properties listed in Appended Table I of the Order of
Enforcement for the Fire Service Act that are listed in(1) through (16-3) and have a total area of 150m 2 orlarger, and those listed in (17) through (19)); the same
hereinafter).
Moreover, the number of fire prevention properties in
the 21 major cities (special wards of Tokyo and ordinancedesignated cities) was 1,219,223, accounting for 28.7% of
the total number of fire prevention properties throughout
Japan. Those properties that are particularly concentrated
in urban areas include underground malls (86.7% of thenational total), semi-underground malls*4 (85.7% of thenational total), stores engaged in sex-related businesses,
etc. (55.7% of the national total). (Table 1-1-1)

*1
*2
*3
*4
*5
*6
*7

(2) Supervisors of Fire Prevention Management
For properties like high-rise buildings (buildings thatare taller than 31m high), underground malls, semiunderground malls, and other specified properties subject
to fire prevention measures*7 at or above a certain size
where management authority has been divided up, the Fire
Service Act stipulates that fire prevention managers areto be appointed to carry out fire prevention management
for each area where management authority exists. At thesame time, it also states that supervisors of fire prevention
management are to be appointed in consultation with fire
prevention managers in order to carry out fire prevention
management for the building as a whole in an integrated
manner. It also mandates that each management official is
obligated to ensure the safety of the entire fire prevention
property by preparing firefighting plans for fire prevention
management for said property as a whole, and by
conducting firefighting, reporting, and evacuation drills.
As of March 31, 2022, the number of fire prevention
properties that were required to appoint supervisors of fire
prevention management totaled 89,772 nationwide. Of
these, 57,940, or 64.5%, have appointed supervisors of fire

The installation rate: The share of households that have installed residential fire alarms in at least one location of the sections of their home in which
they are obligated to do so by municipal fire prevention ordinances (including households that are exempt from installing residential fire alarms on
account of having installed fire alarm systems, etc.) out of the total number of households.
The ordinance compliance rate: The share of households that have installed residential fire alarms in every section of their home in which they are
obligated to do so by municipal fire prevention ordinances (including households that are exempt from installing residential fire alarms on account of
having installed fire alarm systems, etc.) out of the total number of households.
Fire protection equipment, etc.: Equipment for extinguishing fires, evacuation, and other fire prevention activities (fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems,
automatic fire alarms, fire escape equipment, guide lamps, etc.)
Semi-underground mall: A combination of an underground passage and shops established in the basement of a building that stand in a row facing
this underground passage.
Fire prevention managers: People who have been appointed from among those management officials who have certain qualifications, such as having
completed a training course on fire prevention management for fire prevention properties, and who are in a managerial or supervisory position where
they can appropriately carry out the operations necessary for fire prevention management at said properties.
Fire prevention plan for fire prevention management: These are plans that establish matters which are necessary for fire prevention management. Saidplans are prepared by fire prevention managers, with fire prevention management operations carried out on the basis of said plans.
Specified properties subject to fire prevention measures: Certain properties under fire prevention measures that include department stores,
restaurants, and other properties that can accommodate large numbers of people, as well as hospitals, nursing homes for the elderly, kindergartens,
and other properties used by people who would require assistance during a disaster.

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Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table 1-1-1 Number of fire prevention properties
Classification of fire prevention properties
a Theaters, etc.
(1)b Public halls, etc.

Nationwide

21 majorcities

4,532

650

64,311(As of March 31, 2022)

Percentage
Classification of fire prevention properties Nationwide
(%)

6,253

(3)

(%)

(3) Nursery schools, etc.

38,526

8,701

22.6

9.7

(4) Child development support
centers, etc.

4,397

707

16.1

(5) Welfare centers fordisabled persons, etc.

24,069

4,080

17.0

a Cabarets, etc.

1,379

126

9.1

b Game centers, etc.

8,496

1,608

18.9

Subtotal

90,23017,559

19.5

174

97

55.7

d Kindergartens, etc.

15,433

3,857

25.0

124,538

28,213

22.7

7,640

862

11.3

c S
 tores engaged in sex-related
businesses, etc.

(6)d Karaoke box and stores, etc.

2,271

574

25.3

(7)

Schoolsa Restaurants, etc.

2,426

431

17.8

(8)

Libraries, etc.

b Eating and drinking houses(4) Department stores, etc.
(5)cities

14.3

c

(2)

(As
of March
31, 2018)
21 major
Percentage

a Hotels, etc.

86,59817,90620.7

157,056

28,48518.1(9)

a Special bathhouses

1,732

626

36.1

b General bathhouses

3,969

868

21.9

59,945

8,188

13.7

(10)

Railroad depots

3,989

1,423

35.7

1,387,512

538,917

38.8

(11)

Temples and shrines, etc.

58,91812,38821.0(1) H ospitals that require patient
assistance for evacuation

5,722

1,053

18.4

a Factories, etc.

484,014

71,34014.7(2) Clinics with 19 beds or lessthat need patient assistance for
evacuation

2,875

576

20.0

407

148

36.4

a (3) Hospitals(not including those listedin (1)), Clinics with 19 beds orless(not including those listed in (2))
and maternity homes with beds

9,278

2,323

25.0

a Parking lots, etc.

52,23913,95026.7(4) Clinics with no in-patient capacity,maternity homes without beds

45,723

8,575

18.8

b Aircraft hangars

702

86

12.3

Subtotal

63,59812,52719.7(14)

Warehouses

336,405

53,613

15.9(1) Short-term welfare facilities for theelderly

45,708

8,854

19.4

(15)

Offices, etc.

496,580

110,560

22.3

221

36

16.3

a S
 pecified multipurpose fire
prevention properties

385,715

146,64938.0

b Unspecified multipurpose
fire prevention properties

281,620

128,925

45.8

60

52

86.7

b Apartment houses, etc.

(6)(2) Shelters
b

c

(12)
b Studios

(13)

(16)
(3) Nurseries

133

31

23.3

(4) Welfare facilities for disabledchildren

530

76

14.3 (16-2) Underground malls(5) Support facilities for the disabled

7,832

1,336

17.1 (16-3) Semi-underground malls

7

6

85.7

Subtotal

54,424

10,33319.0(17)Cultural properties

9,648

1,533

15.9

(1) Elderly daycare centers, etc.

23,012

4,029

17.5

(18)

Arcades

1,260

470

37.3

226

42

18.6

(19)

Mountain forests

0

0

−

Total

4,247,828

1,219,223

28.7(2) Rehabilitation facilities(Notes) 1 Prepared based on the Survey on the Actual Conditions of Fire Prevention Properties (targeting those fire prevention properties listed inAppended Table I of the Ordinance of Enforcement for the Fire Service Act that are listed in (1) through (16-3) and have a total area of 150m2
or larger, and those listed in (17) through (19); the same hereafter).
2 The 21 major cities refer to the 23 wards of Tokyo and 20 ordinance-designated cities (Sapporo City, Sendai City, Saitama City, Chiba City,
Yokohama City, Kawasaki City, Sagamihara City, Niigata City, Shizuoka City, Hamamatsu City, Nagoya City, Kyoto City, Osaka City, Sakai City,
Kobe City, Okayama City, Hiroshima City, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka City, and Kumamoto City).

prevention management and notified firefighting agencies
to this effect.
Furthermore, the number of fire prevention properties
that have prepared overall fire prevention plans in orderto carry out fire prevention management for the building
as a whole in an integrated manner, and that have notified
firefighting agencies to this effect was 56,273, or 62.7%of the total number of properties. (Attachment 1-1-56,
untranslated)or structures have people with expertise in fire prevention(hereinafter referred to as “qualified inspectors of fire
prevention properties”) perform inspections and report theinspection results to firefighting agencies once a year.
These qualified inspectors of fire prevention properties
consist of people with a certain level of fire prevention
knowledge, such as fire protection equipment engineers*8
with three or more years of practical experience inconstruction work for fire protection equipment, etc., orpeople with three or more years of practical experience
as fire prevention managers. They must also completea training course offered by a corporation that has
been registered by the Minister of Internal Affairs andCommunications, and have been issued a certificate(3) Periodic Inspection and Reporting System forFire Prevention Properties
The Fire Service Act mandates that management
officials at fire prevention properties with certain purposes*8

Fire protection equipment engineer: A person with expert knowledge of fire protection equipment etc. who has been issued a fire protection
equipment engineer certification.

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Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
came to 9,269, or 91.1% of the total. (Attachment 1-1-57,
untranslated)attesting that they have acquired the necessary knowledge
and skills regarding inspections for fire prevention
properties.
As of March 31, 2022, the number of such inspectors
totaled 34,282.
In addition, fire prevention properties for which periodic
inspection reports have been mandated and for which
three years have passed since the start of management are
exempted from the obligation of inspections and reports
for three years if they are certified as being in goodcompliance with the standards of the Fire Service Act
through an inspection conducted by a firefighting agency
on the basis of an application from the management
officials from said fire prevention property.
Fire prevention properties that have been acknowledged
as being in compliance with the inspection standards by
a qualified inspector of fire prevention properties may
display a “Fire Prevention Standard Inspection Certificate
of Completion.” Those that have been acknowledged ashaving excellent compliance with the standards in fire
prevention laws and ordinances by firefighting agencies
may display a “Fire Prevention Certificate of Excellence.”(2) Supervisors of Disaster Prevention
Management
For those properties that require disaster prevention
management where management authority has been
divided up, the Fire Service Act stipulates that disasterprevention managers are to be appointed to carry out
disaster prevention. At the same time, it also stipulates
that supervisors of disaster prevention management are
to be appointed in consultation with disaster prevention
managers in order to carry out disaster prevention
management for the building as a whole in an integrated
manner. Each management official is obligated to ensure
fire and disaster safety for the disaster prevention property
as a whole.
As of March 31, 2022, the number of fire prevention
properties that were required to appoint supervisors of
disaster prevention management totaled 3,184 nationwide.
Of these, 2,747, or 86.3%, have appointed supervisors of
disaster prevention management and notified firefighting
agencies to this effect. Furthermore, the number of disasterprevention properties that have prepared firefighting
plans for the whole building in order to carry out disasterprevention management for the building as a whole in
an integrated manner, and that have notified firefighting
agencies to this effect, was 2,695, or 84.6% of the total.
(Attachment 1-1-58, untranslated)

4. Disaster Prevention Management
System(1) Disaster Prevention Managers
In order to handle imminent threats such as major
earthquakes, the Fire Service Act mandates that thosepeople with authority for the management of largescale and high-rise buildings and the like (hereinafterreferred to as “management officials”) are to prepare fire
prevention plans for disaster prevention management*9
suited to earthquakes and other disasters, appoint disasterprevention managers *10 responsible for emergency
preparedness and evacuation drills related to damage
specific to earthquakes, and establish fire defense
organizations for self-protection *11 to carry out thenecessary operations in order to mitigate damage fromfires and other disasters.
As of March 31, 2022, the number of properties underdisaster prevention measures that were legally required
to establish disaster prevention management systems
and appoint disaster prevention managers totaled 10,171
throughout Japan. Of these, 8,746, or 86.0%, haveappointed disaster prevention managers and notified
firefighting agencies to this effect.
Furthermore, the number of properties under disasterprevention measures at which the disaster prevention
manager has prepared firefighting plans for disasterprevention management, in order to carry out theappropriate disaster prevention management operations
at their own offices and other establishments, and notified
firefighting agencies to this effect was 8,340, or 82.0%of the total. The number of said properties that haveestablished fire defense organizations for self-protection

 . Onsite Inspections and Corrections of5
Violations(1) Current Status of Onsite Inspections andCorrections of Violations
Firefighting agencies enter fire prevention properties
to perform onsite inspections pursuant to the Fire Service
Act when it is necessary to do so for the sake of fire
prevention.
The number of times onsite inspections were carriedout by firefighting agencies throughout Japan in FY2021
totaled 684,027. (Attachment 1-1-59, untranslated)
Fire chiefs or fire station chiefs may order measuresthat must be taken with respect to deficiencies in fire
prevention management at fire prevention properties, suchas failure to install fire protection equipment, or otherproblems brought to light through onsite inspections. Suchmeasures include appointing fire prevention managers
and installing fire protection equipment or special fire
protection equipment, etc., pursuant to the Fire ServiceAct.
In addition, in cases where this is recognized as posing
a hazard for fire prevention, necessary measures suchas repairs, relocation, elimination of hazards, as wellas prohibition or restriction of use of the relevant fire
prevention property may be ordered pursuant to the Fire

*9

Fire prevention plans for disaster prevention management: These are plans that establish matters which are necessary for disaster prevention
management.
*10 Disaster prevention managers: People who have been appointed from among those management officials who have certain qualifications, suchas having completed a training course on disaster prevention management, and who are in a managerial or supervisory position where they canappropriately carry out the operations necessary for disaster prevention management at disaster prevention properties.
*11 Fire defense organizations for self-protection: These are personal organizations comprised of people like employees at properties under fire
prevention measures. They carry out the operations necessary in order to mitigate the damage from fires and other disasters when they occur basedon the roles established in the firefighting plan.

4

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

Service Act. The act also states that in the event that suchan order is issued, public notice shall be given.
In cases where violations of fire prevention laws orordinances are discovered as a result of such onsite
inspections, the fire chief or fire station chief works toredress these violations to bring them back into legal
compliance, such as by issuing warnings or other remedial
instructions, orders, etc. (Attachment 1-1-60, 61, 62, 63,
untranslated)
Particularly for properties with serious violations(buildings that are required to have indoor fire hydrant
systems, sprinkler systems, or automatic fire alarmsystems installed but do not have any such fire protection
equipment installed or are in a state where the originalfunction of such equipment is impaired), because of thehigh risk of fire, the fire chief or fire station chief provides
focused corrective guidance based on the seriousnessof the violation, and if the corrective guidance is notfollowed, implements measures such as warnings andorders to have the violation corrected as soon as possible.
(Attachment 1-1-64, untranslated)consent work throughout Japan in FY2021 totaled
207,611, with only 13 of these failing to receive consent.
(Attachment 1-1-65, untranslated)(2) Current Status of the Installation of Fire
Protection Equipment, etc.
The Fire Service Act states that the relevant personnel
from fire prevention properties must install and properly
maintain the necessary fire protection equipment, etc.
according to the purpose, size, structure, and capacity ofthe property in question.
A look at the installation status of primary fire
protection equipment, etc. in specified fire prevention
properties throughout Japan reveals that, as of March 31,
2022, the installation rate for sprinkler systems (number
installed vs. number that need to be installed) was 99.9%,
while the rate for automatic fire alarms was 99.6%.
(Attachment 1-1-66, untranslated)
With respect to the technical standards pertaining tofire protection equipment, etc., regulations are being
successively set in place in accordance with technologicalprogress and societal demands.
Moreover, regarding properties that violate the Fire
Service Act, such as a violation of the obligation to installfire protection equipment, etc., the government willproactively issue administrative orders and other measures
based on the Fire Service Act to further promote promptand effective handling of violations.

(2) Fire Safety Certification Mark System
This system provides users with information on abuilding’s compliance with laws and ordinances related tofire prevention and construction and hotels, Japanese-style
hotels, and other facilities that conform to the standards
are allowed to display the mark (silver).
In addition, those hotels and other facilities that havebeen issued silver display marks for three years in a
row and which meet the standards related to laws andordinances on fire prevention and construction are allowed
to display a gold display mark.
Visitors to the FDMA’s website can check to confirm
hotels that have been issued the Fire Safety Certification
Mark throughout Japan (reference URL: https://www.
fdma.go.jp/relocation/kasai_yobo/hyoujiseido/).

						

(3) Fire Protection Equipment Engineers and Fire
Protection Equipment Inspectors
Efforts are made to ensure the performance of fire
protection equipment, etc. via the inspector system forfire protection machinery and tools. However, if there
are deficiencies or defects at the installation stage, thensuch equipment will be rendered incapable of performing
properly when a fire does occur. To prevent suchcircumstances, the installation and maintenance of certain
fire protection equipment, etc. can only be performed byfire protection equipment engineers.
Furthermore, fire protection equipment, etc. must be
properly maintained on a daily basis to ensure that it iscapable of performing at any time. As a result, it has been
mandated that periodic inspections be performed and theinspection results be reported. These inspections, which
are a prerequisite for maintenance, require knowledge
and skills with regard to fire protection equipment, etc.
Therefore, the relevant personnel from fire prevention
properties must have fire protection equipment engineers
or fire protection equipment inspectors (people who havecompleted certain training courses offered by corporations
that have been registered by the Commissioner of the
FDMA and been issued a fire protection equipment
inspector certificate) perform the inspections on the fire
protection equipment, etc.
Efforts are made to improve the quality of these fire
protection equipment engineers and fire protection
equipment inspectors by mandating that they undergo retraining at certain fixed intervals after they have received
their license in order for them to acquire new knowledge
and skills concerning the fire protection equipment, etc.
Moreover, these people will be ordered to return theirlicense or face a similar punishment in the event that they
violate any of the fire prevention laws or ordinances.
As of March 31, 2022, the total number of fire(3) Initiation of a System for Publicly Announcing
Violating Properties
The System for Publicly Announcing Violating
Properties is a system for announcing the details of legal
violations on the websites of municipal governments
based on the ordinances of said municipalities. Thisis aimed at specified properties under fire prevention
measures that have not yet installed indoor fire hydrants,
sprinkler systems, or fire alarm systems, despite being
obligated to do so. This announcement system has been
initiated at fire departments nationwide.
Information on things like the implementation statusof the public announcement system and its scheduled
implementation period for municipalities throughout
Japan can be confirmed via the FDMA’s website (reference
URL: https://www.fdma.go.jp/relocation/publication/index.html).

6. Fire Protection Equipment, etc.
(1) Current Status of Fire Prevention Consent
Fire prevention consent is a system that was establishedwith the goal of boosting the safety of buildings by having
personnel from firefighting agencies get involved in fire
prevention for buildings starting from the design stage intheir capacity as experts on fire prevention.
The number of cases processed regarding fire prevention

5

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

protection equipment engineers came to 1,288,864( Attachment 1-1-67 , untranslated). In addition, thenumber of fire protection equipment inspectors totaled 762
special inspectors (for special fire protection equipment,etc.), 166,549 Class 1 inspectors (for mechanical systems)
and 156,861 Class 2 inspectors (for electrical systems).

7. Inspection System for Fire Protection
Machinery and Tools, etc.
(1) Inspections
According to the Fire Service Act, fire protection
machinery or tools that are subject to inspection(hereinafter referred to as “machinery and tools subject
to inspection”) are prohibited from being sold, displayedfor commercial purposes, and so forth unless they passinspections and include a label indicating this.
The machinery and tools subject to inspection include
the 12 items stipulated in the Order for Enforcement of theFire Service Act, including fire extinguishers and enclosed
sprinkler heads.
These inspections consist of “model approvals”(approval by the Minister of Internal Affairs andCommunications indicating that the shape and otherfactors of the machinery and tools conform with thetechnical specifications established in ministerial
ordinances) and “model compliance inspections”(inspections conducted by Japan Fire Equipment
Inspection Institute or registered certification body toconfirm that the shape and other factors of the individualmachinery and tools subject to inspection are identicalto the shape, etc. for models of said equipment that havereceived model approval).
Moreover, for machinery and tools subject toinspection with regard to the development of newtechnologies, inspections can be carried out via thetechnical specifications established by the Minister ofInternal Affairs and Communications for those items
that conform to the technical standards established bysaid ministerial ordinance in terms of their shape, etc. or
those acknowledged as having performance that meetsor exceeds this level. Through this, the aim is to enhance
the inspection system so as to promote technologicalinnovation with machinery and tools subject to inspection.
Based on past cases of misconduct, the Fire Service
Act stipulated collection orders by the Minister of Internal
Affairs and Communications and penalties within theverification system for the distribution of nonconforming
products or machinery and tools subject to verification
without conformity marking in the market.
Type approvals in FY2021 included 11 fire extinguishers,
3 fire extinguishing agent for fire extinguishers, 1 fireextinguishing foams, 41 detectors or transmitters for fire
alarm systems, 9 repeaters, 18 receivers, 11 residential firesmoke detectors, 7 enclosed-type sprinkler heads, 4 waterflow detecting devices, 20 deluge valves, 6 metallic escapeladders, and 0 descending devices. The total numberof products that have passed compliance inspection is23,732,354. (Attachment 1-1-69, untranslated)(4) Flame Retardancy Regulations
A. Usage Status of Flame Retardant Materials
Fire prevention properties that must give forethought
to fire prevention due to their structural features or
configuration, such as high-rise buildings and undergroundmalls, as well as fire prevention properties like theaters,
hotels, and hospitals that are used by large unspecified
numbers of people and people requiring special
consideration have been designated as “flame retardancy
and fire prevention properties.” In these properties, theuse of flame-retardant materials for various items thatare likely to become ignition sources is very effective
in preventing fires from starting and also in controllingthe spread of fires in their initial stages. Therefore, theFire Service Act mandates that these properties use
materials with the prescribed flame retardant performance(hereinafter referred to as “flame retardant materials”) for
curtains, stage curtains, plywood display boards, carpets,
and other goods used (hereinafter referred to as “goods
under the flame retardancy requirement”).
As of March 31, 2022, the number of flame retardancy
and fire prevention properties totaled 996,820. The
conformance rate (share of the flame retardancy and fire
prevention properties where flame retardant materials
are used for all of the goods under the flame retardancy
requirements at said properties) at flame retardancy
and fire prevention properties using curtains and stage
curtains was 88.2%, while it was 88.2% at those using
carpets, and 85.3% at those using plywood display boards.
(Attachment 1-1-68, untranslated)
B. Public Awareness of Flame Retardant Materials
for Bedding and Other Goods
Aside from those goods under the flame retardancy
requirement stipulated in the Fire Service Act suchas curtains and carpets, the use of fireproof materials
for futons, pajamas, automobile and motorcycle bodycovers, etc. is also extremely effective at preventing fires.
Therefore, the FDMA spreads public awareness of theseby uploading videos detailing their effects to its website(reference URL: https://www.fdma.go.jp/relocation/html/
life/yobou_contents/fire_retardant/).
(5) Regulations for Equipment and Tools that Use
Fire
From the perspective of fire prevention, the location,
construction, management, and handling of equipment
and tools that use fire, including home gas burners, stoves,
hot-water heaters, fireplaces, kitchen equipment, andsauna equipment, are regulated via the fire prevention
ordinances established by each municipality. Theseare established pursuant to the Ministerial Ordinance
Establishing Standards for Enacting Ordinances on the
Location, Construction, and Management of Eligible
Equipment that Uses Fire and the Handling of Eligible
Tools that Use Fire.

(2) Self-labelingAccording to the Fire Service Act, manufacturers ofmachinery and tools that are subject to self-labeling(hereinafter referred to as “machinery and tools subject
to self-labeling”) are the responsibility of manufacturers
to confirm their compliance with the specifications on
their own. The system also gives approval for labelingthat have been reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs
and Communications in advance. And they are prohibitedfrom being sold, displayed for commercial purposes, andso forth unless they include a label.
Similar to machinery and tools subject to inspection,

6

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

the Fire Service Act stipulates collection orders via the
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications andpenal provisions for machinery and tools subject to selflabeling which are not in compliance with the standards,
or which lack labels indicating their compliance.
The machinery and tools subject to self-labeling are six
items specified in the Order for Enforcement of the Fire
Service Act, including power fire pumps and fire hoses.
The number of reports from manufacturers in FY2021
totaled 7 for power fire pumps, 25 for fire hoses, 0 for firesuction hose, 16 for couplers, 0 for disposable aerosol fire
extinguishers, and 2 for electric leak alarms.

of its equivalence cannot be performed solely throughthe existing objective verification methods (such as
special fire protection equipment, etc.). Under thissystem, applications are made for each property underfire prevention measures regarding special fire protection
equipment, etc. for which general inspection standards
have not have established. The Minister of Internal Affairs
and Communications will then perform an examination
based on the evaluation results from a performance
evaluation agency (the Japan Fire Equipment Inspection
Institute or a registered inspection body), and equipmentthat has been acknowledged as having the necessary levelof performance can be installed. As of March 31, 2022, 75
cases of special fire protection equipment, etc. have been
approved. (Attachment 1-1-70, untranslated)

8. Performance Inspections of TechnicalStandards for Fire Protection Equipment, etc.
When it comes to the technical standards for fire
protection equipment, etc., technical development in thefields of fire and other disaster prevention is promoted,
and performance regulations are adopted to ensure thateven more effective fire prevention and safety measures
can be established.
The basic philosophy behind this is to judge whether
equipment offers performance that is at or above thelevel of performance of the installed fire protection
equipment, etc. based on the conventional technicalstandards. Equipment that has been confirmed to be at or
above the conventional performance level is approved for
installation in place of existing fire protection equipment,
etc.
The performance demanded of fire protection
equipment, etc. is divided up into three categories. Theseare “initial spread inhibition performance,” which is
performance for inhibiting the spread of fires during theirinitial stages, “evacuation safety support performance,”
which is performance that supports safe evacuating during
fires, and “firefighting activity support performance,”
which is performance that supports the activities offirefighting teams. For those for which a certain levelof knowledge has been obtained, equivalence will beassessed by objective verification methods (methods ofobjectively and impartially verifying newly developed
technologies and technical innovations).
At the same time, a certification system via the
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications has been
established aimed at equipment for which evaluations

9. Current Status of Investigations into
the Causes of Fires
Investigating the causes of fires is unequivocally therole of local governments, but it is the duty of the national
government to complement them in this. In cases where
there has been a request from a firefighting agency, or theCommissioner of the FDMA has deemed that there is aparticular necessity in doing so, an investigation into thecauses of a fire can be carried out by the Commissioner of
the FDMA. (see Chap. 6 “Responses to Investigations into
the Causes of Fires, etc. and Disaster Accidents”)
Investigation teams formed from personnel fromthe FDMA according to the type of fire carry out theinvestigations into the causes of the fire through thissystem in coordination with firefighting agencies. The
knowledge and data obtained from the investigations isreflected in policies for fire prevention administration asnecessary. Cases where responses such as the revision offire prevention laws and ordinances were carried out basedon the results of investigations into the causes of fires
conducted by the Commissioner of the FDMA since 2012
are shown in Table 1-1-2.

10. Promoting Countermeasures to
Product Fires
In recent years, as the causes of fires have grown
extremely diverse, products close to the general publicin their daily lives have begun causing fires as well,

Table 1-1-2 Revisions to the fire prevention laws and ordinances based on investigations into thecauses of fires conducted by the Commissioner of the FDMA since 2012№

Date of fire

Location

Building purpose, etc.

Responses by the FDMA1

May 13, 2012

Fukuyama City,
Hiroshima Prefecture

Hotel(10 casualties)

Revised the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act and other legislation, andstrengthened installation standards for automatic fire alarms.
Also restructured and began applying a labeling system that provides users withinformation on buildings that conform to fire prevention standards.

2

February 8, 2013

Nagasaki City,
Nagasaki PrefectureGroup home
(12 casualties)

Revised the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act and other legislation.
Strengthened installation standards for sprinkler systems and mandated that
automatic fire alarms and fire notification alarms be interlinked.

3

August 15, 2013

Fukuchiyama City,
Kyoto Prefecture

Fireworks festival(59 casualties)

Revised the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act and the Fire Prevention
Ordinance (Example). Mandated the submission of plans related to operations
necessary for fire prevention at outdoor event venues at or above a certain size, andmandated that fire extinguishers be prepared.

4

October 11, 2013

Fukuoka City,
Fukuoka Prefecture

Medical clinic(15 casualties)

Revised the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act and other legislation.
Reassessed the installation standards for fire extinguishing equipment, indoor fire
hydrants, sprinkler systems, power fire pump equipment, and fire alarms that notify
firefighting agencies.

7Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

firefighting agencies throughout Japan. Furthermore, thecollected fire information is shared between the Consumer
Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism, and the National Institute of Technology
and Evaluation (NITE), which work together to promote
countermeasures to product fires.
With respect to investigations into the causes of fires
carried out by firefighting agencies throughout Japan,
efforts are also being made to improve the investigation
skills of firefighting agencies. Examples of this include
providing them with technical support such as scientificinvestigation based on the expert knowledge, equipment,
and materials of the National Research Institute of Fireand Disaster, etc. In addition to working to enhanceinvestigations into the causes of fires and the structures
for this, the FDMA also strives to proactively collectinformation on product fires and strengthen collaborations
with relevant agencies. Through this, it is moving forwardwith ensuring consumer safety and peace of mind, while
preventing fire accidents caused by products.

including automobiles and other vehicles, electronic
appliances, and burning appliances. Given strong demand
to ensure consumer safety and peace of mind, the FDMA
has been strengthening its initiatives to combat theseproduct fires.
For such fires, the FDMA has established a structure
whereby it collects fire information from firefighting
agencies in a comprehensive manner and aggregates thenumber of fires for each type of product which serves
as an ignition source. It then provides the public withwarnings and alerts quickly and effectively by announcing
information like the names of faulty products and their
manufacturers every quarter.
Fires that occurred in FY2021 which firefighting
agencies deemed to have been caused by defects in
automobiles and other vehicles, as well as electronic
appliances and burning appliances were aggregated.
From this, it was discovered that of the total of 1,148
product fires, 164 were fires deemed to have been caused
by product defects, 984 were fires (including underinvestigation) that could not be determined to haveoccurred from a defect in a specified product as the directcause. (Fig. 1-1-19)
The results of these investigations are reported toFig. 1-1-19 Trends in the survey results on product fires over the past five years(Note) See the FDMA website for details (URL : https://www.fdma.go.jp/mission/prevention/cause/34530.html).

-omitted-8

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

2

SectionCountermeasures to Disasters at
Facilities for Hazardous Materials☞ Japanese Original P.71

of facilities for hazardous materials has decreased.
Accidents attributable to human factors such as inadequate
maintenance and inadequate operating checks account forthe majority of the primary causes for these fires.

Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters
at Facilities for Hazardous Materials(1) Number of Fire Accidents at Facilities for
Hazardous Materials and their Damage
The number of fire accidents that occurred at facilities
for hazardous materials in 2021 was 224 (37 more than theprevious year). The amount of damages totaled 7,046.92
million yen (an increase of 5,956.57 million yen year-onyear), and they resulted in 0 deaths (a decrease of 2 yearon-year) and 36 people injured (an increase of 3 people
year-on-year). (Fig. 1-2-2)
Moreover, looking at the number of fire accidents that
occurred by type of facility for hazardous materials reveals
that the majority occurred at general outlets, followed bymanufacturing facilities, and fuel supply depots, in thatorder. The sum of these 3 facility classifications accounts
for 95.1% of the total accidents. (Fig. 1-2-3)

Accidents at facilities for hazardous materials*1 arebroadly classified into fires (including explosions) andspills of hazardous materials*2. The number of fire andspillage accidents at facilities for hazardous materials has
been trending upward since 1994. In 2021, there were
224 fires and 422 spills for a total of 646 accidents. This
represents an increase of 84 accidents compared with theprevious year. (Fig. 1-2-1)

1. Fire Accidents
The number of fire accidents that occurred at facilities
for hazardous materials in 2021 was 224. This is anincrease of roughly 2.1-times compared with the 107
such accidents in 1993, which had the lowest number offire accidents since 1989, despite the fact that the number*1

Facilities for hazardous materials: These are facilities that have received authorization from municipal mayors and similar officials as facilities that
store or handle hazardous materials at or above the quantities specified in the Fire Service Act. As described below, they are classified into three
types: manufacturing facilities, storage facilities, and handling facilities
Classification

Details

Manufacturing facilities

Storage facilities

Handling facilities*2

Facilities that manufacture hazardous materials

Indoor storage facilities

Store hazardous materials inside buildings

Outdoor storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks located outdoors

Indoor storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks located indoors

Underground storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks located below the ground’s surface

Simple storage tanks

Stores hazardous materials in small tanks less than 600 L

Transfer storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks that have been affixed to vehicles

Outdoor storage facilities

Store certain hazardous materials in containers in outdoor locations

Fuel supply depots

Handling facilities that fuel vehicles and the like

Sales handling facilities

Stores that sell containers full of hazardous materials

Transfer handling facilities

Handling facilities that transfer hazardous materials through pipes

General outlets

Handling facilities other than the above three types of handling facilities

Hazardous materials: The Fire Service Act (Article 2-7) defines them as such: “The term ‘hazardous materials’ means the materials listed in the Namesof Items column of Appended Table 1, which have the properties listed in the Nature column of said table according to the Categories specified insaid table.” Moreover, the properties of each hazardous material are defined for each type in the “Remarks” to Appended Table I of the Fire Service
Act.
[Hazardous materials listed in Appended Table I and their characteristics]
Category

NatureProperties

Representative substances

Category 1 Oxidizing solids

These are solids that do not burn themselves, but which have the property of
causing other substances to oxidize powerfully. When mixed with inflammablematerials, they degrade as a result of heat, impacts, or friction, and give rise to
extremely intense combustion.

Sodium chlorate, potassium nitrate,
ammonium nitrate

Category 2 Combustible solids

These are solids that easily ignite from fire or solids that easily catch fire at
relatively low temperatures (less than 40℃). They easily catch fire, are quick to
combust, and are difficult to extinguish.

Red phosphorous, sulfur, ironpowder, solid alcohol, lacquer putty

Spontaneously combustible
These substances spontaneously combust when exposed to air, or either combust Sodium, alkyl aluminum, yellow
Category 3 substances and water-reactive
or generate combustible gasses when they come into contact with water.
phosphorous
substances
Category 4 Inflammable liquids

These are liquids that are inflammable.

Gasoline, kerosene, light oil, heavy
oil, acetone, ethanol

Category 5 Self-reactive substances

These are solids or liquids that generate large quantities of heat at relatively low
temperatures or promote explosive reactions as a result of thermolysis and otherreactions.

Nitroglycerin, trinitrotoluene,hydroxylamine

Category 6 Oxidizing liquids

These are liquids that do not burn themselves, but which have the property ofpromoting the combustion of other flammable substances they are mixed with.

Perchloric acid, hydrogen peroxide,
nitric acid9

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-2-1 Trends in the number of fire and spillage accidents at facilities for hazardous materials(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on Hazardous Materials”.
2 In order to get a grasp of trends regarding the number of accidents that occur in each year, the number of accidents caused by earthquakes
with a seismic intensity of six-lower or greater (since September 1996 this was changed to a seismic intensity of six or greater) is excluded.

Fig. 1-2-2 Number of fire accidents at facilities for hazardous materials and their damage(Note) Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on Hazardous Materials”.

At the same time, 110 of the 224 fire accidents (or49.1% of the total) were cases where a hazardous material
served as the causative agent for the fire. (Fig. 1-2-4)

of 19 year-on-year), followed by 26 from overheating (adecrease of 3 year-on-year) , 23 from high temperaturesurface heat (a decrease of 4 year-on-year) and 23 fromelectrical sparks (an increase of 14 year-on-year). (Fig.
1-2-6)(2) Causative Factors behind the Fire Accidents
at Facilities for Hazardous Materials
A look at the causative factors behind the fire accidents
at facilities for hazardous materials that occurred in 2021
reveals that human factors accounted for 53.6%, physicalfactors accounted for 27.2%, and the total for other causes,
unknown, and under investigation came to 19.2%. (Fig.
1-2-5)
When viewed by ignition source, those ignited by static
electricity sparks were the most common at 50 (an increase(3) Fire Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities
The number of fire accidents that occurred at facilities
which were supposed to receive authorization as
facilities for hazardous materials yet which failed to doso (hereinafter referred to as “unauthorized facilities”)
in 2021 was 7 (an increase of 4 year-on-year), leaving 0
people dead (the same as the previous year) and 3 injured(an increase of 1 year-on-year).

10Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-2-3 Number of fire accidents by type of
facility for hazardous materials

Fig. 1-2-4 Number of fire accidents by causative
agent for the fire

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.         2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

Fig. 1-2-5 Number of fire accidents by causative
factorFig. 1-2-6 Number of fire accidents by ignition
source(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.         2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(4) Fire Accidents during the Transportation ofHazardous Materials
In 2021, 1 fire accidents occurred during thetransportation of hazardous materials (an increase of 1
year-on-year).

2. Spillage Accidents
The number of spillage accidents involving hazardous
materials that occurred at facilities for hazardous materials
in 2021 was 422. This is an increase of roughly 2.4-times
compared with the 174 such accidents in 1994 (which
had the lowest number of spillage accidents since 1989),
despite the fact that the number of facilities for hazardous
materials has decreased. As for the primary causative
factors, accidents attributable to human factors and thosecaused by physical factors both occur in large numbers.
However, of those accidents caused by physical factors,(5) Fire Accidents during the Temporary Storage
or HandlingIn 2021, 0 fire accident occurred during the temporarystorage or handling*3 of hazardous materials (the same as
the previous year).
*3

Temporary storage or handling: Temporary storage or handling of hazardous materials in excess of the quantity specified in the Fire Service Act for aperiod of 10 days or less at a place that has not been licensed as a facility for hazardous materials, with the approval of the competent fire chief or firestation chief.

11Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

the number caused by age-related deterioration, such as
corrosion fatigue, are on the rise.

Moreover, looking at the number of spillage accidents
that occurred by type of facility for hazardous materials
reveals that the majority occurred at general outlets,
followed by fuel supply depots, and outdoor storage tankfacilities, in that order. (Fig. 1-2-8)
At the same time, 98.3% of the number of spillage
accidents at facilities for hazardous materials involved
spills of Class 4 hazardous materials, which consist
primarily of petroleum products. Viewing this item typereveals that Class 2 petroleums (light oil, etc.), Class 1
petroleums (gasoline, etc.), account for most of these,
followed by Class 3 petroleums (heavy oil, etc.) in thatorder. (Fig. 1-2-9)(1) Number of Spillage Accidents at Facilities for
Hazardous Materials and their Damage
The number of spillage accidents involving hazardous
materials that occurred at facilities for hazardous materials(and which did not turn into fires) in 2021 was 422 (anincrease of 47 year-on-year). The amount of damages
totaled 476.73 million yen (an increase of 247,87 million
yen year-on-year), and they resulted in 1 death (anincrease of 1 year-on-year), with 28 people injured (anincrease of 5 year-on-year). (Fig. 1-2-7)

Fig. 1-2-7 Number of spillage accidents at facilities for hazardous materials and their damage(Note) Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on Hazardous Materials”.

Fig. 1-2-8 Number of spillage accidents by typeof facility for hazardous materials

Fig. 1-2-9 Number of spillage accidents bymaterial spilled(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.         2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

12Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters☞ Japanese Original P.75

Fig. 1-2-10 Number of spillage accidents by
causative factor

Current Status of Hazardous Materials Administration
1. Regulations on Hazardous Materials(1) Regulatory Structure for Hazardous Materials
The Fire Service Act designates substances withproperties such as: (1) Carrying a significant risk of
causing a fire, (2) Carrying a significant risk of spreadinga fire once one starts, and (3) Being difficult to extinguishwhen a fire does break out, as “hazardous materials.”
Enacting safety regulations for the storage, handlingand transportation of these hazardous materials has been
posited as a move that will prevent fires, protect the lives,
health, and property of the public from fires, and mitigate
the damage from fires.
An overview of the regulations on hazardous materials
is shown below.
−H azardous materials of volumes at or above thedesignated quantities (the quantity at which authorizationis necessary to store or handle a material as designatedby the Fire Service Act) cannot be stored or handled at
locations other than facilities for hazardous materials.
Persons attempting to establish a facility for hazardous
materials must ensure it is in compliance with thestandards regarding its location, structure, and equipment
specified by law, and receive authorization from themunicipal mayor for this.
−T he transportation of hazardous materials must be
carried out in accordance with the standards for
ensuring safety specified by law, regardless of how
large or small the quantity is.
−Standards for the storage and handling of hazardous
materials in volumes less than the designated quantities
are to be established via municipal ordinances.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Overview of the Accident Reports on
Hazardous Materials”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(2) Causative Factors behind the Spillage
Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials
A look at the causative factors behind the spillage
accidents at facilities for hazardous materials that occurredin 2021 reveals that human factors accounted for 35.3%,
physical factors accounted for 55.0% and the total forother causes, unknown, and under investigation came to
9.7%.
When viewed by causative factor, those caused bydeterioration such as corrosion fatigue were most common
at 151 (an increase of 22 year-on-year), followed by 69
from inadequate operating checks (an increase of 13 yearon-year), and 30 from damages (an increase of 5 year-onyear). (Fig. 1-2-10)(2) Current Status of Facilities for Hazardous
Materials
A. Number of Facilities for Hazardous Materials

The total number of facilities for hazardous materials(number of facilities for construction permits) as of March
31, 2022 came to 388,576. (Table 1-2-1)
A look at the share of facilities by their classification
reveals that storage facilities account for the majority at
68.3%, followed by handling facilities at 30.4%, and thenmanufacturing facilities at 1.3%. (Fig. 1-2-11)(3) Spillage Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities
The number of spillage accidents that occurred atunauthorized facilities in 2021 was 7 (an increase of 5
year-on-year), leaving 0 people dead (the same as theprevious year), and 2 injured (an increase of 2 year-onyear).

B. Composition of Facilities for Hazardous
Materials by Size
As for the number of facilities by size (according to
the maximum storage quantity or the maximum handlingquantity) of the total number of facilities for hazardous
materials as of March 31, 2022, those facilities forhazardous materials that hold 50 times the designatedquantities or less accounted for 75.2% of the total. (Fig.
1-2-12)(4) Spillage Accidents during the Transportationof Hazardous Materials
The number of spillage accidents that occurred during
the transportation of hazardous materials in 2021 was 6(a decrease of 3 year-on-year), leaving 0 people dead (thesame as the previous year), and 2 injured (an increase of 2
year-on-year).

(3) Hazardous Material Engineers
Hazardous material engineers are classified into three
types: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Each class differs in
the types of hazardous materials they can handle. Whenhazardous material engineers or someone else handles
hazardous materials at facilities for hazardous materials,
a Class A or Class B hazardous material engineer must be(5) Spillage Accidents during the Temporary
Storage or Handling
The number of spillage accidents that occurred during
the temporary storage or handling of hazardous materials
in 2021 was 0 (the same as the previous year).

13

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table 1-2-1 Trends in the number of facilities for hazardous material
Year

Facility
Manufacturing facilities
Indoor storage facilities

Storage facilities

2019

2020

2021

2021

5,093

5,098

5,077

5,045

5,051

49,811

49,71749,61349,59049,50257,525

Outdoor storage tanks

60,36059,69959,03558,225

Indoor storage tanks

10,386

10,170

9,988

9,837

9,687

Underground storage tanks

79,723

77,98876,42574,93873,554

Simple storage tanks

961

940

933

908

893

Transfer storage tanks

65,80665,425

65,12464,96564,679Outdoor storage facilities

Handling facilities

2018(As of March 31 of each year)

9,832

9,702

9,604

9,611

9,493

Subtotal

276,879

273,641

270,722

268,074

265,333
56,807

Fuel supply depots

59,71558,865

58,12457,497

Class 1 sales handling facilities

1,107

1,078

1,050

1,028

999

Class 2 sales handling facilities

493

482

474

469

462

Transfer handling facilities

1,084

1,077

1,062

1,048

1,035

General outlets

60,86760,39859,94859,45858,889Subtotal
Total

123,266

121,900

120,658

119,500

118,192

405,238

400,639

396,457

392,619

388,576(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on Regulation work of Hazardous Materials”.

Fig. 1-2-11 Number of facilities for hazardous
materials by classification

Fig. 1-2-12 Composition rate of facilities forhazardous materials by size

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on Regulation work ofHazardous Materials”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on Regulation work ofHazardous Materials”.        2 The factors are multiples obtained from dividing the largest
quantities stored or the largest quantities handled by the
specified quantities stipulated in Appended Table Ⅲ of the
Cabinet Order on Control of Hazardous Materials.
             3 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

present to ensure safety.
As of March 31 2022, the (cumulative) total numberof people who have passed the hazardous material
engineer test since the hazardous material engineer
system was launched came to 10,033,491 people. They
play a significant role in ensuring safety at facilities forhazardous materials.

year). (Fig. 1-2-13)
Viewing the situation by test type, Class B (category 4)
has the largest number of test takers, followed by Class
C and Class A, with these three types accounting for
approximately 80% of the total.
B. Safety Training Courses
As a general rule, the hazardous material engineers
engaged in handling hazardous materials at facilities forhazardous materials must take a safety training courseon handling hazardous materials offered by prefectural
governors (safety training courses) every three years.
In FY2021, safety training courses were held a totalof 1,853 times throughout Japan (an increase of 42 times
year-on-year), and were attended by 187,837 people (anA. Hazardous Material Engineer Tests
Hazardous material engineer tests were held 4,278 times
throughout Japan in FY2021 (an increase of 187 year-onyear). They were taken by 342,492 people (an increase of50,162 people year-on-year), with 149,368 people passing(an increase of 16,331 people year-on-year) for an averagepass rate of roughly 43.6% (a decrease of 1.9% year-on-

14

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
increase of 17,063 people year-on-year). (Table 1-2-2)

mayors and similar officials (safety inspections) at regular
fixed intervals according to factors like the facility’s size.
In FY2021, 209 safety inspections were performed, of
which 207 involved outdoor storage tanks and 2 involved
transfer handling facilities.

(4) Safety Systems at Offices
As of March 31, 2022, the total number of businessestablishments that owned facilities for hazardous
materials came to 175,402 throughout Japan.
In an effort to establish safety systems at businessestablishments, it has been mandated that the owners
of facilities for hazardous materials that store or handle
hazardous materials at or above certain quantities
must carry out certain obligations. These include
the appointment of hazardous materials security
superintendents, and the selection of safety officers forfacilities for hazardous materials, and the preparationof fire and disaster prevention rules. Moreover, it has
been mandated that said business establishments thatown certain facilities for hazardous materials and that
store or handle hazardous materials at or above certain
quantities must establish fire defense organizations for
self-protection and appoint hazardous material safety
supervising managers.

(6) Onsite Inspections and Orders
Municipal mayors and similar officials can perform
onsite inspections of facilities for hazardous materials
and other such facilities to ensure that their installation,
construction, and establishment of equipment, as wellas their storage or handling of hazardous materials, arein compliance with the standards established in the Fire
Service Act. These can be carried out when said official
deems it necessary to prevent fires caused by the storage
or handling of hazardous materials.
In FY2021, onsite inspections were carried out a totalof 156,713 times at 144,116 facilities for hazardous
materials.
In cases where violations of the Fire Service Act are
discovered as a result of onsite inspections, municipal
mayors and other officials can issue a variety of different
orders to the owners of said facilities for hazardous
materials. These include orders to comply with regulations
on storage and handling, orders to take measures relating
to standards for installing, constructing, or establishingequipment, and more.

(5) Safety Inspections
It has been mandated that the owners of outdoor storage
tanks and transfer handling facilities at or over a certain
size must undergo inspections regarding the safety offacilities for hazardous materials performed by municipal

Fig. 1-2-13 Status of tests for hazardous material engineers(Note) Prepared based on “The Statistical Table for the Testing and Certification of Hazardous Material Engineer” and “The Fire Protection Engineers by
the Japan Fire Engineering Qualification Center”.

Table 1-2-2 Number of attendees at safety training courses for hazardous material engineers and a
breakdown of this by type of hazardous material engineer certification(As of March 31 of each FY)
Division

FY

No. ofattendees

Class AClass B
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5 Category 6

SubtotalClass CTotal
by typeNo. of training
courses2017

170,287

14,21910,536

11,511

9,739

142,322

11,125

11,664

196,897

23,815234,931

1,460

2018

182,800

14,813

11,215

11,721

10,106

153,670

11,526

12,444

210,682

24,402249,897

1,452

2019

182,537

14,80911,53912,55810,358

155,943

12,07812,197

214,673

25,452

254,934

1,463

2020

170,774

13,740

10,667

11,7699,969

143,669

11,261

11,458

198,793

23,242

235,775

1,811

2021

187,837

15,572

11,961

13,188

11,256

159,195

13,081

13,217

221,898

25,423262,893

1,853

15

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-2-14 Trends in orders for measures related to facilities for hazardous materials(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on Regulation work of Hazardous Materials”.

In FY2021 municipal mayors or similar officials issued
such orders in 162 cases. (Fig. 1-2-14)

Act apply currently only include the pipelines transporting
airplane fuel to Narita International Airport, with otherpipelines regulated as transfer handling facilities under theFire Service Act.

2. Securing Petroleum Pipelines(1) Safety Regulations for the Petroleum Pipeline
Business
Regarding those petroleum pipelines which are used
to transport petroleum in response to general demand,
project licensing, construction plan approval, and safety
inspections are conducted to ensure the safety of thepipeline under the Petroleum Pipeline Business Act.
The facilities to which the Petroleum Pipeline Business(2) Ensuring the Safety of Petroleum Pipelines
Safety inspections are carried out periodically on thepipelines transporting airplane fuel to Narita International
Airport pursuant to the Petroleum Pipeline Business Act.
In addition, the business operators must do everything
they possibly can to ensure safety, such as having
maintenance and inspections carried out in accordancewith the technical standards established by law.

-omitted-

16

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

3

SectionCountermeasures to Disasters at
Petroleum Industrial Complexes☞ Japanese Original P.81

2. Characteristics of Accidents

Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters
at Petroleum Industrial Complexes(1) Number of General Accidents by Type ofAccident
Looking at the number of general accidents by type of
accident, it reveals that 106 fires (an increase of 8 yearon-year), 3 explosions (the same as the previous year),
179 leaks (an increase of 24 year-on-year), and 5 otheraccidents (a decrease of 6 year-on-year). (Attachment
1-3-2, untranslated)

1. Number of Accidents and Damage
The total number of accidents that occurred at specified
business establishments *1 in petroleum industrial
complexes and other special disaster prevention areas(hereinafter referred to as “special disaster prevention
areas”) in 2021 came to 302, of which 293 were accidents
other than caused by earthquakes and tsunamis (hereinafterreferred to as “general accidents”), and 9 were accidents
caused by earthquakes and tsunamis (hereinafter referred
to as “earthquake-induced accidents”).
Looking at trends in the number of general accidents
that have occurred reveals that the number of accidents
has been on the rise since 1989, the number of accidents
recorded during 2021 was 293 (an increase of 26 year-onyear), the second highest number ever. (Fig.1-3-1)
In 2021 there were 21 general accidents (an increase of
3 year-on-year) that resulted in casualties, with 1 death (thesame as the previous year), and 37 injuries (an increase of
12 year-on-year). (Attachment 1-3-1, untranslated)(2) Number of General Accidents by Cause of
Accident
Looking at the number of general accidents by cause, it
reveals that 101 accidents were caused by human factors(an increase of 2 year-on-year), 174 (an increase of 33
year-on-year) by physical factors, and 18 (a decrease of
9 year-on-year) by other factors. The main causes were
96 cases of deterioration due to corrosion and fatigue(an increase of 11 year-on-year), 38 cases of inadequate
operation checks (an increase of 8 year-on-year), and 29
cases of insufficient maintenance and management (anincrease of 1 year-on-year). (Fig. 1-3-2)

Fig. 1-3-1 Trends in the number of accidents that occurred at petrochemical complexes*1

Specified business establishments: These refer to Class 1 business establishments (business establishments where 10,000 kiloliters of petroleum
or more are stored or handled, or where 2 million cubic meters of high-pressure gas or more are processed) and Class 2 business establishments(business establishments where 1,000 kiloliters of petroleum or more are stored or handled, or where 200,000 cubic meters of high-pressure gas ormore are processed).

17

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-3-2 Number of General Accidents by
Cause of Accident

Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities, which
stipulates the layout of each facility section, disasterprevention equipment, etc.

1. Current Status of Special Disaster
Prevention Areas
As of April 1, 2022, 79 areas in which large quantitiesof petroleum or high-pressure gas at or above certain
quantities have been designated as special disasterprevention areas in 98 municipalities in 33 prefectures
based on the Act on the Prevention of Disaster inPetroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum
Facilities. (Fig. 1-3-3) These special disaster prevention
areas are under the jurisdiction of 87 fire departments.
Furthermore, 650 business establishments serve as
specified business establishments subject to the regulationsof the Act on the Prevention of Disaster in Petroleum
Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities. Of
these, 325 are Class 1 business establishments (including
148 layout business establishments) and 325 are Class 2
business establishments.

(Note) Digits in the first decimal place were rounded off, so in somecases the totals may not be consistent.

2. Disaster Prevention Systems in
Prefectures and at Firefighting Agencies(3) Number of General Accidents by Type ofSpecified Business Establishment
Looking at the number of general accidents by cause,
it reveals that 234 accidents, or 79.9%, were occurredat Class 1 business establishments (210 of which
layout business establishments *2).( Attachment 1-3-3 ,untranslated)(1) Establishing Disaster Prevention Schemes
The prefectures that contain special disaster prevention
areas are establishing disaster prevention systems in acomprehensive and systematic manner based on the Act
on the Prevention of Disaster in Petroleum Industrial
Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities. This is being
done through concerted efforts together with relevant
agencies centering primarily on disaster prevention
headquarters at petroleum industrial complexes and otherlocations (hereinafter referred to as “disaster prevention
headquarters”).
The disaster prevention headquarters carry out
operations such as the preparation of disaster prevention
plans for petroleum industrial complexes and otherlocations (hereinafter referred to as “disaster prevention
plans” in this section), coordination with relevant agencies
when disasters strike, and the promotion of researchstudies on disaster prevention.

(4) Number of General Accidents at Specified
Business Establishment by Type of Business
Category
As for the number of general accidents by cause, there
were 116 petroleum and coal product manufacturingindustry-related accidents (an increase of 18 year-onyear), 98 chemical industry-related accidents (an increaseof 1 year-on-year), 34 steel industry-related accidents (adecrease of 1 year-on-year), and 20 electrical industryrelated accidents (an increase of 12 year-on-year).
(Attachment 1-3-4, untranslated)☞ Japanese Original P.82

(2) Emergency Responses when Disasters Occur
When disasters occur in special disaster prevention
areas, emergency response is carried out in a concerted
manner by the prefecture, municipality, related agencies,
specified business operators, etc. under the leadership ofthe disaster prevention headquarters, as stipulated by thedisaster prevention plan.
The fire department plays an important role in thisprocess by conducting defensive activities and giving
instructions to disaster prevention organizations for selfdefense.

Current Status of Countermeasures toDisasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes
In order to prevent disasters from occurring andspreading at special disaster prevention areas, wherelarge quantities of petroleum and high-pressure gasses areconcentrated, a comprehensive disaster prevention system
has been established by applying the various regulations
from the Fire Service Act, the High-pressure Gas Safety
Act, the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the Act on
Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disasters,
etc., as well as by applying the regulations from the Act
on the Prevention of Disasters in Petroleum Industrial*2

Layout business establishments: Business establishments from among Class 1 business establishments that handle both petroleum and highpressure gases. Said business establishments are subject to layout regulations (see “Current Status of Damage Countermeasures at Petroleum
Industrial Complexes” 4. Layout Regulations for Business Establishments) stipulating that their sites must be segmented off into six types of sections
according to their purpose, with these including manufacturing facility sections and storage facility sections.

18

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-3-3 Designation Status for Special Disaster Prevention Areas(As of April 1, 2022)

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

Special disasterprevention areas

No.

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

1

Kushiro15

North Keiyo coast

33

Tahara

51

Nomi

70

Oita

2

Tomakomai

16

Central Keiyo coast

34

Kinuura52

lwakuni/Otake

71

Kushikino

2-2Ishikari

17

South Keiyo coast

35

Port of Nagoya coast

53

Kudamatsu

71-2 Kagoshima

36

Yokkaichi coast54

Shunan72

3

Muroran

18

Tokyo International
Airport4

Hokuto19

Keihin coast

37

Osaka North Port55

Ube/Onoda

72-2 Shibushi

4-2

Shiriuchi

20

Negishi coast

38

Sakai Senboku coast

57

Mutsurejima

73

Henza

4-3

Mutsuogawara

21

Port of Niigata (East)

39

Kansai International
Airport

58

Anan

75

Onaha

5

Aomori

22

Port of Niigata (West)

40

Kobe

59

Bannosu

6

Hachinohe

23

Naoetsu

41

Higashiharima

60

Niihama

6-2

Kuji

24

Toyama42

Himeji coast

61

Namikata

7

Shiogama

25

Fuchu

43

Ako

62

Kikuma8

Sendai26

Shinminato

44

Northern coast in north
Wakayama

63

Matsuyama

64

Kitakyushu

9

Oga

27

Fushiki

45

Central coast in north
Wakayama

10

Akita

28

Port of Nanao,Mimuro

46

Southern coast in north
Wakayama

65

Shirashima

11

Sakata29

Kanazawa Port north

47

Gobo

66

Fukuoka

12

Hirono30

Fukui coast48

Mizushima coast

67

Fukushima

68

Kamigoto

69

Yatsushiro

13

Iwaki

31

Shimizu

49

Fukuyama/
Sasaoka14

Kashima coast

32

Atsumi50

Etajima

19

Kiire*79areasChapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters(3) Maintaining the Firefighting Capabilities
of Municipalities Containing Special Disaster
Prevention Areas
As of April 1, 2022, 65 large chemical firetrucks, 52
large elevated water trucks, 85 foam solution transport
vehicles, 32 large elevated chemical water trucks,
2,966kL of 3% fire-extinguishing foam, 651kL of 6% fireextinguishing foam, 32 fireboats, and other such equipment
had been allocated to firefighting agencies in municipalities
containing special disaster prevention areas. Likewise, 19
foam solution storage facilities, 4 portable foam cannons,
and other such equipment has been allocated to prefecturescontaining special disaster prevention areas.
The FDMA has deployed the Emergency Response Unit
for Energy/Industrial Disasters (“Dragon Hyper Command
Unit”), which specializes in special disasters, to 12 areas
under National Fire-Service Teams, as well as firefighting
robots (Scrum Force), in order to support the developmentof firefighting capabilities for municipalities located in
special disaster prevention areas.

disaster prevention associations,*3 wide-area joint disasterprevention associations,*4 and special disaster prevention
area councils for petroleum industrial complexes(hereinafter referred to as “area councils”)*5.
As of April 1, 2022, disaster prevention organizations
for self-defense had been established at every specified
business establishment (650 business establishments). 71
joint disaster prevention associations, 11 wide-area joint
disaster prevention associations, and 57 area councils
had also been established. These disaster prevention
organizations for self-defense, joint disaster prevention
associations, and wide-area joint disaster prevention
associations are equipped with 5,218 disaster prevention
personnel, 81 large chemical fire trucks, 37 large elevatedwater trucks, 129 foam solution transport vehicles, 118
large elevated chemical water trucks, 24 high capacity
foam cannons, 19 oil recovery vessels, and more.
(Attachment 1-3-5, untranslated)(2) Installation of High Capacity Foam Systems
High capacity foam systems are a type of firefighting
equipment that consist of high capacity foam cannons,
feed pumps, foam mixers, and hoses, in order to respondto fires that fully envelop floating roof outdoor storage
tanks. They have the capacity to spray more than 10,000
liters of foam per minute. A single high capacity foam
cannon is capable of spraying up to ten times as muchfoam as a conventional three-piece set (consisting of alarge chemical firetruck, a large elevated water truck, anda foam solution transport vehicle).
At present, high capacity foam systems with thecapacity to spray anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 liters
per minute are stationed at 12 wide-area joint disasterprevention associations throughout Japan.

3. Disaster Prevention Systems at
Specified Business Establishments(1) Establishing Disaster Prevention
Organizations for Self-defense
The Act on the Prevention of Disaster in Petroleum
Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities
mandates that operators who establish specified businessestablishments located in special disaster prevention
areas (specified business operators) must set up disasterprevention organizations for self-defense, prepare
fire protection equipment, appoint disaster prevention
managers, formulate disaster prevention regulations, andso forth. It also stipulates that they are to establish joint(3) Enhancing Disaster Prevention Systems for
Self-defense
The FDMA has issued standardized and visuallyeasy to understand educational textbooks for disastermanagement personnel education and training, and has
proposed a training model that can be used by both newand experienced personnel to acquire the knowledge
and skills necessary for disaster management, such as
initial response in the event of a disaster and cooperation
with public firefighters, in order to strengthen disastermanagement structures.

4. Layout Regulations for Business
Establishments(1) Layout Regulations
The Act on the Prevention of Disaster in Petroleum
Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities
mandates certain standards for layout establishments
regarding the layout of facility areas and the securing of

The high capacity foam system

*3
*4
*5

Joint disaster prevention associations: Disaster prevention associations jointly established by the specified business operators involved with specified
business establishments containing a single special disaster prevention area in order to carry out some of the tasks of the disaster prevention
organization for self-defense.
Wide-area joint disaster prevention associations: Joint disaster prevention associations covering a wide area jointly established by specified business
operators involved with specified business establishments containing areas in which there are two or more special disaster prevention areas to carryout tasks related to disaster prevention activities by using high capacity foam cannons and other equipment.
Special disaster prevention area councils for petroleum industrial complexes: These are councils established with the objective of having specified
business operators related to specified business establishments located in a single special disaster prevention area come together to jointly draft
independent standards related to disaster prevention and to carry out joint disaster prevention drills.

20Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

passageways within the premises. It also mandates that incases where business establishments are newly establishedor change their facility area layouts, they must provide
notification of their plans, and after completion, they must
undergo confirmation to determine whether or not thework is consistent with the relevant plans.
(2) Status of New Establishment Notifications, etc.
The total number of notifications for new establishmentsof or changes to layout business establishments in FY2021
came to 6, while the number of confirmations in the same
year was 7. (Attachment 1-3-6, untranslated)

5. Other Disaster Countermeasures(1) Establishing Disaster Response Systems
The Act on the Prevention of Disaster in Petroleum
Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities statesthat specified business operators must report to firefighting
agencies or locations specified by municipal mayors
immediately when any abnormal phenomena*6 occur. It
also mandates that disaster prevention organizations for
self-defense, joint disaster prevention associations, andwide-area joint disaster prevention associations must takethe necessary measures in order to prevent disasters fromoccurring and spreading.
(2) Establishing Green Buffer Zones for Disaster
Prevention
In order to prevent damage in special disasterprevention areas from spreading to surrounding regions,
the Act on the Prevention of Disaster in Petroleum
Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities has
provisions relating to the drafting of installation plans, theshare of costs to borne by business operators, and special
financial measures for the establishment of green bufferzones for disaster prevention by local governments in thevicinities around said areas.

The poster for Skill Contest for Self-defense Disaster Prevention
Organizations at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.

This guideline was published in March 2019 andis intended to improve plant security and eradicate
industrial accidents through the use of drones in industrial
complexes such as petroleum refining and chemicalindustry plants. The purpose of this second revision is toimprove the safety of drone utilization and to respond to
the revision of the Civil Aeronautics Act.
This revision is expected to further promote the use ofdrones in the plant security field.
(Fire and Disaster Management for Petroleum Industrial
Complexes, etc.; Liaison Conference of FDMA, MHLW,
and METI; Website run jointly by the three organizations:
https://www.fdma.go.jp/relocation/neuter/topics/
fieldList4_16.html)

6. Recent Disaster Countermeasures at
Petroleum Industrial Complexes(1) Liaison Conferences of the FDMA and Related
Ministries to Examine Disaster Prevention
Measures at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.
The FDMA, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare,and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which
are the ministries and agency responsible for safety at
petroleum industrial complexes, have held regular liaison
conferences.
The purpose of these liaison conferences is to exchange
information on incidents, share policy trends, promote
efforts by business operators to prevent disasters, andwork together to take action in the event of a disaster. The
ministries and agency work together to prevent disasters
at petroleum industrial complexes by promoting accident
prevention efforts and publishing and sharing incidentrelated information on the Internet.
In FY2021, the “Guidelines for the Safe Operationof Drones at Plants” were revised and disseminated toprefectures, fire departments, and business establishments.

*6(2) Earthquake and Tsunami Measures for
Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.
As there is concern about damage occurring due
to the Nankai Trough Earthquake or Tokyo in Land
Earthquake, based on the state of the damage done by
the Great East Japan Earthquake, work is being done toenhance and strengthen disaster prevention systems at
petroleum industrial complexes, etc., such as revisingdisaster prevention assessment guidelines and handbooks
for disaster prevention efforts of self-defense disasterprevention organizations.

Abnormal phenomena: Fires, explosions, spills of oil and other substances, and other such abnormal phenomena at specified businessestablishments.

21

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters(3) Skill Contest for Self-defense Disaster
Prevention Organizations at Petroleum Industrial
Complexes, etc.
The FDMA holds a “Skill Contest for Self-Defense
Disaster Prevention Organizations at Petroleum Industrial
Complexes, etc.” with the aim of improving the skills andmorale of disaster prevention personnel such as those of
self-defense disaster prevention organizations at specified
business establishments.
During the contest, which will be around the time of“World Tsunami Awareness Day” on November 5, theMinister of Internal Affairs and Communications andthe Commissioner of the FDMA will commend selfdefense disaster prevention organizations, etc. that achieve
excellent results in safety, reliability, and promptness ina training exercise to extinguish a large-scale tank fireutilizing fire-extinguishing foam agents.

industrial complexes. Based on the issues and needs ofadministrative agencies and business establishments,
the status of introduction and utilization of advanced
technologies, and the opinions of the study group members,
advanced technologies were consolidated into 11 items in
FY2021 and have been specifically verified.
In FY2022, the results of these studies were compiled
into a report.

(4) Holding Investigative Committee Meetings toStrengthen the Disaster Prevention Systems ofPetroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.
The FDMA has held the “Study Group on Utilizationof Advanced Technologies for Petroleum Industrial
Complex Disaster Response” since FY2019, and has
been conducting surveys and studies in order to utilize
AI, IoT, and other technologies (hereinafter referred toas “advanced technologies”) that have been improvedin recent years for disaster response at petroleum

Commendation Ceremony for Skill Contest for Self-defense Disaster
Prevention Organizations at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.

-omitted-

22

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

1 Fire Service Structure

Section☞ Japanese Original P.111

islands. (Attachment V, untranslated)
288 fire departments were established by special
district authorities or extended associations (22 of whichwere established by extended associations). The 1,109
municipalities that have organized these (370 cities, 599
towns, and 140 villages) correspond to 65.6% of thetotal number of municipalities that have switched to a
standing fire defense structure. Furthermore, the numberof municipalities outsourcing this work comes to 146(39 cities, 87 towns, and 20 villages), which corresponds
to 8.6% of the total number of municipalities that haveswitched to a standing fire service structure. (Fig. 2-1-2)

1. Fire Defense Organizations(1)Standing Firefighting Agencies
Standing firefighting agencies refers to the fire
departments and fire stations established in municipalities
that are staffed by full-time personnel.
As of April 1, 2022, there were 723 fire departments
and 1,714 fire stations throughout Japan. (Attachment
2-1-1, untranslated)
There were 167,510 firefighters, of which 6,148 were
women. (Fig. 2-1-1, Attachment 2-1-1, untranslated)
The current fire service structures found in municipalities
can largely be categorized into: [1] Municipalities withboth fire departments and fire stations (so-called standing
fire defense) and volunteer fire corps (so-called nonstanding fire defense) coexist (hereinafter referred to as“municipalities with standing fire service structures”),
and [2] Towns and villages with only volunteer fire corps(hereinafter referred to as “municipalities without standing
fire service structures”).
As of April 1, 2022, 1,690 municipalities had switchedover to a standing fire defense structure, whereas 29 towns
and villages had not done so. Many of these 29 towns andvillages are without standing fire service structures due togeographical factors. 21 towns and villages in Tokyo andthree other prefectures (72.4% of all towns and villages
without standing fire service structures) are located on(2)Volunteer Fire Corps
As of April 1, 2022, the number of volunteer fire corps
throughout Japan came to 2,196, while their volunteer
members numbered 783,578. They have been establishedin every municipality. (Fig. 2-1-1, Attachment 2-1-1,
untranslated)
Volunteer fire corps are municipal, non-standing
firefighting agencies. The volunteer firefighters thatcomprise their members have other main occupations,and engage in fire and disaster defense activities basedon their love for their hometown and a desire to protect it
thinking that they should be the ones to protect their own
communities themselves. They do this as local government
employees in special part-time positions vested withauthority and responsibility (For the organizational

Fig. 2-1-1 Trends in the number of Firefighters and Volunteer Firefighters(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey of the Current Status of Fire Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures”.
2 Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the number of firefighters and volunteer firefighters in Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi
Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture in 2011 were tabulated using the numbers from the previous year (as of April 1, 2010).
3 Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the numbers for Onagawa Town, Oshika District, Miyagi Prefecture in 2012 weretabulated using the numbers from the previous year (as of April 1, 2010).

23

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-1-2 Breakdown of the establishment method for fire departments
Municipalities

No. of fire departments

Individual

Special districtauthorities, etc.

Cities

Towns

Standing/non-standing

Villages723

1,690 municipalities

1,690

793

736

435

435 municipalities

435

384

50

1,109 municipalities

1,109

370

599

140

146 municipalities

146

39

87

20 Outsourced

29

―

7

1,719

793

743

288

(As of April 1, 2022)

161 Municipalities with standing structures
1 Individual
Establishment
Comprised of special
methoddistrict authorities, etc.

22 Municipalities with non-standing structures
183

Total

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Report on Personnel Changes concerning Fire Departments and Volunteer Fire Corps”.
2 The 23 wards of Tokyo were tabulated as a single city for individual fire defense departments.
3 Extended associations are included under “Special district authorities.”

structure of Volunteer fire corps, see Special Feature 3).

(B) Nonverbal Reports
The FDMA is working to create an environment inwhich people with hearing and speech impairments canmake emergency calls from anywhere in the entire country
at any time.
As a means for people with hearing or speech
impairments to use telephones, there is a “telephone relay
service” in which operators provide an immediate twoway connection between people with hearing or speech
impairments and non-hearing or speech impaired people
by interpreting “sign language” or “text” to “voice”.
This was launched nationwide in July 2021 as a public
infrastructure based on the “Act on Facilitation of the Useof Telephones for the Persons with Hearing Impairments,etc.” The service is also compatible with 119 calls,
allowing people with hearing or speech impairments tocall the fire department from anywhere in the country
using the telephone relay service.
In addition, the “Net119 Emergency Report System”(Fig. 2-1-3), which allows people with hearing or speech
impairments to make an emergency call to 119 without
using voice by tapping buttons on the screen of theirsmartphones or entering text. As of June 1, 2022, 609 outof the 723 fire departments (approx. 84%) have alreadyinstalled the system.

2. Fire and Disaster Defense Facilities, etc.
(1)Maintenance of Fire Trucks and Other Vehicles
Fire departments and fire stations maintain firepumpers, ladder-equipped vehicles (including vehicles
with folding ladders), chemical fire trucks, ambulances,rescue vehicles, and other equipment that they need fortheir firefighting activities.
In addition, volunteer fire corps maintain vehicles suchas fire pumpers, small power pump transport vehicles, andtransport vehicles for rescue supplies. (Attachment 2-1-4,
untranslated)(2)Fire Defense Communication Equipment
In order to minimize the damage from fires and otherdisasters, it is important to quickly become aware ofsaid fires and disasters and have firefighting agencies
rapidly arrive at the scene. In addition, it is also important
to collect information and quickly and clearly issue
instructions and orders at the scene of the incident. Fire
defense communication equipment plays an enormousrole in such contexts.
A. Calls to 119
The number of incidents reported to 119 throughout
2021 came to 8,017,669. A breakdown of the reported
details shows that the number of reported cases related to
medical emergencies and rescues accounted for 71.6% of
the total. (Attachment 2-1-5, untranslated)
In recent years, the number of reports to 119 from cell
phones and IP phones (hereinafter referred to as “cellphones and other types of phones”) has risen, with cell
phones comprising 51.9% and IP phone comprising 23.9%of the overall number of reports. (Attachment 2-1-6,
untranslated)(C) Report from Foreign Nationals
The 119 multi-language service using 3-Way Telephone
Interpretation provided by the Telephone Interpretation
Center will be available 24/7 in major languages to
respond promptly and accurately to 119 calls by foreign
nationals, or from an emergency site where a foreign
national is present. The goal is to have this systeminstalled in all fire departments. (Fig. 2-1-4)
B. Fire Command System
The fire command system is a system to support a seriesof fire command operations at the fire command center,such as receiving 119 calls, identifying the location ofdisasters, organizing dispatch teams, and issuing dispatch
orders to fire stations.
In recent years, the ICT environment surrounding
firefighting has changed dramatically with the rapid
development of information and communications
technology. In response to these changes, efforts are being
made to upgrade the fire command system, including
consideration of data entry/exit (standard interface) withexternal systems.

(A) Location Information Notifications for Emergency
Reports to 119
When a 119 call is received, the fire department is
notified of the caller’s location. When a call is made froma landline phone, the user’s address is provided, and whena call is made from a cell phone, its location is determinedbased on GPS positioning and cell tower information. As
of April 1, 2022, 715 fire departments are equipped toreceive location information from callers.

24

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-1-3 Flow of Net119 Emergency Report System

Fig. 2-1-4 Flow of 3-Way Telephone Interpretation(3)Water Sources for Firefighting
Water sources for firefighting are an absolutely crucialcomponent, together with fire trucks and other equipment,
when it comes to carrying out firefighting activities.
Generally speaking, these are categorized into artificial
sources like fire hydrants and fire cisterns, as well as
natural sources like rivers, ponds, oceans, and lakes.
The total number of water sources for firefighting
installed in Japan is 2,515,624, of which 1,954,330 are

fire hydrants and 542,179 are fire prevention tanks.
(Attachment 2-1-7, untranslated)
Since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, fire
hydrants with earthquake resistance have been installed,
and in recent years, in anticipation of the aging of fire
hydrants and the demand for fire hydrants in areas with
dense wooden buildings, each municipality has set a
numerical target to gradually improve the fire hydrant
system.

-omitted-

25

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

4 Education and Training Structure

Section☞ Japanese Original P.129

Metropolitan Region, there are two schools that have been
jointly established: The Tokyo Metropolitan Fire Defense
Training Center and the Tokyo Fire Department’s Fire
Academy).
With the objective of establishing and operating
fire academies, the FDMA established the “Standards
for the Establishment, Staffing, and Operation of Fire
Academies,” and works to maintain and advance the levelof education and training available at fire academies.

1. Education and Training for Firefighters

It is essential to improve the knowledge and skills offirefighters to enable them to appropriately handle theincreasingly diverse disaster and emergency services andthe increasing sophistication of fire prevention services. As
such, education and training for firefighters is incredibly
important.
Education and training for firefighters is offered by all
fire departments, fire stations, and volunteer fire corps, aswell as by the national government through the Fire andDisaster Management College and the fire academies inthe various prefectures. In addition to these, there are also
emergency medical technician (EMT) training institutes
that offer education designed to have rescue workers fromaround the country acquire national qualifications as EMTs.
As this indicates, the national government, prefectures,municipalities, and others each undertake their own
respective functions as they work together in a cooperative
manner to provide education and training for firefighters.

(2) Types of Education and Training
The FDMA established the “Education and Training
Standards for Fire Academies” to serve as standards for theeducation and training offered at fire academies. The fire
academies formulate specific curricula out of respect for
the “achievement goals” stipulated in the standards andby using the “Standard subjects and class hours” foundtherein as reference guidelines.
In addition, the increasing severe and frequent
occurrence of disasters require advanced firefighting
activities, and prevention work is becoming moresophisticated and specialized in accordance with revisions
to fire laws and regulations. In order to enhance andstrengthen education and training at fire academies, theFDMA is improving the equipment to be provided as
standard and reviewing educational subjects and time
allocations. Types of education and training include initial,
specialized, leadership, and special courses for firefighters,
and basic, specialized, leadership, and special courses forvolunteer firefighters.

2. On-the-job Training
Every firefighting agency carries out systematic
education and training (on-the-job training) based on theirrespective regional characteristics on a routine basis. In
particular, those firefighters who are required to perform
rigorous team activities based on instructions and orders
at the scenes of dangerous disasters require a sense of duty
and abundance of energy and vigor in order to carry out
their professional duties. Therefore, fire departments work
to improve their knowledge and skills and lift their morale
through various types of education and training.
The FDMA has established “Standards for Fire Drill
Etiquette,” “Standards for Firefighting Maneuvers,”and “Standards for Firefighting Rescue Maneuvers”
as standards for on-the-job training, as well as safety
management manuals both for during drills and during
firefighting activities.

4. Education and Training and Technical Assistanceat the Fire and Disaster Management College
The Fire and Disaster Management College provides theadvanced education and training needed for management
to the personnel engaged in firefighting operations at thenational and prefectural level, as well as to municipal
volunteer firefighters. In addition, it also provides thenecessary technical assistance related to education andtraining for fire academies at the prefectural level.

3. Education and Training at Fire
Academies(1) Enrollment in Education and Training
Although 21 courses and 13 practical courses werescheduled to be held during FY2021, some courses werecancelled due to the countermeasure against COVID-19,
resulting in 862 graduates in 21 courses and 402 graduatesin 12 practical courses.
As of FY2021, a total of 66,635 students have graduatedfrom these courses since their establishment.
In addition, as in FY2021, the number of students in
FY2022 was set at 1,560 in order to avoid the Three C’s asa countermeasure against infection by Covid-19. However,
due to a series of cases in which students entering theschool in July 2022 tested positive for Covid-19 infection
in several departments, the number of students in somedepartments to be admitted after August was reduced to1,524. (Attachment 2-4-1, untranslated)(1) Establishment of Fire Academies
The provisions of Article 51 of the Fire Defense
Organization Act mandate that prefectures must establish
fire academies independently or jointly, except incases where financial circumstances or other special
circumstances prevent them from doing so. In addition,
the provisions stipulate that ordinance-designated cities
can also establish fire academies independently or jointly
together with the prefectures.
As of April 1, 2022, fire academies had been establishedin all 47 prefectures, seven ordinance-designated cities(Sapporo, Chiba, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Kobe, andFukuoka), and in the Tokyo Fire Department for a totalof 55 such academies throughout Japan (in the Tokyo

26

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities(3) Technical Assistance for Fire Academies
In addition to providing training for educators such as
new fire chiefs, academy directors, and new and current
instructors to acquire educational techniques, the Fire andDisaster Management College dispatches lecturers uponrequest in order to enhance the educational content offire academies. In FY2021, a total of 132 lecturers weredispatched.
The Fire and Disaster Management College also
provides a list of graduates and information on lecturers
to help edit textbooks for new firefighters to be used atfire academies and to secure lecturers and other personnel
with guaranteed knowledge and skills in specialized fields.

A. Enhancement of education and training content
in response to changes in social conditions
Regarding the education and training contents of eachcourse, the following subjects have been incorporated
in response to new issues arising from changes in social
conditions and in accordance with the objectives ofeach department: harassment prevention, mental health,traumatic stress management, crisis management, public
relations, and litigation response.
Furthermore, efforts are being made to round-out thecontents of the curriculum, such as by adding in trainingthat simulates commanding during a fire, simulation
training for receiving assistance during a large-scale
earthquake, and other such drills that make using of
information systems, the implementation of firefighting
drills (hot training) in environments similar to real fires
utilizing the real fire training facilities, which was added
in 2020 and now has two units, and landslide response
training using a mock house buried under soil and sand, as
well as lectures on firefighting drones.
Moreover, in order to expand training opportunities
for women, 5% of the capacity of each department
has been set as a priority quota for female firefighters,
and a Women’s Activity Promotion Course, which is apractical training course designed to support the careerdevelopment of female firefighters, is available.
As a means of education, some programs incorporate
on-demand e-learning for advance study and remoteclasses in a live format to shorten the duration ofdormitory stays and to provide efficient education andtraining.

Training that simulates the experience of being in an actual fire
(hot fire training)

B. Countermeasures against COVID-19 at the Fireand Disaster Management College
Some Courses are shortening the duration of dormitory
stays and reducing exposure through the use of remoteclasses and e-learning.
In addition, in light of the July 2022 outbreak ofinfection among students attending the school, theeducation and training systems have been maintainedby further infection control measures taken through the
reduction of the number of students in some departments
and allowing students to commute to the school, as well as
strengthening the management of the living environmentof the student dorms.
(2) Facilities and Equipment
As a facility for advanced education and training,
the Fire and Disaster Management College is equippedwith a disaster response training room that simulates
various disaster scenes to improve command skills, areal fire training facility to experience environmental
changes similar to those at the scene of a fire, and a townformed housing complex-type unit to simulate areas
where activities are difficult, such as those with a highconcentration of wooden houses.
Moreover, in order to provide practical training, theFire and Disaster Management College possess training
vehicles such as command vehicles, pump trucks, rescue
vehicles, special disaster vehicles, and high standard
emergency vehicles.
The dormitory also has women-only spaces (bathrooms,
toilets, changing rooms, common rooms, etc.).

Training that simulates the experience of being in an actual fire
(hazardous material fire)

Drill on responding to mass casualties

27

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

5 Ambulance Service System

Section☞ Japanese Original P.132(2) People Transported by the Severity of Their
Injury or Illness
Of the 5,491,744 people transported by ambulances in
2021, 44.8% were people with minor injuries or illnesses
that did not require hospitalization (outpatient care)or other cases (cases where a doctor did not provide adiagnosis, etc.). (Attachment 2-5-5, untranslated)

1. Implementation of Ambulance
Services(1) Ambulance Service Dispatch
Ambulance services were dispatched a total of 6,193,581
times in 2021 (an increase of 260,304, or 4.4%, from theprevious year). Looking at the daily average, ambulanceservices were dispatched an average of approximately
16,969 times per day (an increase of approximately 758
compared to the previous year), meaning that ambulanceservice teams were dispatched at a rate of once every 5.1
seconds or so (5.3 seconds in the previous year).
Furthermore, the number of people transported byambulance totaled 5,491,744 people (an increase of
197,914 people, or 3.7%, from the previous year). Thismeans that one out of every 23 members (24 members in
the previous year) of the public has been transported by an
ambulance service team.
Looking at this by the type of incident that led people
to be transported by an ambulance reveals that 3,605,179
people (65.6%) were transported due to sudden illness,
879,503 people (16.0%) suffered a general injury, 340,573
people (6.2%) suffered a traffic accident, and so on.
(Attachment 2-5-1, 2, 3, 4, untranslated)
The number of times fire and disaster prevention
helicopters were dispatched came to 2,488 (an increaseof 71 from the previous year), and 1,914 people weretransported by them (an increase of 17 from the previousyear).

(3) People Transported by Ambulance by Age
Group and Type of Incident
Viewing a breakdown of the 5,491,744 people
transported by ambulance in 2021 by age group reveals
that 12,303 of them were newborn infants (0.2%), 210,962
were young children (3.8%), 160,895 were youths(2.9%), 1,707,782 were adults (31.1%), and 3,399,802
were elderly people (61.9%). As the low birthrate andaging of society advances, the share accounted for byelderly people tends to be high. (Attachment 2-5-6, 7,
untranslated)
Furthermore, elderly people accounted for the largest
percentage of the people transported by ambulance forsudden illnesses (2,296,928 people, or 63.7%), while
the largest percentage transported for traffic accidents
consisted of adults (204,713 people, or 60.1%) and thelargest percentage for general injuries consisted of elderly
people (629,904 people, or 71.6%). (Attachment 2-5-7,
untranslated)(4) Time Required to Arrive at the Scene
Looking at a breakdown of the 6,193,581 cases inwhich ambulances were dispatched in 2021 by the timerequired to arrive at the scene (time it took to arrive at

Fig. 2-5-1 No. of dispatch by time required forthe ambulance to arrive at the scene

Fig. 2-5-2 No. of people transported by ambulanceby time it took to check them into a hospital(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance
Service”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance
Service”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

28

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-5-3 Trends in the amount of time it takes ambulances to arrive at the scene and the time it takes
to check the patient into a hospital(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.
2 Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the figures were totaled by excluding data from the Kamaishi Ootsuchi District
Administrative Office Fire Department and the Rikuzentakata City Fire Department from 2010 and 2011.

2. Implementation Structure forAmbulance Services

the scene after the 119 report was received) reveals thatin the majority of cases it took between 5 and 10 minutes(3,529,332 cases, or 57.0% of the total). (Fig. 2-5-1)
Additionally, the average time required to arrive at thescene came to approximately 9.4 minutes (approximately
8.9 minutes, the previous year), and 1.2 minutes longer
than it was ten years ago (2011). (Fig. 2-5-3)(1) Number of Municipalities Offering Ambulance
Services
The number of municipalities offering ambulanceservices as of April 1, 2022 totaled 1,690 municipalities(793 cities, 736 towns, and 161 villages) (the special
wards of Tokyo were counted as one city; the same
hereinafter in this section).
A m b u l a n c e s e r v i c e s a r e o ff e r e d i n 9 8 . 3 % o fmunicipalities (same as the previous year), and cover
99.9% of the total population (same as the previous year;
the population used is from the 2020 national census;
the same hereinafter in this section), which means thatambulance services can be received in virtually every
region. (Attachment 2-5-9, 10, untranslated)
When viewed by the configuration through which said
ambulance services were offered, 435 municipalities
offered them independently, 146 did so by outsourcing
them, and 1,109 did so through special district authorities
and extended associations.

(5) Time Required to Check the Patient into a
Hospital
Looking at a breakdown of the 5,491,744 people
transported by ambulance in 2021 by the time required tocheck the patient into a hospital (time required to check thepatient into a hospital after the 119 report was received)
reveals that the majority of people were checked in
between 30 and 60 minutes at 3,609,204 people (65.7%).
(Fig. 2-5-2)
In addition, the average time required to check thepatient into a hospital came to approximately 42.8
minutes (approximately 40.6 minutes, the previous year),and 4.7 minutes longer than it was ten years ago (2011).
(Fig. 2-5-3)(6) First-aid Treatment Administered by
Ambulance Team Members
Of the 5,491,744 people transported by ambulances in
2021, ambulance team members administered first-aid
treatment to 5,477,016 patients (99.7%). This brings thetotal number of cases in which ambulance crew members
administered first-aid treatment to 22,222,239. (Attachment
2-5-8, untranslated)
Furthermore, the total number of cases in which first-aid
treatment was administered by ambulance crew members
since their expansion in 1991 (items with * symbol in
Attachment 2-5-8) came to 15,681,593 (a 6.6% increaseyear-on-year (YoY)). Of these, the number of cases inwhich EMTs administered first-aid treatment in orderto resuscitate a patient based on the EMT act came to262,645 (7.8% increase YoY).

(2) Number of Ambulance Teams, Ambulance
Team Members and Associate Ambulance Team
Members
As of April 1, 2022, 5,328 ambulance teams (anincrease of 26 YoY) had been established. (Fig. 2-5-4)
Since ambulance team members are engaged in theimportant duty of saving people’s lives, they mustcomplete at least 135 hours’ worth of training courses on
ambulance services (the former Ambulance I Course).
As of April 1, 2022, the number of firefighters who
fulfilled this eligibility requirement came to 131,358 (anincrease of 1,557 YoY). Of these, 65,853 were engaged inambulance services as ambulance team members (including
not only full-time ambulance team members, but also
ambulance team members who have been appointed assuch and who concurrently serve on firefighting vehicles
such as pump vehicles by riding along with them). (Fig.
2-5-5)

29

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-5-4 Trends in the number of ambulance teams(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.

Fig. 2-5-5 Trends in the number of ambulance team members(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.

Furthermore, of the firefighters who fulfilled theeligibility requirements to be ambulance team members,
the number who had completed 250 hours’ worth ofambulance courses to enable them to provide evenmore advanced first-aid treatment (including the former
Ambulance Standard Course and former Ambulance*1

II Course) totaled 86,631 people (an increase of 707
YoY) nationwide as of April 1, 2022. Of these, 33,941
are engaged in ambulance services as ambulance teammembers. As of April 1, 2022, 16 associate ambulanceteam member *1 are engaged in ambulance services
nationwide.

Associate ambulance team member: Based on the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Services Act, in depopulated areas and remote islands, when amunicipality has established an implementation plan as a measure to ensure appropriate ambulance services, it is possible to organize an ambulanceteam consisting of two ambulance team members and one associate ambulance team member. Associate ambulance team members are full-time
firefighters, etc., who have completed a basic training course on ambulance services.

30

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities(3) Trends in the Number of EMTs and AmbulanceTeams with EMTs
As a result of the increasing sophistication of ambulanceservices, the FDMA is promoting the training of EMTs
and the development of an operational system where theobjective is to have at least one EMT stationed with every
ambulance team.
As of April 1, 2022, 722 fire departments out of 723 fire
departments in Japan are making use of EMTs, and theusage rate is 99.9% (same as the previous year).
The number of ambulance teams with EMTs came
to 5,301 (an increase of 26 YoY), which corresponds to
99.5% of the 5,328 ambulance teams throughout Japan(same as the previous year), with this rising year by year.
Furthermore, there were 42,495 fire departments personnel
with EMT qualifications (an increase of 1,229 people
YoY). Of these, 29,389 had been put to use as EMTs (anincrease of 667 people YoY), with this number steadily
increasing year by year. (Fig. 2-5-6, 7)“national and other expressways”), the East Nippon
Expressway Company, Central Nippon Expressway
Company, West Nippon Expressway Company, andHonshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company(hereinafter referred to as “expressway companies”) areresponsible for road management operations and offering
centralized, independent ambulance services. Moreover,the municipalities along said expressways are responsible
for handling ambulance services as per the provisions of
the Fire Service Act. So it has been stipulated that bothparties are to work together to properly and efficiently
safeguard human life.
As of April 1, 2022, ambulance services along nationaland other expressway were provided by municipal
firefighting agencies over every section of the 9,281km of
the length of expressway currently in use. The expressway
companies bear a certain extent of the financial burdenthat is placed on the municipalities providing ambulanceservices.

(4) Number of Ambulances
The number of ambulances owned by fire departments
throughout Japan as of April 1, 2022 totaled 6,549 (adecrease of 30 YoY), including those for emergency
use. Of these, the number of high-standard ambulances
was 6,436 (a decrease of 16 YoY), which corresponds to
98.3% of the total.

3. Promoting Coordination between
Firefighting and Medical Care
(1) Standards on Patient Transport and Their
AcceptanceIn order to ensure the smooth implementation of thetransportation and reception of injured and sick persons,
the Fire Service Act stipulates that prefectures shallformulate the Standards on Patient Transport and Their
Acceptance (hereinafter referred to as the “acceptancestandards”) and establish a council on the Implementation
Standards (hereinafter referred to as “Legal Council”). The
hope is that through the legally-mandated committees, the(5) Ambulance Services along National and Other
Expressways
When it comes to ambulance services along national
expressways, the Seto-Chuo Expressway, and the KobeAwaji-Naruto Expressway (hereinafter referred to as

Fig. 2-5-6 Trends in the number of ambulance teams with EMTs

(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.

31Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-5-7 Trends in the number of EMTs

(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.

prefectures will survey and verify the transport of patientsand their acceptance status based on the acceptancestandards. Then, based on this, it is hoped that they will
tie the results of this in with making improvements to theacceptance standards and so forth.
For its part, the FDMA works to follow up by working
to understand the efforts and challenges faced by eachprefecture, as well as by introducing examples of efforts
that are operating effectively in certain regions.
In addition, in light of the fact that emergency transport
is carried out based upon the acceptance standards, local
governmental financial measures are being taken throughspecial tax grants with respect to the costs entailed by
the assistance rendered to private secondary ambulance
institutions*2 by local public bodies in an effort to enhance
ambulance medical care structures in local regions.

and acute poisoning, of which 46 locations have been set
in place (as of July 1, 2022).
The approval of emergency hospitals and emergency
clinics under the emergency notification system, and thedevelopment of initial, secondary, and tertiary medicalcare systems are implemented in a centralized fashion
under the medical care plan approved by the prefectural
governor.
Under these emergency care systems and throughthe acceptance standards enacted by the prefectures inaccordance with the provisions of the Fire Service Act,a list of medical institutions that can provide medicalcare according to patients’ conditions has been compiled.
Firefighting agencies use this list when carrying out
ambulance operations.
(3) Acceptance of People Using Ambulance
Transport at Medical Institutions
The FDMA performed surveys on the actual state ofacceptance for patients with severe conditions or worse,
pregnant or perinatal patients, young patients, and patientstransported to emergency medical care centers.
Comparing the results of the “Survey of Medical
Institution Acceptance of Ambulance Transports in 2021”
with the results of the same survey in 2020, the number
and percentage of cases with four or more inquiries
increased in all of the following categories: the seriously
injured increased, women with pregnancy related andperinatal conditions, injured children, and patients toemergency medical care centers. (Attachment 2-5-12,
untranslated) The number and percentage of cases inwhich the ambulance stayed at the scene for 30 minutes oralso increased. (Attachment 2-5-13, untranslated)(2) Ambulance Medical Care StructureWith regard to the notification status of emergency
hospitals and emergency clinics, which constitute theprimary destinations to which patients are taken, as ofApril 1, 2022 there were 4,175 such locations throughout
Japan. (Attachment 2-5-11, untranslated)
There are 551 weekend and nighttime ambulance carecenters (as of April 1, 2020) that ensure that initial medicalcare can be received on weekends and at nights, which
serve as the initial ambulance medical care structure. 2,737
hospitals make up the rotating hospital group and joint-use
hospitals that comprise the secondary medical care system(as of April 1, 2020), and 300 emergency medical carecenters (as of July 1, 2022) make up the tertiary medicalcare system. Additionally, among the emergency medicalcare centers are advanced emergency medical care centerscapable of handling patients with specific illnesses or
injuries, such as extensive burns, severed digits and limbs,*2

Private secondary ambulance institution: Among secondary medical institutions, ambulance service notice institutions (excluding national and public
medical institutions and public institutions).

32

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

activities are being done through training and research
opportunities such as the National Ambulance-Crew
Symposium and the Japanese Society for Emergency
Medicine.

4. Promotion of More SophisticatedAmbulance Services(1) Promotion of Education for Ambulance
Service Personnel
In 1991, the Emergency Medical Technicians Act was
enforced and a new qualification system was set up to
make EMTs who are responsible for performing certain
first-aid treatment under the direction of physicians until
the ambulance team members arrive at the hospital or
clinic after having arrived at the scene.
In the case of firefighters, the EMT qualification
can be obtained by completing an ambulance services
course, engaging in ambulance services for 5 years or atleast 2,000 hours, and then completing an EMT training
course for at least 6 months before passing a national
examination. After obtaining the qualification, EMTs
assigned to a fire service agency are required to take atleast 160 hours of hospital training before engaging inambulance services, and at least 128 hours of further
training every two years (of which, hospital training
should be at least 48 hours) thereafter.
Because of the advanced and specialized nature of
the content and the need to consider the efficiency of
education and training, the training of EMTs for fireservice agencies is conducted by the Foundation for
Ambulance Service Development established in 1991
with investment from 47 prefectures nationwide following
the enactment of the Emergency Medical Technicians
Act, as well as by the EMT training centers in thedesignated cities, and EMT training course at the Fire
Management College. In FY2021, 801 EMTs at the EMT
Training Center of the Foundation for Ambulance Service
Development and 392 EMTs at the EMT training centersin the designated cities or EMT training course at the Fire
Management College completed the training course andtook the national examination.
In response to the promulgation and enactment of the
Cerebrovascular and Cardiovascular Disease Control Act,
the FDMA received a proposal from relevant academic
societies based on the latest scientific findings regarding
the observation and treatment of cardiovascular disease
and stroke among ambulance teams, and an examinationof this proposal was conducted at the “FY2019
Investigative Committee on the State of Ambulance
Services”. The FDMA issued a notice regarding items
deemed appropriate by the Investigative Committee
titled “Observation and Treatment in Ambulance Teams”(Notice, dated March 27, 2020).
In addition, ambulance team members, including EMTs,
are required to receive education for their respective roles
as new ambulance team members, current ambulanceteam members, and ambulance team leaders in accordancewith the “Guidelines for Continuing Education for
Personnel Engaged in Ambulance Services Ver. 1” (March2014). In order to establish such an educational system,
EMTs in leadership positions, who are responsible forproviding education and guidance to their personnel andcoordinating with related organizations regarding the
educational system, are positioned as “instructor EMTs,”
and as of April 1, 2022, 2,563 instructor EMTs have beencertified nationwide.
Furthermore, the promotion of national exchanges
among ambulance team members and the improvementof their knowledge and skills necessary for emergency(2) Increase in the Treatment Scope of EMTs
At the time of the system’s establishment in 1991, theonly life-saving procedures (specified acts) performed by
EMTs under specific instructions from physicians were
defibrillation using a semiautomatic defibrillator, infusionof lactated Ringer’s solution to establish an IV line, andairway management using an esophageal obturator airway
or laryngeal mask, but these were gradually expanded by
the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.
As of April 1, 2022, 15,977 ambulance team members
qualified as EMTs were able to perform tracheal intubation(of which 7,575 were able to use a video laryngoscope forrigid intubation,) 28,827 were able to administer drugs(adrenaline), 27,535 were able to establish an IV line
and administer fluids to severely injured patients before
cardiopulmonary arrest, and 27,554 were able to measure
blood sugar and administer glucose solution to patients
suffering from hypoglycemic attacks.
(3) Enhancement of Medical Control System
The medical control system in ambulance services is asystem that ensures the quality of first aid, etc. performedby ambulance team members, including EMTs, from a
medical point of view. Specifically, it is a system that,in collaboration with fire departments and medical
institutions, (1) creates various protocols according to thecharacteristics of the region based on medical grounds,(2) enables emergency personnel to promptly request
instruction, guidance, or advice from physicians at any
time from a scene of an emergency, (3) has physicians
conduct a medical and objective post-verification of
emergency efforts, and feeds back the results of said postverification, as well as (4) conducting further education,etc. The Medical Control Council, which is a forum
for discussions between fire departments and medical
institutions, is established at the prefectural and regional
levels. As of August 1, 2022, there are 47 prefectural
Medical Control Councils and 250 regional Medical
Control Councils in Japan. The role of the medical control
system in ambulance services has expanded from that ofobserving EMTs and guaranteeing their treatment from a
medical perspective, which is the basis and foundation of
the system, to one of ensuring the appropriate operationof local ambulance transportation and emergency medical
resources through the formulation of standards for thetransport and acceptance of injured and sick patients. It
has evolved into something more diverse and tailored tothe actual conditions of each region, with a view toward acooperative role for fire, rescue, and emergency medical
services in the coordination of medicine and nursing aspart of comprehensive community care.
Based on the result of “the FY2020 Study Group on
the State of Ambulance Services,” which examined thecurrent issues facing the medical control system and theirsolutions, the FDMA issued a notice on March 26, 2021
titled “Further Enhancement and Strengthening of Medical
Control System in Emergency Services”, which indicatedthat related organizations should work closely together tofurther enhance the medical control system, and that thesystem should be built and improved continuously through33

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

the PDCA cycle using objective performance indicators.
In addition, in the “FY2021 Study Group on the State of
Ambulance Services” we have just conducted a further
study regarding the continued promotion of the PDCA
cycle initiative and the enhancement of performanceindicators through understanding the utilization of
performance indicators as well as the advanced example
initiatives of each region following notification.
The recent diversification of roles required of medical
control councils can also be viewed in terms of “CPR at
the scene of an emergency in accordance with the wishesof the injured or sick person.” As the number of elderly
people requesting ambulance services is increasing,
there are cases in which ambulance services arerequested by the families of patients to stop performing
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) because they are
told that the patient does not want CPR. Based on thisbackground, at a subcommittee of the “2018 Investigative
Committee on the State of Ambulance Services”, experts
indicated a basic awareness that ‘the person’s choices’
should be respected’ in cases where the patient’s family
communicates at the scene of an emergency that thepatient does not want CPR treatment. At scenes of
emergencies, which consist of all kinds of scenarios
and are urgent situations, and in many cases, there isno physician present, usually, the ambulance team hastime and information-related restrictions such as thewishes of the injured or sick person are not shared withthem beforehand. Therefore, the committee concluded
that it is necessary to clarify the actual situation of thecases and through verification in each place, to increaseknowledge about the response of the ambulance team byaccumulating all cases.
Based on the results of these surveys, the FDMA issued
a notice titled “Report of the Investigative Subcommittee

on the Implementation of CPR at the Scene of an
Emergency in Line with the Wishes of the Sick or Injured
Person at the FY2018 Investigative Committee on theState of Emergency Services” (Notice, dated November
8, 2019) to the heads of fire and disaster management
departments in each prefecture. This notice states that
firefighting agencies will be required to (1) make efforts
to appropriately participate in community discussions on
the Community-based Integrated Care System*3 and ACP(Advance Care Planning, also known as Jinsei Kaigi)*4
together with those involved in home medical and nursing
care, and proactively exchange opinions, etc., (2) makeefforts to, when considering the response of ambulanceteams and in addition to (1) above, seek participationfrom those involved in home medical and nursing carein medical control committees, etc., and hold sufficient
discussions while taking into account the status of endof-life medical care and care initiatives at the community
level, as well as the status of home medical care andelderly care facilities, and (3) consider making this subject
to subsequent verification at medical control councils.
(4) Use of Emergency Resuscitation Statistics(Utstein data)
In Japan, the Utstein Style*5 has been introduced acrossall fire departments nationwide since January 2005. The
FDMA also operates an online system for collecting andanalyzing the results of research done via the Utstein
Style, and has accumulated 17 years’ worth of data from2005 to 2021. On an application basis, the data is provided
to related academic societies so that the accumulation ofthis data can be used appropriately and effectively. The
data is also used for constructing measures and systems
for improving the lifesaving rate.

-omitted-

*3

*4
*5

Community-based Integrated Care System: A system that comprehensively ensures medical care, long-term care, long-term care prevention(prevention of a state requiring nursing care or support, or reduction/prevention of the worsening of a state requiring nursing care or support),
housing, and support for independent living in accordance with local conditions, so that elderly people can lead independent lives within their own
communities for as long as possible according to their abilities.
ACP (Advance Care Planning): A process in which the individual repeatedly discusses end-of-life medical treatment and care in advance with family
members and their medical care teams.
Utstein Style: This is a survey and statistical approach for classifying cases of cardiopulmonary arrest according to the cause, whether it was
witnessed or not, whether bystanders performed CPR or not, etc., and recording the prognosis (survival rate after one month, etc.) of the injured orsick in each category. It was proposed at an international conference held at Utstein Monastery in Norway in 1990 and is recommended worldwide.

34

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

6 Rescue System

Section☞ Japanese Original P.146

refers to the total number of people dispatched in order tocarry out rescue activities) came to 1,523,937 in total. Of
these, the largest number of firefighters were dispatched
for rescue activities in response to “Accidents due tobuildings”, followed by “Traffic accidents”. At the sametime, volunteer firefighters were mostly dispatched forfires.
The number of people who engaged in rescue activities(this refers to the number of people who actually engaged
in rescue activities out of the number dispatched) totaled
594,341. In terms of the number of people engaged ineach individual rescue activity by type of incident, “storms,
floods, and other natural disaster incidents” was the mostcommon type of accident, followed by “fire”. (Attachment
2-6-3, untranslated)

1. Implementation Status for Rescue
Activities(1) Number of Rescue Activities and Number ofPeople Rescued
The life-saving rescues performed by firefighting
agencies refer to activities whereby human or machinepower is used to extricate people from dangerous
situations and transport the victims to safe locations.
Examples of such dangerous situations include fires,
traffic accidents, water accidents, natural disasters, andaccidents due to machines.
As for the implementation status for rescue activities
throughout Japan in 2021, 63,198 rescue activities werecarried out (an increase of 3,221, or 5.4%, YoY) and
59,861 people were rescued (this refers to the number ofpeople rescued through rescue activities; an increase of
1,909, or 3.3%, YoY). (Attachment 2-6-1, 2, untranslated)
The main reason for the increase in the number ofrescue activities and people rescued was the increase in
accidents due to buildings. (Fig. 2-6-1, 2)

2. Implementation Structure for Rescue
Activities(2) Implementation Status of Rescue Activities byType of Incident
Looking at the status of rescue activities by typeof incident, “accidents due to buildings” and “traffic
accidents” accounted for a large percentage of both thenumber of rescue activities and the number of rescued
people. In particular, the number of “accidents due tobuildings” continues to increase.
The number of rescue workers dispatched (which(1) Number of Rescue Crews and Number ofRescue Crew Members
Rescue crews are established in municipalities that havefire departments and fire stations pursuant to the Ministerial
Ordinance Establishing Standards for the Organization,
Outfitting, and Establishment of Rescue Crews (hereinafterreferred to as the “Rescue Ordinance”). They consist ofmembers who have received specialized education related
to lifesaving (140 hours’ worth), as well as rescue andrelief supplies and the rescue vehicles equipped with theseneeded for rescue activities. They are categorized into
four classifications: rescue crews, special rescue crews,
advanced rescue crews, and special advanced rescue

Fig.2-6-1 Number of rescue activities by type ofincident

Fig.2-6-2 Number of people rescued by type ofincident(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on the Implementation Status ofRescue Activities”.

(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on the Implementation Status ofRescue Activities”.

35Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

crews.*1
As of April 2022, 1,420 crews had been establishedat 706 fire departments, and the number of rescue crew
members came to 24,339 people (a decrease of 31 YoY).

3. National Firefighting and Rescue Skills
Meets
The National Firefighting and Rescue Skills Meet has
been held every year since 1972 (sponsored by the Japan
Firefighters Association, with the backing of the FDMA
and others). Its goal is to foster the physical strength,
mental toughness, and technical capabilities needed for
rescue activities, as well as to gather rescue crew members
from throughout Japan together to cultivate crew members
who can serve as examples to others through competitionand learning.
This competition is divided up into a land division
and a water division. For each division, there is “Basic
training” where individual crew members practice basic
skills, “Coordinated training” where crew members
practice their individual skills together by cooperatingwith other crew members, and “Skills training” whereparticipating crew members demonstrate everything fromtraining assumptions to rescue methods using creativity
and ingenuity without stipulations as to the equipment or
training skills that will be used.
The 50th in 2022 was held in Tachikawa, Tokyo. Here718 crew members took part in the land division and
250 took part in the water division. In 2023, the meet isscheduled to be held in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

(2) Possession Status of Rescue Equipment for
Rescue Activities
Rescue equipment for rescue activities includes
equipment for removing heavy objects such as
hydraulic spreaders, cutting equipment like hydrauliccutters, detection and measurement equipment suchas inflammable gas measuring instruments, and more.
Since more advanced, specialized equipment has been
deemed necessary for them to guard against the largescale earthquake disasters and NBC disasters*2 that could
potentially occur, the establishment and maintenanceof rescue work vehicles and rescue equipment is being
promoted through subsidies for equipping National FireService Teams and local taxation measures. (Attachment
2-6-4, untranslated)-omitted-*1*2

Special rescue crews, advanced rescue crews, and special advanced rescue crews: The Rescue Ordinance stipulates that municipalities with apopulation of 100,000 people or more and a standing fire defense structure must establish a special rescue crew. Core cities and the like must haveone or more special rescue crews that serve as advanced rescue crews, and the Tokyo Fire Department and ordinance-designated cities must haveone or more advanced fire crews that serve as special advanced rescue crews.
NBC disasters: Disasters caused by Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical substances.

36

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

8

SectionIntegrated Fire Service Support and National
Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response☞ Japanese Original P.154

The system is structured so that during times ofnormalcy, National Fire-Service Teams focus all of
their energies on carrying out firefighting duties in theirrespective local regions. But once a large-scale disasteroccurs somewhere in Japan, firefighting teams dispatch
in a concentrated manner to the afflicted region fromthroughout the country to respond to said disaster at therequest or instructions of the Commissioner of the FDMA.
There they engage in firefighting activities, including
lifesaving and rescue activities.
When they were first launched, National Fire-Service
Teams consisted of 376 teams registered with the FDMA
to provide domestic assistance for firefighting. They werecomprised of rescue crews, ambulance crews, and more.
There were also 891 out-of-prefecture assistance teams
that engaged in activities between neighboring prefectures,
which consisted of firefighting teams and others. Thisbrought the total to 1,267 teams. In January 2001, a
registration system for fire teams was introduced in orderto enhance the dispatch structure for National Fire-Service
Teams and response capabilities for various disasters.
In addition, a number of new types of teams were
established in order to handle increasingly complicatedand diverse disasters. These included special disasterteams with the capacity to respond to special disasters suchas oil and chemical disasters, as well as those involving
toxic or hazardous substances, or radioactive materials,
as well as air teams that use fire and disaster prevention
helicopters and water teams that use firefighting boats.
This brought the types of teams to 8, and the number ofteams to 1,785.

1. Integrated Support System for Fire
Service(1) Mutual Support Agreement for Fire Services
As municipalities are obliged to make efforts to support
each other as and when necessary regarding firefighting
efforts by concluding agreements on mutual firefighting
support, it is now possible to respond appropriately tolarge-scale disasters and special disasters.
Currently, in all prefectures, there are firefighting
mutual support agreements (including agreements for
only municipalities where firefighting services are onhand) in which all municipalities under each prefectureand firefighting administrative associations and so on
participate.
(2) Establishment of Integrated Support System
for Fire Service
To respond to large-scale disasters and special
disasters, it is necessary for firefighting capabilities tooperate extensively beyond the districts of municipalities
or prefectures. For this reason, the FDMA has bothenhanced and strengthened the National Fire-Service
Teams described in section 2, as well as formulated the“Guidelines for the Implementation of Wide-Area Aerial
Firefighting Support Teams in the Event of a Large
Scale Special Disaster” in 1986 in order to efficiently
implement the use of helicopters as, in the event of
a forest fire or other large scale disaster, helicopters
excel in all areas of firefighting and disaster prevention,such as aerial firefighting, rescue activities, emergency
operations, information gathering, and emergency
transportation. The guidelines clarify the procedures forrequesting support based on article 44 of the Firefighting
Agency Organization Act, and promote the active use of
firefighting helicopters owned by firefighting agencies
and prefectures for wide-area support (Attachment 2-8-1,
untranslated).

B. Enshrinement in Law through the 2003
Revisions to the Fire Organization Act
It has been pointed out that potential earthquakes
like a Tokai Earthquake, Tonankai/Nankai Earthquake,or Tokyo in Land Earthquake are imminent, and thedangers of NBC terrorism disasters. As such, scenarios
can be envisioned where it would be difficult to respondto such disasters promptly and precisely solely throughthe firefighting capabilities of the municipalities in the
afflicted region or those found in the afflicted prefecture.
Therefore, the Commissioner of the FDMA has been
vested with the necessary authority to work to enhanceand strengthen emergency response structures from anational perspective. In conjunction with this, the Act
for the Partial Revision of the Fire Organization Act wasdrafted in 2003 and entered into force in 2004. This act
included provisions for national financial measures, etc.

2. National Fire-Service Teams for
Disaster Response(1) Creation of National Fire-Service Teams for
Disaster Response and Their Enshrinement in Law
via Revisions to the Fire Defense Organization Act
A. Creation of National Fire-Service Teams
National Fire-Service Teams were created in June
1995 through the cooperation of fire departments fromthroughout Japan in order to create an assistance structure
through the mutual cooperation of firefighting agencies
from around the country. This was based on the lessons
from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January
17, 1995, and designed to make it possible to carry out
lifesaving rescue activities when large-scale disasters
such as earthquakes occur within Japan in a faster, more
effective manner.

(a) Main Content of the Revised Law
The main content of the revised law consists of staking
out a clear legal position for National Fire-Service Teams,
establishing the authority of the Commissioner of the
FDMA to order dispatches, formulating basic plans
relating to the organization of National Fire-Service
Teams and the development of facilities (hereinafterin this section referred to as the “Basic Plan”), and the37

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

financial measures of the national government.

prefectures or municipalities to which the personnel
who are active as National Fire-Service Team members
belong.

(b) Legal Position and Dispatch Orders by theCommissioner of the FDMA
National Fire-Service Teams, which have been put touse based on certain guiding principles since they were
established, were given a clear legal position within theFire Defense Organization Act through the revisions tothis law. In addition, in the event that a Tokai Earthquakeor other large-scale disaster extends over two or more
prefectures or an NBC disaster were to occur, theCommissioner of the FDMA shall be able to issue theorders to take the necessary measures to dispatch National
Fire-Service Teams. This authority to order dispatches
was established based on the thinking that the national
government bears responsibility for deploying firefighting
capabilities to afflicted regions in the form of ordering the
dispatch of National Fire-Service Teams for large-scaledisasters that should be handled from a truly nationwide
perspective. The unprecedented, enormous disaster of
the Great East Japan Earthquake was the first time thisauthority was exercised since it was established.

C. Enhancing Mobility through the 2008 Revisions
to the Fire Defense Organization Act
In 2008 the Act for the Partial Revision of the Fire
Defense Organization Act was drafted and entered into
force. This included content such as enhancing themobility of National Fire-Service Teams in an effort tofurther strengthen fire and disaster defense structures
for large-scale earthquakes such as a Tokai Earthquake,
Tonankai/Nankai Earthquake, or Tokyo in Land
Earthquake.
(a) Main Content of the Revised Law
The main content of the revised law consists ofestablishing the authority for prefectural governors toorder the dispatch of National Fire-Service Teams thatare already active in municipalities where disasters haveoccurred, the establishment of coordination headquarters
for firefighting support activities, and revisions to therequirements for the orders to dispatch National FireService Teams by the Commissioner of the FDMA.

(c) Enactment of the Basic Plan Pertaining to National
Fire-Service Teams
By law it has been mandated that the Minister forInternal Affairs and Communications is to enact the Basic
Plan.
This Basic Plan, enacted in February 2004, establishedmatters such as standards for equipping and organizing
the crews that comprise National Fire-Service Teams,
dispatch plans, and targets for setting in place thenecessary facilities. When initially enacted, it set a targetof registering 3,000 National Fire-Service Teams by
FY2008.

(b) Establishment of the Authority for Prefectural
Governors to Order Dispatches
This stipulated that prefectural governors can orderthe dispatch of National Fire-Service Teams active inmunicipalities where they normally operate. This can bedone in cases where a disaster has occurred in two or more
municipalities within a prefecture, and where it is deemednecessary for the sake of urgently providing firefighting
support for municipalities where a disaster has occurredthat lie outside of the municipalities in which said National
Fire-Service Teams normally operate. This structure
was set in place based on the fact that teams spanning
across municipal borders within the same prefecture were
mobilized for the 2004 torrential rain disasters in Niigata
and Fukushima, as well as the Mid Niigata Prefecture
Earthquake in 2004. In cases spanning across prefecturalborders, it has been stipulated that the Commissioner of
the FDMA shall coordinate this, since said coordination
will span across two or more prefectures.

(d) Financial Measures by the National Government for
National Fire-Service Teams
The dispatch of National Fire-Service Teams has beenlegally mandated in cases where they have been ordered todispatch by the Commissioner of the FDMA. Therefore,
the expenses that are newly required as a result of said
dispatches are to be borne by the national government
as treasury expenses as per Article 10 of the Local
Government Finance Act.
Furthermore, the establishment of facilities pursuant
to the Basic Plan were clarified in the Fire Defense
Organization Act as constituting “expenses to be
subsidized by the national government.” In addition, theeligible facilities and the subsidy rate (one-half) have been
established through government ordinance.

(c) Establishment of Coordination Headquarters for
Firefighting Support Activities
To ensure that the prefectural governor’s orders from(b) are carried out smoothly, the prefectural governors
are to establish coordination headquarters for firefighting
support activities (hereinafter in this section referred toas “coordination headquarters”) in order to carry out thegeneral coordination for measures like lending support
for firefighting when National Fire-Service Teams aredispatched for this purpose. The coordination headquarters
are tasked with handling tasks related to coordinating with
the Japan Self-Defense Forces, police, and other relevantorganizations. This is done in an effort to ensure that tasks
related to general coordination over measures designed
to support the firefighting activities carried out by theprefecture and municipalities within the prefecture inquestion are carried out smoothly.

(e) Free Use of Equipment for National Fire-Service Teams
Regarding the equipment and materials deemednecessary for the activities of the National FireService Team, it would be difficult to expect progressin the maintenance of vehicles and equipment, evenwith government subsidies, if the maintenance andpossessions of such equipment is not efficient in terms of
cost-effectiveness. There is some equipment that needs
to be provided quickly in order to fulfill the national
government’s responsibilities when it comes to largescale and specialized disasters. As such, it was stipulated
that this equipment is to be set in place by the national
government, but provided for use free of charge to the38Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
A. Organization of National Fire-Service Teams(A) Command Support Battalion
The Command Support Battalion is tasked withthe duty of urgently heading to afflicted regions via
helicopter or the like when large-scale disasters or
special disasters occur to gather information related tothe disaster and convey this to the Commissioner of theFDMA, the governors of the relevant prefectures, andothers. In addition, it has also been tasked with the dutyof carrying out support activities to ensure that commands
pertaining to National Fire-Service Teams by the mayorof the afflicted municipality or fire chief delegated by thesaid mayor are carried out smoothly within the afflicted
region. The Command Support Battalion is comprised ofIntegrated Command Support unit, Command Support
unit, and Air Command Support unit.

(d) Revisions to the Requirements for the Commissionerof the FDMA to Order the Dispatch of National FireService Teams
It was stipulated that the Commissioner of the FDMA
can order the governors of prefectures aside from theprefecture where the municipality in which the disasteroccurred is located or the mayors of municipalities within
the prefecture in question to take the necessary measures
to dispatch their National Fire-Service Teams. Where thiswas previously limited to cases where the disaster was
regarded as a large-scale disaster spanning more than one
prefecture or NBC disasters, now it can be done when
it has been acknowledged that there is a special need torespond to the disaster in question, even when it is a largescale disaster that has occurred solely within a single
prefecture.
In addition, in March 2019, the Basic Plan was revised
to stipulate that the factors for determining a large-scaledisaster to be a disaster subject to instructions shall be
the situation surrounding the disaster, the establishmentof a disaster response headquarters or emergency disaster
response headquarters, and the need for support.

(B) Prefectural Battalions
The Prefectural Battalion is a group of basic companies
which are comprised of the teams required to aid with
firefighting undertaken in afflicted regions from among
a number of different companies. These include thePrefectural Battalion Command Unit, Firefighting
company, Rescue company, Ambulance company, Logisticcompany, Communication company, Air company,
Water company, Special Disaster company, and Special
Equipment company established within the prefecture inquestion or municipalities within said prefecture.

(2) Organization of and Dispatch Plans for
National Fire-Service Teams
Issues like the organization of and dispatch plans for
National Fire-Service Teams are established within the
Basic Plan set by the Minister of Internal Affairs andCommunications. An overview of these issues is provided
below. (Fig. 2-8-1)

Fig 2-8-1 Organization of teams comprising National Fire-Service Teams

39

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-8-1 Tasks and organizations of special battalions
Name

Integrated Mobile Unit

National Fire-Service
Team for Energy/
Industrial Disaster

Objective

MissionComprising unit

Established at the time of the 3rd
Basic Plan to create a more rapid unit
deployment system.

After a request or instruction by the
Director-General to mobilize, to mobilize
promptly, to conduct firefighting activities
urgently in the disaster area, and tocollect and provide information that
contributes to the smooth activities of theprefectural battalion in the case that theprefectural battalion follows.

Integrated Mobile Command Unit, Firefighting Units,
Rescue Units, First-aid Units, Logistical Support Unit, andCommunication Support Unit take the lead, respond withflexible organization and operation according to the typeof disaster being responded to and the objective of therapid dispatch and information collection.

Established at the time of the 3rd Basic
Plan to strengthen emergency response
capabilities for petroleum complex
disasters, etc., based on lessons learned
from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Command Unit of National Fire-Service Team for Energy/
Industrial Disaster, Special Disaster Company（equipped
To conduct advanced and specializedwith large elevated water truck, hose extension vehicle
firefighting activities quickly andwith a large water cannon, chemical fire truck, large
accurately in response to special
elevated water truck, and foam solution transport vehicle),disasters in areas where energy andindustrial infrastructure such as petroleum Firefighting Company (equipped with chemical fire truck)
In addition to the above Special Equipment Unit,
complexes and chemical plants are
Logistical Support Unit, Communications Support Unit,
located.
and Water Unit are added depending on local conditions.

Established at the time of the 4th Basic
Plan to establish a system to promptly
dispatch the NBC Disaster Battalion in
NBC Disaster Battalion the event of an NBC terrorist disaster, inlight of the occurrence of terrorist attacks
in other countries and the scheduled
Olympic and Paralympic Games.

To conduct advanced and specialized
firefighting activities against NBC
disasters in a prompt and accurate
manner.

NBC Disaster Command Unit, Toxic and Hazardous Unit
In addition to the above, Logistical Support Units etc. areadded depending on local conditions.

Established at the time of the 4th Basic
Plan as a mobile unit to be deployed to
Mobile Support
disaster areas in order to strengthen the
Battalion for Landslide,rescue system in the event of wind andStorm and flood
flood damage, which has become more
frequent and severe in recent years.

In response to landslides or wind andflood disasters, conduct firefighting
activities using heavy equipment, etc.,
in cooperation with other prefectural
battalions, etc., in a prompt and accurate
manner.

Mobile Support Command Unit for Landslide, Storm
and flood, Rescue unit（equipped with response vehicle
for handling tsunamis and large-scale storm and flood
damage and rescue work vehicle), Special Equipment Unit(equipped with heavy machinery and heavy machinerytransport vehicle, amphibian motor vehicle and amphibian
motor vehicle transport vehicle), Logistical Support Unit
In addition to the above, necessary units are added
depending on local conditions.

(C) Air Battalion
The Air battalion is tasked to conduct aviation-related
firefighting activities in the disaster area. It is composed of
air units and, if necessary, air logistics support units.

infrastructure is disrupted and a considerable length oftime is needed in order to determine the overall extent of
the damage, and it is possible that requests for dispatch
may not be implemented quickly.
For this reason, the Commissioner of the FDMA has
had prefectural governors and municipal mayors fromaround the country prepare Requests for the Dispatch of
National Fire-Service Teams pursuant to the Fire Defense
Organization Act in advance since July 2008, so thatthey can dispatch upon the occurrence of a large-scale
earthquake.

(D) Special Battalions
Besides the prefectural battalions, there are special task
forces: Integrated Mobile Unit, National Fire-Service
Team for Energy/Industrial Disaster, NBC Disaster
Battalion, Mobile Support Battalion for Landslide, Storm
and flood. (Table 2-8-1)
B. Dispatch Plans(A) Basic Dispatch Plans
When large-scale disasters occur, the Commissionerof the FDMA makes efforts to gather information andclosely coordinate with the prefectural governor of theafflicted prefecture and other officials. They also decideon whether or not it is necessary to dispatch National FireService Teams, and take the measures to request or ordertheir dispatch based on Article 44 of the Fire Defense
Organization Act. Dispatch plans are to be establishedahead of time to enable their prompt and precise dispatchin such cases.
Specifically, for each prefecture in which a disasteroccurs, they designate prefectural battalions that
dispatched to provide support with a primary focus onneighboring prefectures as “first response prefectural
battalions” and prefectural battalions that provide
additional support according to the scale of the disaster as“reserve response prefectural battalions.”(C) Rapid Dispatch
In order to rapidly dispatch National Fire-Service
teams in the event of a disaster, the FDMA may request
prefectures and fire departments to prepare for dispatch
and receive reports on the number of teams available fordispatch when there is a threat of wind or flood damage,etc. In the event of sudden incidents such as sudden riverflooding or landslide, the Commissioner of the FDMA will
immediately request or instruct dispatch without going
through a request for preparation for dispatch.
When a National Fire-Service team is dispatched, thecommand support battalion and the integrated mobile
unit are to be dispatched immediately ahead to collectinformation and facilitate the activities of subsequent
units. (Fig. 2-8-2)(D) Dispatch Plans for the Nankai Trough Earthquake andOther Potential Earthquakes
It is envisioned that the Nankai Trough Earthquake,
Tokyo in Land Earthquake would produce considerable
damage that would extend over multiple prefectures. The
thinking is that the firefighting capabilities of just thefirst response prefectural battalions and reserve response(B) Rapid Dispatch Standards for when Large-scale
Earthquakes Occur
When large-scale earthquakes occur, communications

40

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig 2-8-2 Rapid dispatch

prefectural battalions alone would be insufficient for this.
Therefore, in order to dispatch National Fire-Service
Teams at a national scale, each prefecture will formulate
its own action plan for National Fire-Service Teams at thetime of a disaster, and all National Fire-Service Teams
will be deployed simultaneously and rapidly.
In addition, the plans for the Nankai Trough Earthquake
stipulates measures to be taken in the event of asubsequent earthquake to allow for flexible operation
based on damage conditions and other factors. (Fig. 2-83)

of prefectural battalions and other teams, meeting
locations, information communication structures, andother necessary items concerning the prompt dispatch of
National Fire-Service Teams to afflicted regions.
C. Plans for Receiving Assistance
Each prefecture formulates Plans for Receiving
Assistance from National Fire-Service Teams by
hypothesizing situations in which said prefecture itself
falls victim to a disaster. This is done through consultations
with the firefighting agencies within the prefecture overnecessary matters regarding the acceptance of National
Fire-Service Teams, which includes the management
method of the Coordination Headquarters for Firefighting
Support Activities and the Air Operations Coordination
Team, requests for support, command system, advancebases, camping sites, and fuel supply bases.
In the same way, each fire department is required
to formulate its own plan for receiving the prefectural
firefighting support and emergency fire rescue teams in its
own area, while ensuring consistency with the prefectural
support and disaster prevention plans and adding
necessary items such as the command structure for the
prefectural battalion of the prefectural firefighting supportand emergency fire rescue teams, the communication
system with fire departments and relevant organizations,and the implementation of training for receiving support.

(E) Operational Plan for NBC Disaster
When a large number of people are injured due to an
NBC disaster, the firefighting capability of the firefightingorganization with jurisdiction over the disaster area andthe firefighting organization in the prefecture to which thedisaster area belongs alone is considered to be insufficient,and it is necessary to implement advanced and specialized
firefighting activities quickly and accurately. For thisreason, a special operation plan has been established and
NBC disaster response units will be dispatched promptly.
(F) Assistance Plans by the Prefectures, etc.
Each prefecture formulates its own Implementation
Plans for Assistance from National Fire-Service Teams
based on the registration status of National Fire-Service
Teams within the prefecture in question. These plans are
based on consultations with the firefighting agencies ofeach prefecture in question with regard to the organization

41

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig 2-8-3 Basic dispatch and action plans for National Fire-Service Teams(3) Number of National Fire-Service Teams
Registered and Their Equipment

formulated standards for the equipment for National
Fire-Service Teams. Moreover, since their enshrinement
into law in 2003, it has included provisions for this in its
basic plan as it has worked to round-out their line-up ofequipment.
Starting from 2006, government subsidy measures
have been taken through a subsidy for outfitting National
Fire-Service Teams with facilities and equipment.
Through this, progress has been made in equipping themwith special disaster-response fire pump vehicles, rescue
work vehicles, special disaster-response ambulances,
as well as the support vehicles active teams need to act
in a self-contained manner in afflicted regions, and also
fiberscopes and other sophisticated rescue equipment andsupplies.
Moreover, the emergency and disaster prevention andreduction business debentures (100% allocations, 70%
tax grant rate) that were established in FY2011 wereexpanded in FY2013 to newly encompass “Equipment
for vehicles for the functional enhancement of National
Fire-Service Teams” and “Facilities to serve as bases
for rescue and other activities for National Fire-Service
Teams.”
Furthermore, the stipulations of the Fire Defense
Organization Act provide for a system for using
equipment free of charge. Under this system, some of theequipment needed by National Fire-Service Teams fortheir team activities and logistical activities is allocatedto fire departments and other sites throughout Japan.
Such equipment includes systems for water sources for

A. Number of Teams Registered
The stipulations of the Fire Defense Organization Act
states that the Commissioner of the FDMA must register
National Fire-Service Teams based on applications to doso from the prefectural governors or municipal mayors.
In March 2019, the basic plan was revised and a target
for the number of teams registered was set for the endof FY2023 that would substantially increase the numberof teams from its current level of roughly about 6,000
to roughly 6,600 teams. This is to be done because it is
crucial to set in place a structure for deploying teams
quickly and at a large scale in preparation for large-scaledisasters such as the Nankai Trough Earthquake or Tokyoin Land Earthquake, for which damage that is worse thanthat from the Great East Japan Earthquake is envisioned.
Since the launch of the 1,267 National Fire-Service
Teams in September 1995, there has been a growing
recognition of the importance of their activities during
disasters. As a result, the number of teams registered has
been on the rise, and as of April 1, 2022, 6,606 teams havebeen registered from 720 fire departments nationwide(roughly 99% of the fire departments nationwide). This isalmost 5 times more than its launch. (Attachment 2-8-2,
3 untranslated)
B. Equipment
Since they were first launched, the FDMA has

42

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

firefighting capable of handling disasters at energy andindustrial infrastructure, response vehicles for handlingtsunamis and large-scale storm and flood damage. In
recent year, in order to establish a logistical support
system in each prefecture and to strengthen the systemfor prompt information collection and sharing among
related organizations, operation base vehicles and high-performance inflatable tents, high-spec information
gathering drones, and video transmission equipment havealso been deployed. (Attachment 2-8-4, untranslated)
The FDMA will continue working to round-out andenhance the equipment of National Fire-Service Teamsin a systematic manner to ensure that they can effectively
carry out their activities.

-omitted-

43

Attachment☞ Japanese Original P.8 (Attachment)
Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture
Classification
Prefecture
Hokkaido
Aomorilwate
Miyagi
Akita
Yamagata
Fukushima
IbarakiTochigi
Gunma
Saitama
Chiba
Tokyo
Kanagawa
NiigataToyamaIshikawa
Fukui
Yamanashi
NaganoGifu
Shizuoka
Aichi
Mie
Shiga
Kyoto
Osaka
Hyogo
Nara
Wakayama
Tottori
Shimane
Okayama
Hiroshima
Yamaguchi
Tokushima
KagawaEhime
Kochi
Fukuoka
Saga
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Oita
MiyazakiKagoshima
Okinawa
Prefectural total
Sapporo city
Sendai City
Saitama City
Chiba City
Special wards
Yokohama City
Kawasaki City
Sagamihara City
Niigata City
Shizuoka City
Hamamatsu City
Nagoya City
Kyoto City
Osaka City
Sakai City
Kobe City
Okayama City
Hiroshima City
Kitakyushu City
Fukuoka City
Kumamoto City
21 city total(During 2021)

No. of fires
Total
1,728
494
363
614
320
310
599
1,149
701
616
1,733
1,729
3,969
1,851
531
168
218
152
330
774
611
1,001
1,779
621
375
445
1,774
1,390
369
304
187
237
673
737
479
279
331
388
273
1,231
259
428
676
485
452
640
449
35,222
383
228
300
225
2,816
698
363
131
129
157
171
468
196
596
164
347
180
223
221
280
159
8,435

Buildings
973
275
225
346
186
157
316
524
330
300
969
902
2,830
1,139
348
106
147
86
128
376
335
504
953
276
195
286
1,236
763
187
137
97
121
308
404
215
145
158
228
137
687
121
198
316
189
218
295
177
19,549
274
137
171
143
2,095
463
226
71
97
85
95
289
147
470
107
192
93
134
120
204
108
5,721

Forests
36
17
26
20
24
17
46
44
41
18
15
80
6
3
14
6
7
6
16
38
18
24
28
21
11
12
7
53
12
10
7
21
62
43
29
15
27
21
13
29
15
29
67
56
38
29
50
1,227
1
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
1
1
0
0
8
12
5
2
4
5
53

Vehicles
265
44
41
69
32
38
64
122
89
72
173
148
217
161
62
32
15
24
45
60
67
136
184
72
48
48
178
134
33
25
22
19
72
76
35
21
29
41
22
141
32
36
64
41
39
66
58
3,512
43
23
21
21
133
56
24
13
14
28
20
46
18
40
23
38
25
27
30
20
12
675

No. of buildings burned
Ships

Aircraft
4
2
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
4
7
2
0
0
2
3
0
1
0
0
1
1
2
3
3
4
1
2
0
6
1
3
0
0
1
63
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
1
2
0
1
11

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

(Note) The “21 city total” is found within the prefectural total.

44

Other

Total

450
156
70
177
78
98
173
459
241
226
576
597
915
545
107
24
49
35
141
300
191
333
607
250
121
99
351
437
137
131
61
76
230
213
198
95
114
94
100
372
91
159
228
196
157
250
163
10,871
65
68
108
53
587
177
113
47
18
40
53
132
30
84
34
108
50
56
67
52
33
1,975

1,276
481
408
584
369
289
545
880
617
468
1,515
1,340
3,247
1,498
599
167
237
130
205
573
498
769
1,265
404
258
424
1,586
1,093
264
211
168
226
528
656
322
187
237
376
250
1,014
182
283
524
315
343
432
205
28,448
354
168
230
177
2,357
594
273
113
169
161
126
347
200
589
127
241
153
228
194
248
169
7,218

Totally
destroyedHalfdestroyed

Partially
destroyed

Minor fire

332
161
181
184
147
101
197
300
237
152
307
315
115
171
168
51
48
31
62
212
123
187
191
100
43
78
141
221
51
62
64
91
168
159
99
49
82
106
96
191
53
99
158
101
130
139
27
6,481
47
27
27
26
54
49
10
25
35
36
22
27
17
38
6
36
27
36
35
11
39
630

74
30
33
34
20
23
30
50
30
27
67
64
94
57
25
15
11
6
14
35
41
36
59
28
10
28
71
58
10
11
9
11
47
35
19
13
21
20
23
51
10
12
21
20
19
19
16
1,457
18
8
8
2
54
24
2
6
5
12
5
17
15
22
6
6
20
16
10
7
5
268

349
125
108
135
118
84
137
234
187
132
407
338
481
343
195
58
67
40
48
149
137
193
354
122
55
95
406
272
80
51
46
55
142
195
86
56
65
123
62
301
57
63
136
81
98
116
49
7,231
98
21
53
55
326
139
75
19
62
32
56
103
50
164
29
53
48
59
56
75
48
1,621

521
165
86
231
84
81
181
296
163
157
734
623
2,557
927
211
43
111
53
81
177
197
353
661
154
150
223
968
542
123
87
49
69
171
267
118
69
69
127
69
471
62
109
209
113
96
158
113
13,279
191
112
142
94
1,923
382
186
63
67
81
43
200
118
365
86
146
58
117
93
155
77
4,699

Attachment
Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture (continued)
Classification
Prefecture
Hokkaido
Aomorilwate
Miyagi
Akita
Yamagata
Fukushima
IbarakiTochigi
Gunma
Saitama
Chiba
Tokyo
Kanagawa
NiigataToyamaIshikawa
Fukui
Yamanashi
NaganoGifu
Shizuoka
Aichi
Mie
Shiga
Kyoto
Osaka
Hyogo
Nara
Wakayama
Tottori
Shimane
Okayama
Hiroshima
Yamaguchi
Tokushima
KagawaEhime
Kochi
Fukuoka
Saga
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Oita
MiyazakiKagoshima
Okinawa
Prefectural total
Sapporo city
Sendai City
Saitama City
Chiba City
Special wards
Yokohama City
Kawasaki City
Sagamihara City
Niigata City
Shizuoka City
Hamamatsu City
Nagoya City
Kyoto City
Osaka City
Sakai City
Kobe City
Okayama City
Hiroshima City
Kitakyushu City
Fukuoka City
Kumamoto City
21 city total

Area burned
Building
Building
floor area (㎡) surface area(㎡)59,103
26,27529,19328,706
22,69516,032
25,86942,40531,396
20,96832,17635,366
16,75325,121
28,827
12,310
7,679
5,779
6,733
26,537
19,46924,55237,507
18,124
5,693
9,401
74,99935,737
6,622
6,511
8,193
12,003
19,49422,19914,007
6,553
13,095
16,282
8,804
26,249
9,183
14,573
22,822
16,654
20,11019,244
4,350
992,353
5,321
3,382
2,992
2,613
8,565
8,795
1,995
1,791
5,255
4,185
2,985
5,628
2,716
42,792
1,764
3,491
3,906
5,849
5,280
2,103
6,191
127,599

7,353
3,635
2,032
1,824
2,034
1,647
1,889
4,452
1,838
1,259
5,212
5,366
7,475
4,825
2,821
1,256
515
1,223
1,730
2,021
2,088
5,940
4,058
1,388
783
1,585
13,595
3,030
1,316
237
2,991
563
2,108
3,411
791
861
455
1,250
528
3,890
602
596
2,042
1,041
2,784
1,148
992
120,480
2,026
141
831
406
4,591
2,460
534
286
490
367
4,243
1,564
573
8,071
428
422
590
2,065
888
1,302
923
33,201

No. of casualties
Forests (a)
5,172
146
337
672
483
1,188
1,484
1,339
17,344
6,393
86
826
480
3
438
204
24
89
472
3,609
368
527
317
180
115
47
55
1,313
265
65
172
154
1,106
856
189
318
190
197
223
1,132
44
213
20,263
469
362
541
8,477
78,947
1
0
0
29
0
0
0
0
0
105
23
30
10
0
0
55
223
38
20
8
29
571

Fatalities

Injured

72
32
26
30
24
21
40
34
24
23
73
74
86
58
25
10
10
5
11
35
37
36
58
30
10
21
85
56
9
18
10
18
29
33
16
11
18
29
13
46
9
12
32
12
15
29
12
1,417
20
2
11
6
50
21
11
4
5
9
4
11
6
42
7
10
10
12
11
11
15
278

233
102
60
111
49
42
109
129
89
80
240
259
670
304
109
31
33
31
36
121
89
120
295
88
47
106
358
232
64
35
33
38
115
110
68
31
49
85
26
193
46
47
85
51
63
85
36
5,433
65
39
45
36
468
110
53
19
28
28
27
108
59
141
21
55
36
37
29
52
28
1,484

(Note) The “21 city total” is found within the prefectural total.

45(During 2021)
No. of households affected

Total
746
264
193
343
198
130
320
444
282
239
1,087
849
2,404
1,139
317
91
134
68
99
280
294
427
908
221
155
304
1,326
689
144
126
72
113
277
428
202
108
126
219
110
663
100
175
278
182
185
261
124
17,844
259
121
196
118
1,682
460
221
94
107
119
72
271
163
482
117
184
112
175
137
176
117
5,383

Totally
destroyed
143
89
75
95
70
40
98
144
90
62
229
192
227
159
80
30
26
15
30
82
87
115
163
58
20
49
198
146
25
37
26
44
74
109
62
33
53
52
38
151
30
60
75
57
71
92
31
3,932
22
21
35
11
149
48
19
15
27
28
20
38
18
50
11
26
22
33
33
26
27
679

Half
destroyed
59
14
18
19
8
8
23
24
13
18
49
45
152
59
15
7
8
6
3
18
23
18
47
22
9
27
78
33
4
6
3
6
14
12
9
4
7
15
10
46
5
15
9
9
6
9
4
1,016
14
6
4
2
95
29
7
4
1
12
1
22
15
32
4
6
6
4
6
10
4
284

Minor
destruction
544
161
100
229
120
82
199
276
179
159
809
612
2,025
921
222
54
100
47
66
180
184
294
698
141
126
228
1,050
510
115
83
43
63
189
307
131
71
66
152
62
466
65
100
194
116
108
160
89
12,896
223
94
157
105
1,438
383
195
75
79
79
51
211
130
400
102
152
84
138
98
140
86
4,420

No. of people
affected
1,463
541
448
829
493
352
719
1,017
616
528
2,406
1,827
4,561
2,397
819
255
296
169
226
635
659
992
1,911
441
395
617
2,559
1,487
342
310
193
284
618
860
386
227
266
463
207
1,555
242
380
650
372
385
538
260
38,196
498
261
466
233
3,124
934
485
191
254
271
169
504
301
837
244
340
207
332
319
348
255
10,573

Attachment
Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture (continued)
Classification
Prefecture
Hokkaido
Aomorilwate
Miyagi
Akita
Yamagata
Fukushima
IbarakiTochigi
Gunma
Saitama
Chiba
Tokyo
Kanagawa
NiigataToyamaIshikawa
Fukui
Yamanashi
NaganoGifu
Shizuoka
Aichi
Mie
Shiga
Kyoto
Osaka
Hyogo
Nara
Wakayama
Tottori
Shimane
Okayama
Hiroshima
Yamaguchi
Tokushima
KagawaEhime
Kochi
Fukuoka
Saga
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Oita
MiyazakiKagoshima
Okinawa
Prefectural total
Sapporo city
Sendai City
Saitama City
Chiba City
Special wards
Yokohama City
Kawasaki City
Sagamihara City
Niigata City
Shizuoka City
Hamamatsu City
Nagoya City
Kyoto City
Osaka City
Sakai City
Kobe City
Okayama City
Hiroshima City
Kitakyushu City
Fukuoka City
Kumamoto City
21 city total

Total
3,378,778
1,314,439
1,362,147
1,985,633
1,020,718
518,676
1,314,847
8,845,742
1,739,502
1,548,054
3,496,577
2,930,001
4,250,190
7,404,174
1,836,515
699,139
383,189494,337
350,536
1,453,327
1,331,898
2,361,784
4,486,347
1,374,845
527,915
683,170
28,601,748
2,900,598
580,937
542,212324,547
638,999
1,142,459
1,805,503
770,828
311,584
746,161
844,779
489,205
2,003,378
546,128
971,124
966,404
723,011809,323
888,668
512,552
104,212,628
339,734
252,706
332,371376,634
2,528,958
5,574,666
143,463
228,366
268,807349,379
506,324
616,675
167,778
24,723,240
199,795
362,409295,632
773,407405,012
164,672
223,935
38,833,963

Subtotal
3,046,061
1,235,906
1,288,906
1,772,553
896,765
480,387
1,222,761
8,563,085
1,566,532
1,427,849
3,174,188
2,701,470
3,990,085
7,222,052
1,782,149
677,433
372,179
430,269
292,485
1,257,440
1,270,435
2,168,837
3,820,824
1,274,672
469,308
651,073
28,174,167
2,609,812
546,613459,982
302,624
586,980
999,726
1,703,575
666,947
279,697
721,000
754,693423,317
1,805,607
523,367
816,964
824,696
635,051
765,956
835,553494,666
97,986,697
317,578
237,644
312,457
366,182
2,346,462
5,537,526
131,094
217,783
250,868
326,376495,864
597,447
152,304
24,603,515
181,556309,310271,069
749,776
336,514
161,735
217,680
38,120,740

Building

Buildings
2,288,429
1,017,923
1,032,9781,353,385
712,148
370,870
772,840
6,243,854
1,193,676
827,772
2,143,802
2,028,001
2,528,036
2,001,302
1,310,993
531,511
262,970
287,867
214,666
995,851
860,253
1,284,174
2,352,336
785,164
354,737
563,2146,438,146
2,078,441
364,632
338,672
246,793
480,110
811,704
1,007,535
572,161
225,070
552,792
612,290294,843
1,216,727
359,856
530,935
589,318
414,958
616,704
611,782299,509
52,981,730
258,544
176,718
260,267
153,451
1,493,105
764,982
76,610156,184
194,636
249,332
161,331513,697
130,599
4,666,530
141,739
236,259
208,671
337,308
218,42088,828173,985
10,661,196(During 2021) (Unit: 1,000 yen)Amount of damages
Contents
757,632
217,983
255,928
419,168
184,617
109,517449,9212,319,231
372,856
600,077
1,030,386
673,469
1,462,049
5,220,750
471,156
145,922
109,209
142,40277,819261,589
410,182
884,663
1,468,488
489,508
114,571
87,85921,736,021
531,371
181,981
121,31055,831
106,870
188,022
696,040
94,78654,627
168,208
142,403
128,474
588,880
163,511
286,029
235,378
220,093
149,252
223,771
195,157
45,004,967
59,03460,92652,190212,731853,357
4,772,544
54,484
61,59956,232
77,044
334,533
83,75021,705
19,936,985
39,81773,051
62,398412,468
118,094
72,907
43,69527,459,544

Forests
5,780
2,977
3,677
2,102
1,740
771
1,633
3,245
43,314
6,418
52
1,123
32,323
0
648
1,787
687
7
60
5,705
606
1,657
322
1,073
505
39
15
196
9,298
3,717
3,679
4,184
995
392
280
1,916
66
643
5,054
3
112
308
22,330
1,274
2,817
885
0
176,415
0
0
0
85
0
0
0
0
0
36
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
290
0
0
3
415

(Note) The “21 city total” is found within the prefectural total.

-omitted-

46

VehiclesShips

187,10936,28048,99742,43622,97818,45060,966
164,436
76,74236,939157,263
124,254
126,341
117,443
40,97017,371
6,509
7,356
26,12872,16839,214
94,730143,594
45,07230,034
24,426
98,74993,00312,75536,962
9,107
14,892
110,160
76,17524,415
16,0469,130
36,083
8,625
74,44019,28817,25064,79347,662
24,182
34,641
10,6982,607,262
6,500
12,4299,438
5,806
97,007
23,038
11,348
3,392
10,762
13,901
5,108
11,171
15,13832,37816,17937,661
16,391
2,094
31,6152,682
3,807
367,845

57,48012,200800
25,282
0
0
0
0
0
300
0
172
1,456
2,498
0
0
0
850
0
0
0
7,158
338,752
1,300
0
0
67
24,571
0
11,634
0
0
250
100
3,282
374
2,290
34,974
1,033
2,700
0
128,62130
23,3610
05,620
687,155
12
0
0
0
1,456
8
0
0
0
550
0
0
0
7
0
1,322
0
100
2,700
0
30
6,185

Aircraft

Other
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

59,355
21,735
19,116143,260
81,71019,06829,312
109,441
52,771
76,499152,628
102,857
34,11036,932
12,6542,548
2,680
55,816
31,86313,014
21,55588,557
182,524
52,72728,0684,256
323,077
171,575
8,680
7,955
9,136
32,94330,651
25,26164,87913,487
13,645
18,35950,684
120,5363,361
7,951
54,49012,70016,36814,5501,527
2,436,871
15,405
2,633
10,476
4,461
18,321
14,082
1,021
7,191
7,177
8,516
4,613
8,035
334
86,8582,060
12,701
8,087
21,14734,150245
2,415
269,928

Explosions
22,9935,341
651
017,525
0
175
5,535
143
49
12,446125
65,87525,249
94
0
1,134
39
0
105,000
88
845
331
1
0
3,376
5,673
1,441
3,591
21,962
10677
011,025
64
30
27
492
92
0
30
65
2,963
0
3,039
41
318,228239
0
0100
65,712
12
0
0
0
0
739
22
2
482
0
1,415
84
0
33
10
0
68,850