Overview of the 2019White Paper on Fire Service

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

Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA)

(Special Feature 1) Responses to Recent Large-scale Natural Disasters,
and Development of Fire and Disaster Prevention Systems
The damage from and response to the heavy rainassociated with the rain front in August 2019
[Extent of the Damage] Record heavy rain caused river floods, inundation, landslide, etc.
in various areas and more than 6,600 residential buildings
damaged and 4 deaths mainly in Saga Prefecture (as ofDecember 5, 2019).
 In an iron factory in Omachi Town, Saga Prefecture, a large
amount of oil spilled from an oil pit in the iron factory andwas widely spread downstream.

Omachi Town in Saga Prefecture where thequenching oil was spilled(Courtesy of Kumamoto Air Rescue Team)[Activities[A
ti iti off FireFi Service
S
i Agencies]Ai ] The local fire department immediately conducted rescue and ambulance service activities, collected
information from fire and disaster prevention helicopters, confirmed safety by door-to-door visits, andremoved the oil spilt from the iron factory, etc.
 The National Fire-Service Team, made up of a total of 172 units containing 583 members,
conducted activities and rescued 11 people over the 4 days from August 28 to 31.
 The volunteer fire corps conducted rescue activities by urging residents to evacuate early andoperating boats
boats, provided evacuation guidance for residents
residents, removed sedimentsediment, etc
etc., and
implemented drainage activities using power fire pumps, etc.

The damage from and response to Typhoon No. 15 (Faxai)[Extent of the Damage] Heavy rain and storms caused 1 death in Tokyo and damage to over 74,900 buildings mainly in Chiba
Prefecture (as of December 5, 2019). Particularly in Chiba Prefecture, the roof tiles of many houses
were scattered due to the storm.
 Major power outages in up to 934,900 houses occurred mainly in Chiba Prefecture. The power
outages caused communication failures in the mobile telephone networks and in the disaster
information wireless broadcast systems of municipalities, etc.
[Activities of Fire Service Agencies] The local fire department immediately conducted rescue and ambulance service activities, collectedprevention helicopters,p, confirmed safety
y byy door-to-door visits,, andinformation from fire and disaster p
emergency home repairs using blue tarp, etc.
 The volunteer fire corps conducted activities to remove fallen trees and scattered items, emergency
home repairs using blue tarp, supported shelter operations, etc. for extended periods of time.

The damage from and response to Typhoon No. 19 (Hagibis), etc.
[Extent of the Damage] Typhoon No. 19 and the following frequent heavy rains caused
a lot of river floods, inundations due to banks collapsing, andlandslides, etc. in various areas, which caused 98 deaths anddamage to over 91,000 houses mainly in areas on the Pacificside and in the Kanto Region (as of December 5, 2019).
 Banks collapsed at 140 points of 71 rivers including the
Chikuma River (Nagano Prefecture) and the Abukuma River(F k hi(Fukushima
P
Prefecture)f t ) (as( off DecemberDb 22, 2019 according
di ttoresearch from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism), Many areas became isolated due to damaged roads, sedimentflowing onto roads, bridge washouts, etc.

Rescue activities in inundation areas in
Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture(Courtesy of Koriyama Fire Department)1

(Special Feature 1) Responses to Recent Large-scale Natural Disasters,
and Development of Fire and Disaster Prevention Systems[Activities of Fire Service Agencies] The local fire department immediately conducted rescue andambulance service activities, rescue activities using lifeboats
prevention helicopters,p, missinggp
peoplep
and fire and disaster p
searches, etc.
 The National Fire-Service Team, made up of a total of 809
units containing 2,978 members, conducted activities forthe 6 days from October 13 to 18 and rescued 171 people.
 The volunteer fire corps had conducted alert activities indanger areas, searches for missing persons, removal of
sediment, etc., and safety confirmation of residents by doorto-door visits
visits, etc
etc. for extended periods of timetime.
 An accident occurred where a rescued person died by fallingout of a helicopter from the Tokyo Fire Department Aviation
Unit who were engaged in rescue activities in Fukushima
Prefecture on October 13. Tokyo Fire Department held an “Air
Safety Board” in which the Fire and Disaster Management
Agency (FDMA) also participated in order to investigate thecauses and to discuss recurrence prevention measures.

Lessons from the disaster damage

Rescue operations using lifeboats

Missing people searches by volunteer fire corps(Courtesy of the Fukushima Prefecture Kawauchi
Village Volunteer Fire Corps)

 Consider efforts related to appropriate ways for local government to transmit information whichurges residents to evacuate, development of information transmission measures for local
government to securely transmit information to residents including receivers for the disaster
information wireless broadcast system, and improved disaster drills at local government to urge
the residents to evacuate spontaneously.

Efforts of the FDMA in ”The three-year emergency response plan for disasterprevention, disaster mitigation, and building national resilience
resilience“ “The three-year emergency response plan for disaster prevention, disaster mitigation, andbuilding national resilience” was decided by the Cabinet on December 14, 2018 in order to maintainthe functions of critical infrastructures, etc. in the event of a natural disaster which is becoming an
increasingly frequent and severe occurrence in recent years, and six measures were developed by the
FDMA.
1. Emergency measures related to National Fire-Service Teamfor Disaster Response in order to respond to large-scale
storms and floods and landslide disasters.
2. Emergency measures related to aerial fire and disasterprevention systems in order to respond to large-scaledisasters.
3. Emergency measures related to volunteer fire corps who play
the central role in regional disaster prevention capabilities
4. Emergency measures related to securing of the disaster
responsepfunctions of the ggovernment offices where thedisaster response headquarters are established, and the FDMA
Search activities utilizing an amphibious
office.
buggy
5. Emergency measures related to securing of emergency(Courtesy of Osaka Fire Department)
communication measures in local government offices, etc.
6. Emergency measures related to secure informationtransmission to elderly households, etc.

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(Special Feature 2) Special Fire Prevention Alert, etc.
in the G20 Osaka Summit and the Rugby World Cup 2019
G20 Osaka summit(Held in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture on June 28 and 29, 2019)[Efforts made before the summit]
 The “G20 Osaka Summit Fire Prevention and Ambulance Service
Response Committee” and the firefighting and prevention task
force were established on September 25, 2018.
A firefighting plan including dispatch plans and NBC disaster
firefighting activities, etc., and a preventive plan including on-site
inspections and patrol precautions for related facilities were
formulated. Joint training and onsite observation to guard against
NBC disasters, onsite inspections of relevant facilities, self-defense
NBC disaster drills
and firefighting, training instructions, etc. were all conducted.
*NBC: Nuclear, Biological, andChemical weapons[Special fire prevention alert systems etc.]
Biological agents The special alert period was 7 days from June 24 to June 30.
Chemical agents
 A special fire prevention alert system was constructed that was madeup of 266 firefighting vehicles, 6 firefighting helicopters, and 2,858
firefighters (2,179 firefighting staff, 272 prevention staff, and 407 fire
department staff), etc.
 Vigilance
Vi il
was iincreasedd iin IIntex
t O
Osaka
k ((maini venue),) K
KansaiiInternational Airport, Osaka International Airport, accommodation
facilities for top-level people, and the highway route for the
movements of VIPs, etc. The aerial patrol system with fire anddisaster prevention helicopters was constructed and the marine patrolwith fireboats, etc., were also conducted.
 Preventive local fire guards who were in operation on a round-theGeneral alert headquarter (operation room)
clock basis were deployed in summit-related facilities.
[Activities of special alert team] No fire occurred. There was an accident where an aircraft made an
emergency landing in Kansai International Airport, so 7 firefighting
units dispatched and conducted alert activities.
 There were 7 cases where ambulance service was requested (1 ofthem was for an erroneous report), and countermeasures were taken
in collaboration with medical workers, etc. based on the advanceplanning.
planning
JR Osaka Station patrol by fire guards

Rugby World Cup 2019

(Held in 12 cities in Japan from September 20 to November 2, 2019) The FDMA developed the large-sized vehicles with addecontaminationii system andd chemical
h i l agent remote detectiondidevice and formulated the curricula, etc. for firefighter toward theintroduction of tourniquet as the development and enhancementof the system to respond to terrorism disasters like NBC, etc.
Moreover, they have promoted a variety of efforts related toresponses to foreign and disabled people, etc.
 The “Rugby World Cup 2019 Firefighting Measure Council” wasestablished on November 7, 2017 and the discussion system toward
Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial
Stadium fire alert Teamthe cup was constructed.
 Prior onsite inspection in the competition sites and accommodation facilities, etc., and self-defense
firefighting training instructions, etc. were performed prior to holding the cup in each site. During theperiod of the cup, the fire alert headquarter was established in order to construct the collaboration
system with relevant organizations, enhance the dispatch system of the team to respond to terrorism
disasters like NBC, etc., and secure the full readiness system.

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(Special Feature 3) Responses to Foreign and Disabled People with an
Eye to Holding a Large-scale Event[Efforts to handle 119 call, etc. by foreign and disabled
people] Promote the introduction of “3 Way Telephone Interpretation
by a Telephone Interpretation Center”
Center and “ambulance
ambulanceservice VoiceTra” in order to meet the needs of smoothcommunication with foreign people at the time of 119 call andin the ambulance service field as the number of foreign
tourists to Japan increased.
 Promote the introduction of “Net119 emergency callsystem” which enables hearing-disabled and speechdisabled people to use a smartphone to call smoothly withoutsoundsound.
* Both policies have a goal of introducing them in all fire
departments by the end of 2020.

Select a fixed phrase fromthe list (handled by theambulance worker who
will contact the sick orwounded person)

Interpretation and pronunciation is
performed with a single touch (theoperator communicates with theforeign person who is sick or woundedusing the translation results)

Screen of the ambulance service VoiceTra[Disaster information transmission and evacuation guidance
guidelines] The “guidelines on disaster information transmission and evacuation
guidance in the facilities used by foreign and disabled people” were
formulated in March 2018.
2018 Leaflets that summarized the points of theguidelines comprehensively were distributed to the people concerned withfacilities like stations, airports, arenas, inns, and hotels, etc. in order topromote the dissemination of information transmission andevacuation guidance with consideration to foreign and disabled
people toward the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The effective tool for
multilingualization and visualization(Special Feature 4) Utilization of AI
AI, etc
etc. in the Era of Society 5.0.
50
[Direction of research and development] The major goal of the Fire and Disaster Prevention Science Technology Sophistication Strategy Plan
2018 was to promote the reflection of research results in the society in addition to respond to theincreasing natural disaster risk and weakening of the society.
 An emphasis was placed on AI and robots, etc. in the Fire and Disaster Prevention Science
Technology Research Promotion System.
[State of research and development](Deployment of firefighting robot systems)
 The research and development of the firefighting robot system utilizing AI technologies
that is highly heat-resistant and performs image transmission of the disaster state and firefighting
activities like water discharge, etc. have been implemented since FY2014.
 The firefighting robot system (Scrum Force) wascompletedpin the end of FY2018 and a SpecialpEquipment Unit with the system was established in May
24, 2019.
(Research and development of ambulance crew
optimization toward the prompt ambulance service
Scrum Forcetransport)
 A method was developed for the ambulance crew to reduce the time required to reach thescene. The areas where highg ambulance service demands are expectedp
are p
predicted withmesh in real time based on the result of analyzing the relationship between ambulance service
activity data of fire departments and weather forecast utilizing the AI, and the medical crew istransferred and deployed in advance.
 A demonstration experiment of the program is performed and the optimum deployment model of theambulance crew is under examination.
 The research is planned to be advanced toward the completion in FY2020.

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(Special Feature 5) Enrichment and Enhancement of the National Fire-Service Teamfor Disaster Response[Revision of the basic plan]
”The Plan Related to Basic Items Concerned with Organization of the National Fire-Service Team forDisaster Response and Development of Facilities, etc.” was revised in March 2019. The National FireService Team for Disaster Response were enriched further by increasing the number of registered National
Fire-Service
Fire
Service Team for Disaster Response, developing vehicles and equipment utilizing the gratuitous use
system and the governmental subsidy, and performing practical training, etc.
[Enhancement of the National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response] The number of registered National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response is planned to be increased
up to around 6,600 teams by the end of FY2023. A logistical support sub-team that supports long-term
firefighting support activities is added to major 3 small teams of firefighting, rescue activities, andambulance service.
[Establishment of the mobile support team to respond to landslides, storms and floods and theteam to respond immediately to NBC disasters] The “mobile support team to respond to landslides, storms and floods” thatconsists mainly of special vehicles specialized in rescue activities in thefields of landslides, storms and floods is newly establishedand around 50 teams are planned to be deployed across Japan by the endof FY2023.
 The “team to respond immediately to NBC disasters” with special
equipment and materials is newly established in order to rescue theinjured and perform decontamination activities immediately andappropriately at the time of NBC terrorism disasters. They turn out
immediately based on the special operation plan

The image of training as
preparation for an NBC terrorism
disaster[National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response logo]
 The National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response logo iscreated for the purposes of enhancing further the solidarity of the
National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response and making theiractivities known more widely, etc.

(Special Feature 6) Strengthening the Safe Operation System of Fire and Disaster
Prevention Helicopters[Repeated fire and disaster prevention helicopter crashes] 4 fire and disaster prevention helicopter crashes have occurred since 2009 and 26 firefighter died (August
2018: Gunma Prefecture, March 2017: Nagano Prefecture, July 2010: Saitama Prefecture, September
2009: Gifu Prefecture).
[Standards on the operation of fire and disaster prevention helicopters]
 In response to the crashes, the FDMA has proposed the two-pilot system to the operation organization
toward the recurrence prevention of accidents, but the operation organization, with an idea that it isimportant to adopt the style with higher-grade norm than proposal in order to make steady efforts toward
the improvement of safety, established the “conference on the way of standards on fire and disasterprevention helicopter operation” and held discussions on the items to incorporate into the standards
related to operation and the contents, etc. (1st: March 14, 2019, 2nd: June 11, 2019) Based on the discussions in the conference, the items for the operation
organization to address were summarized such as the development ofoperation regulations, etc., deployment of the person in charge of
operation and the operation safety administrator, two-pilot system,
emergency operation training using a simulator, and equipment to loadon fire and disaster prevention helicopters,
helicopters etc.,
etc and the “standard on
fire and disaster prevention helicopter operation” was established on
September 24, 2019 (the FDMA Notification No. 4 in 2019) and announced
as a recommendation by the commissioner of the FDMA based on the Article
37 of the Fire Defense Organization Act.
Scene of the conference5

(Special Feature 7) Overseas Promotion of Fire Protection Equipment
Conforming to Japanese Standards[Government's efforts for overseas promotion of Japanese fire Protection Equipment] Japanese fire protection equipment conforms to standards and criteria formulated by the FDMA, and iscertified through strict examinations by third-party organizations to ensure high quality.
 In Southeast Asian countries, there are areas where standards for fire protection equipment are
undeveloped.
dld Therefore,Th f
i orderind tot furtherf th improveith competitivenessthetiti
off JapaneseJequipment,it efforts
ff t
are being made to promote the understanding of those concerned with fire and disaster prevention
in Southeast Asian countries regarding the high quality and reliability of Japanese products.
[Efforts for overseas promotion]
 To support the in-country cooperation system as well as theJapanese companies, a seminar was held in cooperation with
the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on February 26,
2019.
2019
 Japan and Vietnam signed the “Memorandum of Cooperation
between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications ofJapan and the Ministry of Public Security of the Socialist Republicof Vietnam in the Fire Service Field” on October 8, 2018 as an effort
to make individual countries to know the quality, standard, andcertification system of Japanese fire protection equipment.
 Japanese private companies jointly exhibited for the first timeat the fire and disaster prevention exhibition
exhibition, “FireFire Safety &Rescue VIETNAM 2019” held in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in August
2019. The FDMA staff carried out a “public‐private unity” by giving
lectures on fire prevention measures at the seminar held at thesame time.

Fire Safety & Rescue VIETNAM 2019Japan pavilion(Special Feature 8) Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster Prevention
Capabilities with Volunteer Fire Corps Playing the Center Role
Volunteer fire corps are playing major roles in securing the safety and security of local residents as a core
existence of fire and disaster prevention system in the region, but the number of volunteer fire corps
members is declining year by year, and the number of members is 831,982 as of April 1, 2019 (declined by
11,685 from the previous year).
[Policies to enhance and strengthen volunteer fire corps](Promoting enrollment in volunteer fire corps)○ To promote the enrollment of students, women, employees and public officials into the volunteer fire
corps, efforts are being made such as the Volunteer Fire Corps Cooperation Establishment Display
System and the Certification System for Students’ Volunteer Fire Corps Activities.
(Improving treatment of volunteer fire corps members)○ The FDMA requests that annual compensation and dispatch allowances be raised, particularly byorganizations with low allowances.
allowances(Enhancing and strengthening equipment) The fire pump vehicles equipped with equipment for
rescue activities was lent to the volunteer fire corps
without any charge and they support the training, etc.
 The equipment for information collection activities (offroad bikes and drones) and small-sized power pumps
easy for women and young people to use were lent to fire
academies without any charge and support the training.
 Volunteer fire corps facility development subsidy(volunteer fire corps rescue capability improvement
equipment emergency development project) is establishedto enrich the equipment of volunteer fire corps and improvethe disaster response capabilities.

6

Equipment which is the target of volunteer fire
corps facility development subsidy

Current Status and Activities concerning Fire and Disaster Prevention
Current Status of Fires and Recent Trends (Chapter 1, Section 1)
 The number of fire incidents and number of fatalities from fires have been gradually trending downward over the past
10 years.
• The number of fire incidents in 2018 came to 37,981 (declined by 1,392 from the previous year), while coming to 72.5%
versus 10 years ago.
• The number of fatalities from fires was 1,427 (declined by 29 from the previous year), while coming to 72.5% versus 10
years ago.
• There were 3,414 fires caused by cigarettes, which were the primary cause of fires (bonfire was the second and stoves were
the third).
[Trends in the number of fire incidents and the number of fatalities from fires](Fires)((People)p )60,0003,000
52,394

51,13950,00050,00648,095

46,6202,500

44,18943,741

1,969
40 00040,00039,373 37,981

39,111

1 877
1,877
1,738

1,721
1,625

1,678
1,563
1,452

30,000

2 000
2,000

36 831
36,831

1,766

1,456

1,427

1,500

Number of fire outbreaks
number of fatalities from fires

1,000

20,000
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

(Year)

Notes: 1. Prepared based on “Fire Report”
2. See the left axis for the “Number of fire outbreaks” and the right axis for the “Number of fatalities from fire”• The number of house fires (excluding arson) in 2018 came to 10,269 fires (declined by 220 from the previousyear), while coming to 65.8% versus 10 years ago.
• The number of fatalities from house fires (excluding suicides by arson, etc.) came to 946 (increased by 57
from the previous year), while coming to 84.2% versus 10 years ago.
• The installation rate for home fire alarms is 82.3% ((as of June 1,, 2019).
)[Trends in the number of house fires (excluding arson) and the number of fatalities fromhouse fires (excluding suicides by arson, etc.)](During each year)(Fires)(People)20,0001,500
15,614

14,77815 00015,00014,044 13,673

12 502
12,832 12,502
11,855

1,022

1,123
10,000

997

1,006
914

Number of house fires(excluding arson)

5,000

10,523 10,489 10,269
1,000

1,070

1,023

11,102

1,016

885

889

2016

2017

946

Number of fatalities from house fires(excluding suicides by arson, etc.)

0
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

500
2018 (Year)

Notes: 1. Prepared based on “Fire Report”
2. See the left axis for the “Number of house fires (excluding arson)” and the right axis for the “Number of fatalities
from house fires (excluding suicides by arson, etc.).”7

Status for Fire Service Organizations (As of April 1, 2019) (Chapter 2, Section 1)
 Fire departments• 726 fire departments and 1,719 fire stations have been established, with the number of firefighter coming to 165,438• The number of firefighter increased compared to the previous year (an increase of 565 people), while coming to 104.5% versus 10 yearsago.
 Volunteer fire corps• The number of volunteer fire corps is 2,198 and the number of member is 831,982 . Volunteer fire corps have been established in every
municipality
municipality.
• The number of volunteer fire corps members decreased compared to the previous year (a decrease of 11,685 people), while coming to 94%
versus 10 years ago.
[Trends in the number of firefighter and volunteer fire corps members](People)(As of April 1 each year)

170,000

165,438

165,000
160,000

164,873
163,043

161,244

159,730

158,809

163,814

162,124

160,392

159 354
159,354

158 327
158,327

155,000

Number of firefighter

150,000(People)

2009
21

2010
22

2011
23

2012
24

2013
25

2014
26

2015
27

2016
28

2017
29

2018
30

2019
31 (Year)

1,000,000
950,000

Number of volunteer fire corps members

879,978885,394

900,000

868,872
859,995
864,347

800,000

2009
21

2010
22

850,331

874,193883,698

850,000

2011
23

2012
24

2013
25

831,982

856,278

2014
26

2015
27

843,667

2016
28

2017
29

2018
30

2019
31 (Year)

Notes: 1. Prepared based on the Survey on the Current Status of Fire and Disaster Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures
2. Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the number of firefighter and volunteer fire corps members in Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima
Prefecture for 2011 were totaled using the figures from the previous year (as of April 1, 2010).
3. Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the figures for Onagawa Town, Oshika-Gun,
Oshika Gun, Miyagi Prefecture for 2012 were totaled via the figures from two
years ago (as of April 1, 2010).

Implementation Status of Ambulance Services (Chapter 2, Section 5)
 The number of times ambulances have been dispatched for emergencies has kept on upward trend. In 2018, they were dispatched at therecord high of around 6.61 million, which is roughly a 30% increase compared to 10 years ago.
 The number of ambulance service teams established as of April 1, 2019 is 5,215 teams (an increase of 36 teams compared with theprevious year), which is roughly 7% increase compared with 10 years ago.
 The average time required to reach the scene was 8.7 minutes in 2018 (1.0 minute longer than 10 years ago).
 The average time required to take the sick and wounded to hospital was 39.5 minutes in 2018 (4.5 minutes longer than 10 years ago).
[Trends in the number of ambulance dispatch cases
and the number of ambulance service teams](Teams)(10,000 cases)

700

6,000

661

650
592 598 605
600

621

5,215

550
510 512
500
4,892
4,871

4,927
4,910

5,028

5,004
4,965

5,069

350

12.0

45.0

5,140

36.1

9.0
5,000
8.0
4,500

7.7 7.9

8.1 8.2 8.3

4,000(Year)

8.5

8.7
8.6 8.6 8.5 8.6

35.0

7.0
Time required to reach the scene
Time
required to take the sick andwounded to a hospital

5.0

25.0

Time required to take someone to aTimerequired to reach the scene
hospital

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 201820

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

40.0

30.0

6.0

Number of ambulance service teams established (as of April 1
each year)

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

10.0

39.3 39.5
39.3

38.1 38.739.3 39.4 39.4
37.4

35.0

5,090 5,179

Number of ambulance dispatch cases

400

5,500

To a hospital(minutes)

To reach the scene(minutes)

11.0

634

571 580546

450[Trends in the time required to reach the scene and the timerequired to take sick and wounded to hospital by ambulance]

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

20.0

30

(Year)
Notes: 1. Prepared based on Ambulance Service Annual Reports
2. In the graph on the left, see the left axis for the “number of ambulance dispatch cases” and the right axis for the “number of ambulance service teams established (as of April 1
each year)”.
3. In the graph on the right, see the left axis for the “time required to reach the scene” and the right axis for the “time required to take someone to a hospital”.
4. Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the figures for the right-hand graph were totaled by excluding the data for the fire department at the Otsuchi District
Administrative Affairs Association in Kamaishi and the fire department in Rikuzentakata City in 2010 and 2011.

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Promotion of appropriate utilization of ambulances (Chapter 2, Section 5)
A variety of policies have been developed like establishment of the telephone consultation window, “Ambulance
Advice Center project (#7119)”to ensure that a limited number of ambulances in a region can reach the sick and wounded whose symptoms havehigh urgency as soon as possible.
[Promotion of the Ambulance Advice Center project (#7119)] The project has been implemented in 16 regions in Japan as ofDecember 1, 2019.
 Effects have been confirmed such as detection and rescue of latentpatients with severe symptoms, reduction of the transfer ratio of
patients with mild symptoms,
and control of non-urgent ambulance services dispatch, etc.

Image of #7119

 Local government staff engaged in operation have been dispatchedg the dissemination p
promotion adviser systemysince Mayy 2017 and 36 advisers in total have beenutilizing
dispatched to 15 regions by the end of November 2019.
 PR activities for a broad range of people have been conducted by utilizing the Internet media andcollaborating with company characters that have great appeal to children in order to improve theawareness and understanding of residents about #7119 and promote the utilization.

Responses to the fire caused by explosions that occurred in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City.
 In July 18, 2019, a fire caused by explosions involving
enormous human damage occurred in Kyoto Animation Co.,
Ltd. in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City (36 deaths and 34 injuries(7 severe injuries, 7 intermediate injuries, and 20 mild injuries
excluding 1 suspect)).
 The building where the fire occurred was an animation studiobuilding of three floors above ground and total area of 691.02
m2.
 The
Th FDMA
FDMA, iin collaborationll b ti with
ith ththe N
NationaltilP
Policeli A
Agency,requested the gas station trade associations (Petroleum
Association of Japan and National Federation Petroleum
Commercial Associations) to demand identification in refilling
petroleum containers, ask the purpose of use, prepare thesales record, and report a suspicious person.

1st floor of the building
where the fire occurred

The state of fire prevention
instructions by the fire
defense personnel(Courtesy of Kyoto City
Fire Department) Rules of the regulations on hazardous materials were revised in December 2019 in order to implement
thoroughly the efforts above.
It became an obligation to identify customers in refilling petroleum containers, ask the purpose of use, andprepare the sales record.

Responses to the fire at Shuri Castle that occurred in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture The fire occurred at the Seiden（Main Palace) of Shuri Castle in Naha
City Okinawa Prefecture before dawn on October 31
City,31, 2019
2019. 6 buildings
including the Seiden (wooden, three floors above ground, and total
area of 1,199.24 m2) were burned down and 2 other buildings wereburned (no deaths and 1 fire department officer was mildly injured). The
place where the fire started has been presumed to be the north east sideon the 1st floor of the Seiden, and the cause of fire has not been identified
as of November 2019.
 In response to the fire, 11 FDMA officers (including 9 officers from
National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster) were dispatched to thesite to support the fire investigation performed by Naha City fire
department.
 Based on the findings from the fire, in collaboration with the Agency for
Cultural Affairs, the guidelines on fire prevention measures for
cultural properties were revised and the creation of fire prevention
training manual including responses to the case of cultural properties isplanned to be implemented in the future.

The Seiden on fire
(Courtesy of Naha City Fire
Department)

9

<Reference> 2019 White Paper on Fire Service - Contents(Special Feature 1) Responses to Recent Large-scale Natural Disasters, andDevelopment of Fire and Disaster Prevention Systems
1. The damage from and response to the heavy rain associated with the rain front inAugust 2019
2. The damage from and response to Typhoon No. 15 (Faxai)
3. The damage from and response to Typhoon No. 19 (Hagibis), etc.
4. Lessons from the disaster damage
5. Efforts of the FDMA in “the three-year emergency response plan for disasterprevention, disaster mitigation, and building national resilience”(Special Feature 2) Special Fire Prevention Alert, etc. in the G20 Osaka Summit and
Rugby World Cup 2019
1. Efforts made before the summit
2. Special fire prevention alert systems, etc.
3. Activities of special alert team
4. Joint training to protect the citizens
5. Responses in the Rugby World Cup 2019(Special Feature 3) Responses to Foreign and Disabled People with an Eye to Holding aLarge-scale Event
1. Promotion of efforts based on the social situation
2. Efforts to handle smoothly 119 call, etc. by foreign and disabled people
3. Guidelines on disaster information transmission and evacuation guidancein the facilities used by foreign and disabled people
4. Guidance on the utilization of ambulance((Specialp
Feature 4)) Utilization of AI,, etc. in the Era of Society
y 5.0.
1. Direction of research and development on fire and disaster prevention technology
2. Status of research and development(Special Feature 5) Enrichment and Enhancement of the National Fire-Service Team forDisaster Response
1. Enhancement as a preparation for a Nankai Trough earthquake, etc.
2. Establishment of the mobile support team to respond to landslides, storms and floods
and the team to respond immediately to NBC disasters
3 Reorganization of aviation
3.
aviation-related
related teams
4. National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response logo
(Special Feature 6) Strengthening the Safe Operation System of Fire and Disaster
Prevention Helicopters
1. Overview of fire and disaster prevention helicopter crashes
2. FDMA efforts to improve operating safety (conference)
3. Standards on the operation of fire and disaster prevention helicopters(Special Feature 7) Overseas Promotion of Fire Protection Equipment Conforming toJapanese Standards
1. Government's efforts for overseas promotion of Japanese fire protection equipment
2. Status of Japanese fire protection equipment in Southeast Asian countries andstrengthening competitiveness3. Efforts for overseas promotion(Special Feature 8) Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster Prevention
Capabilities with Volunteer Fire Corps Playing the Center Role
1. Current Status regarding volunteer fire corps
2. Policies to enhance and strengthen volunteer fire corps

10Chapter 1. Current Status of and Challenges for Disasters
Section 1.
Section 2.
Section 3.
Section 4.
Section 5.
Section 6.
Section 7.
Section 8.

Fire Prevention
Countermeasures to Disasters at Facilities for Hazardous Materials
Countermeasures to Disasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes
Countermeasures to Fires in Forests and Fields
Countermeasure to Storm and Floods
Countermeasures to Earthquake
Countermeasures to Nuclear Disasters
Countermeasures to Other Disasters

Chapter 2.
2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Section 1.
Section 2.
Section 3.
Section 4.
Section 5.
Section 6.
Section 7.
Section 8.
Section 9.
Section 10.

Fire Service Structure
Promotion of Integration of Fire Department
The Activities of Firefighting Personnel
Education and Training Structure
Ambulance Service System
Rescue System
Aerial Fire and Disaster Prevention System
Integrated Fire Service Support and National Fire-Service Teamfor Disaster Response
The Disaster Prevention Systems of National and Local Government
Promoting the Computerization of Fire and Disaster Prevention

Chapter 3. Responses for Public Safety
Section 1.
Section 2.

Efforts for Public Safety
Response to the Case of a Ballistic Missile Launch by North Korea

Chapter 4. Voluntary Fire and Disaster Prevention Activities and Building
Communities that are Resistant to Disasters
Chapter 5. Responding to International Challenges
Chapter 6. Research and Development on Science and Technology for Fireand Disaster Prevention
Attachment

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