Overview of the 2015
White 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)

2015 White Paper on Fire Service – Contents
Introduction: Twenty Years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake:
Enhancing Fire Protection Systems based on Two Major Earthquakes
Special Feature 1: Twenty Year Anniversary since the Founding of theEmergency Fire Response Teams
1. Enhancing and Strengthening the Emergency Fire Response Teams
2. Promoting Training
3. The Evolving Emergency Fire Response Teams

Special Feature 2: Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster Prevention
Capabilities Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps
1. Initiatives following the Enactment of the Act on Enhancing and Strengthening Regional
Disaster Prevention Capabilities Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps and Recent
Activities by Volunteer Fire Corps and Others
2. Measures for Enhancing and Strengthening Volunteer Fire Corps to be instituted in an
Ongoing Manner
3. Strengthening Regional Fire Prevention Systems

Topic 1. Further Promoting the Active Involvement of Women in Firefighting
1. Promoting the Active Involvement of Female Firefighting Officials at Fire Defense
Headquarters
2. Promoting the Active Involvement of Female Members in Volunteer Fire Corps

Topic 2. Recent Developments in International Exchange related toInternational Emergency Relief and Fire and Disaster Prevention
1. Dispatch of International Emergency Relief Teams for the Nepal Earthquake Disaster
2. Participation in the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

Topic 3. Handling Heatstroke
1. Connection between Heatstroke and Emergency Responses
2. Surveys on the Number of People Requiring Emergency Transport due to Heatstroke in
the Summer
3. Initiatives for Preventing Heatstroke

Topic 4. Handling the Heavy Rains that Continued after Typhoon No. 18(Including the Torrential Rains in Kanto and Tohoku in September 2015)
1. Summary of the Disasters
2. The Government’s Primary Moves and the Activities of Firefighting Agencies
3. Cooperation with Related Agencies

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2015 White Paper on Fire Service – Contents (Continued)
Chapter 1. Current Status of and Challenges with Disasters
Section 1. Fire Prevention
Section 2. Disaster Countermeasures in Facilities that Handle Hazardous Materials

Section 3. Countermeasures for Disasters at Petrochemical Complexes
Section 4. Countermeasures to Fires in Forests and Fields
Section 5. Storm and Flood Countermeasures
Section 6. Earthquake Countermeasures
Section 7. Countermeasures for Nuclear Disasters
Section 8. Countermeasures for Other Disasters
Chapter 2. Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Section 1. Fire Service Systems
Section 2. Extending Municipal Fire Services over a Wider Area
Section 3. The Activities of Firefighting Personnel
Section 4. Education and Training Structure
Section 5. Ambulance Service Systems
Section 6. Rescue Systems
Section 7. Aerial Fire and Disaster Prevention System
Section 8. Wide-area Firefighting / Rescue and Emergency Fire Response Teams
Section 9. The Disaster Prevention Systems of National and Regional Public Organizations
Section 10. Promoting the Computerization of Fire and Disaster Prevention
Chapter 3. Responses for Public Safety
Section 1. Initiatives for Public Safety
Section 2. Responses to North Korean Missile Launches
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 Fire and Disaster
Prevention

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Attached Materials

Overview of the 2015 White Paper on Fire Service
Introduction

Twenty Years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake:
Enhancing Fire Protection Systems based on Two Major Earthquakes
The year 2015 is a milestone year in that it marks the 20-year anniversary since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
Over these 20 years a variety of different responses have been taken in fire prevention based on the lessons of the Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
The first of these has been the Emergency Fire Response Teams. These were established in June 1995 to make itpossible to quickly and effectively carry out life-saving efforts during large-scale disasters, which came in response to
the problems that were made manifest through the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. In the 20 years since then, theEmergency Fire Response Teams have been mobilized a total of 30 times, and were mobilized in 2015 in response to
the disaster from the volcanic eruption of Kuchinoerabu-jima Island and the torrential rains in Kanto and Tohoku in
September 2015.
The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake also drew attention to the importance of local disaster prevention capabilities.
Emergency activities were carried out by local residents immediately after the earthquake struck, and the self-defense
firefighting squads of residents and local companies conducted firefighting activities to prevent fires from spreading.
The volunteer fire corps were also actively engaged in rescue work to detect if people were buried alive at certain
locations. Owing to this experience, organizations were proactively formed in different regions to enhance andstrengthen regional disaster prevention capabilities, such as by cultivating voluntary disaster prevention organizations.
During the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Emergency Fire Response Teams rushed to the scene immediately after
the earthquake struck, saving the lives of approximately 5,000 people in cooperation with local fire defense
headquarters and others. They were actively involved in various different contexts, such as activities to drain waterfrom the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and firefighting activities for fires at large-scale industrial complexes,
which have served to provide residents in disaster-stricken regions with an enormous sense of relief. What is more,
immediately after the earthquake struck firefighting personnel from the afflicted region led evacuations and engaged indisaster defense activities that saved a great many lives. At the same time, the loss of nearly 300 lives as a result of thetsunami highlighted the importance of volunteer fire corps, which form the core of regional disaster prevention. This
has led to enhancing safety management during disaster responses, equipment, and more.
The Emergency Fire Response Teams epitomize the organizations that are strengthening and enhancing their wide-area
firefighting and rescue, as well as regional disaster prevention capabilities. Having such organizations respond to megaearthquakes like a Nankai Trough earthquake or an earthquake directly below Tokyo, as well as disasters from torrential
rains, volcanos, and others that frequently occur throughout Japan based on this 20-year’s of experience and theexperience of the Great East Japan Earthquake will come to pose an increasingly important challenge in the future.
Moving forward, the FDMA will work to enhance and strengthen fire protection systems and continue to promote fireand disaster prevention administration that safeguards the lives of the public. This will be done based on the various
findings of the Fire and Disaster Management Council and the Act on Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster
Prevention Capabilities Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps, as well as the lessons from natural disasters like theGreat East Japan Earthquake and fire accidents. Examples of this will include enhancing and strengthening theEmergency Fire Response Teams, which have marked their 20-year anniversary since their establishment, as well as
enhancing and strengthening regional disaster prevention capabilities centered around volunteer fire corps.

Firefighting activities by a firefighting squad(Kobe City after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake)Rescue efforts by an Emergency Fire Response Team(Natori City after the Great East Japan Earthquake)3

Twenty Year Anniversary since the Founding of theEmergency Fire Response Teams (Special Feature 1)[Enhancing and Strengthening the Emergency Fire Response Teams]
In order for the Emergency Fire Response Teams to achieve greater development and growth, they must work on a number ofchallenges. These include rapid mobilization and deployment, strengthening the use of fire and disaster prevention
helicopters, coordination with related agencies, enhancing their vehicles and equipment, and actively utilizing ICT.

 Immediately after a disaster occurs a Joint Task Force is mobilized inadvance, and efforts are made to substantiate the practical use of theteams. In addition, they promote initiatives for securing transport,such as securing several transport routes and combing them together, andsecuring transport planes and ships from the Japan Self-Defense Forces(JDSF) and private sector in order to deploy the team rapidly.
 During the torrential rains in Kanto and Tohoku in September 2015, theprefectural disaster response headquarters coordinated the use of
aircraft so that rescue efforts could be carried out smoothly in limited
airspace. This was done by coordinating things like zones for helicopter
usage and the allocation of functions, including among relatedorganizations, as well as the transport destinations for relief workers.
 During large-scale disasters, information is shared and functions arecoordinated at field joint command posts. The teams also broadly
cooperate with related agencies, such as coordinating with TEC-FORCE
over wide-area medical transport in partnership with DMAT and air
ambulances, as well as on safety management during rescue efforts.

Coordinating activities between related agencies at thefield joint command post
(Joso City Hall, September 16, 2015)

 The teams are equipped with vehicles and equipment which arenecessary for conducting firefighting activities in exacting
environments. This includes radio relay vehicles for gathering
information in regions where communication has been cut off, vehicles
that function as bases for performing protracted firefighting and rescue
activities in disaster-stricken regions, and vehicles for responding totsunamis and large-scale wind and flood damage that are equipped withamphibious buggies.
 The Emergency Fire Response Team movement information system is
set up to be capable of visually sharing the status of mobilized teams,
damage information, and more over maps, as well as the helicopter
movement management system that can share the location information
Rescue efforts in a flooded region using an amphibious
and transport information of fire and disaster prevention helicopters all
buggy (Joso City, September 16, 2015)
over Japan.
(Provided by the Hitachi City Fire Defendant Headquarters)[Promoting Training]
It is important that education and training be carried out for Emergency Fire Response Teams on a routine basis so that theseteams can quickly form and deploy response teams, and so that each team can carry out coordinated activities under acentralized command.

 Nationwide joint training drills are held every five years. The fifth round of nationwide joint training drills was held
in Chiba Prefecture in November 2015.
→ About 3,000 people participated, including those from related
agencies like the police, JSDF, Japan Coast Guard, and DMAT.
→ Map-based training, team convergence training, and operating
training were performed in tandem by hypothesizing a composite,
wide-area disaster.
→ The teams converge not just by advancing over overland routes, but
via multiple means such as JSDF transport planes and large
helicopters, as well as private ferries and airplanes.
 The whole of Japan is divided into six blocks, and every year joint
training drills are carried out for each regional block.

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Scene from the fifth Emergency Fire Response Teamnationwide joint training drill(Ichihara City, November 14, 2015)

[The Evolving Emergency Fire Response Teams]
In Japan, where disasters are a frequent occurrence, the role of the Emergency Fire Response Teams is growing more andmore important. Based on the accumulated experience to date, it will be necessary to work to further enhance and strengthen
these teams in both a qualitative and a quantitative sense in order to predict and set new challenges, and then respond to thesechallenges.

 It will be crucial to set in place structures to rapidly deploy the teams on a large scale in preparation for a Nankai Troughearthquake, which is expected to exceed the Great East Japan Earthquake in damage, or similar disasters. Therefore, thetarget for the number of teams to register by the end of FY2018 is to augment these to somewhere on the order of
6,000 teams.
→ Augmenting the three major sub-teams of firefighting, rescue, and ambulance service to 1,100 teams in total tostrengthen the firefighting, rescue, and ambulance service structures→ Augmenting Command Response Teams to 20 teams and Municipal Team Commanding Teams to 50 teams tostrengthen the command structures→ Augmenting logistical support sub-teams to 160 teams to strengthen logistical support structures→ Newly establishing Joint Task Forces (50) to increase the speed and accuracy of first responses→ Newly establishing communication support sub-teams (50) to strengthen communication structures Newly establishing Emergency Response Units for Disasters with Energy and Industrial Infrastructure (Dragon
Hyper Command Units), which are specialized to handle unique disasters to safeguard against damage to energy andindustrial infrastructure in the form of petrochemical complexes, chemical plants, and so on, which were organized at two
fire defense headquarters in FY2014

The core vehicles of the Dragon Hyper Command Unit:
A large water cannon truck (left) and a large-capacity water pump vehicle (right)

The logo mark for the Dragon Hyper
Command Unit, which is the same nationwide During the large-scale, unique disasters at petrochemical complexes, firefighting squads cannot approach the scene. Givensuch problems, the FDMA is carrying out a five-year plan starting from FY2014 to perform research anddevelopment on firefighting robots that can autonomously engage in firefighting activities like transmitting images ofthe disaster status to a safe location and spraying water.

Outline of the planned
firefighting robots
Mobile reconnaissancerobot (left) and a watercannon robot (right)

 The austere conditions concerning terrorism are changing, and Japan is preparing to hold large-scale events such as the2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games. In light of these factors, the FDMA is promoting initiatives like setting
up the wide-area aid structures that will be needed to stay prepared to fight fires at the event venues, andequipping them with the necessary vehicles, equipment, and so on.

5Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster Prevention Capabilities
Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps (Special Feature 2)[Initiatives following the Enactment of the Act on Enhancing and Strengthening
Regional Disaster Prevention Capabilities Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps]
The Act on Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster Prevention Capabilities Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps
was enacted in December 2013 as a bill introduced by a Diet member.

(Promoting Enrollment in Volunteer Fire Corps)
 The Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications sends letters to the heads of various regional publicorganizations requesting that they make additional efforts to secure volunteer fire corps members from among local
government employees and the like, as well as to improve treatment of said members. The Minister also send letters toeconomic organizations calling upon businesses to lend their understanding and cooperation with volunteer fire corps
activities.
 Because it is crucial to gain the understanding and cooperation of thebusinesses that employ the volunteer fire corps members in volunteer
fire corps activities, the FDMA is working to popularize theVolunteer Fire Corps Office Symbol System. In September 2015 it
also held a session to exchange opinions with businesses that hadreceived a letter of gratitude from the Minister of Internal
Affairs and Communications (for being businesses where) a large
number of employees have enrolled to volunteer fire corps) andeconomic organizations.
 As part of support for job hunting activities for students enrolled involunteer fire corps, the FDMA is calling for the adoption of theCertification System for Student Volunteer Fire Corps Activities,
in which municipalities certify the track record of their activities.
A display card issued by the FDMA (gold mark; left) and a display
card issued by municipalities and others (silver mark; right)

 In order to further increase the number of women and young people who make up volunteer fire corps members, theFDMA is conducting model projects to promote enrollment to volunteer fire corps and asking that municipalities
without any female volunteer fire corps members take proactive action to rectify this.
 In July 2015 the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications sent letters of gratitude to volunteer fire corps that
had considerably increased their number of members.
(Improving Treatment of Volunteer Fire Corps Members)
 The relevant government ordinances were revised to raise the retirement compensation for all ranks by 50,000 yen acrossthe board (minimum payment: 200,000 yen) starting from April 2014.
 The law encourages regional public organizations to offer appropriate payment in accordance with activities regarding
annual compensation and dispatch allowances, and also requests that allowances be raised, particularly byorganizations with low allowances (expected to do away with organizations offering no compensation in FY2015).
(Enhancing and Strengthening Equipment) The Volunteer Fire Corps Equipment Standards was revised in February 2014 in the aim of enhancing safety
equipment like life jackets, while also substantially expanding local tax grant measures starting from FY2014.
(Enhancing and Standardizing Education and Training) In March 2014 the Education and Training Standards for Fire Academies was revised to expand and strengthen
education for leadership members among the volunteer fire corps. Educational materials for teaching volunteer fire
corps members at fire academies were also prepared.
 Fire academies were systematically equipped with fire pump-mounted vehicles with onboard rescue equipment andso forth.
(Fire and Disaster Management Council)
 In January 2014 an inquiry was held over the Modalities for Enhancing and Strengthening Regional Disaster Prevention
Capabilities Centered around Volunteer Fire Corps with the 27th meeting of the Fire and Disaster Management Council. An
interim report that compiles items that should be handled urgently was released in July 2014, and currently an examinationis underway geared towards pulling together a report.

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[Recent Activities by Volunteer Fire Corps and Others]
 For the earthquake with a hypocenter in northern Nagano Prefecture that struck in November 2014, volunteer fire corps
and volunteer firefighting organizations carried out rescue efforts and led evacuations using support maps that contain
information like the homes of elderly people.
 For the volcanic eruption of Kuchinoerabu-jima Island in May 2015, volunteer fire corps initiated activities such asconfirming the safety of residents and leading evacuations immediately following the eruption. They instituted accurate
safety confirmations by using rosters designed for that purpose.
 During the torrential rains in Kanto and Tohoku in September 2015, volunteer fire corps engaged in rescue work and led
evacuations in partnership with firefighting squads and others in various different regions, and performed night patrols toguard houses that had been vacated by their inhabitants.

Activity status for an earthquake with its hypocenterin northern Nagano Prefecture

Activity status for the torrential rains in Kanto
and Tohoku in September 2015

[Measures for Enhancing and Strengthening Volunteer Fire Corps to be instituted in an Ongoing Manner]• The number of members of volunteer fire corps have been falling year by year, so this decline must be halted and their numbers increased.
• The share of employees in such organizations has remained at high levels. As such, it will be necessary to seek the cooperation and understanding ofbusinesses in volunteer fire corps activities.
• The average age of members continues to rise. Therefore, it will be necessary to work to promote enrollment by university students, vocational school
students, and other members of the younger generation.
• The activities of the volunteer fire corps are growing increasingly diverse and it is anticipated that female members will become actively involved. As such,proactive initiatives geared towards getting women to join will be needed.

 Holding nationwide sessions for exchanging opinions among volunteer fire corps
members and offer commendations for the regional activities of volunteer fire corps
 Expanding nationwide campaigns to promote enrollment of volunteer fire corps
members
 Conducting PR for volunteer fire corps activities using advertising media likemagazine advertisements
 Introducing measures to diversify volunteer fire corps organizations and programs,
such as function-specific members
 Setting up support structures for securing members via a program to dispatch advisors
to secure volunteer fire corps members
 Holding conventions for enhancing and strengthening regional disaster prevention
capabilities centered around volunteer fire corps[Strengthening Regional Fire Prevention Systems]

A poster soliciting forvolunteer fire corps
members to join

• In working to enhance and strengthen regional disaster prevention capabilities, it will be important to revitalize the activities of volunteer firefightingorganizations and the like.
• To reduce the damage from disasters, it is important to instill each and every member of the public with knowledge and skills related to disaster prevention.

 Promoting the fostering of leaders for volunteer firefighting organizations and the like in partnership with volunteer
fire corps, while also preparing Volunteer Firefighting Organization Guidelines that contain excellent case examples ofactivities and other information
 Carrying out the Ten-year Project to Pass Down the Lessons of Disasters, which dispatches firefighting personnel who
were active in the areas afflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake to serve as storytellers
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Further Promoting the Active Involvement of Women in Firefighting (Topic 1)[Promoting the Active Involvement of Female Firefighting Officials at Fire Departments]• Efforts have been made slowly but surely to increase the number of female firefighting officials and expand their occupational range, but the share of
firefighting officials comprised of women is still at the low level of 2.4%.
• It will be important to set in place an environment that invigorates organizations by harnessing the capabilities of women to the greatest extent possible
within the field of firefighting.

 The Review Committee for Further Promoting the Active Involvement of Female Personnel in Fire Departments was heldfrom March to July 2015, and recommendations were given on ways of thinking about promoting the active involvement of
women.
 Based on the contents of the recommendations by the review committee, the Vice Commissioner of the FDMA sent out anotice requesting that the municipalities carry out the following initiatives.
• The FDMA is setting the shared target of raising the nationwide ratio of female firefighting officials to all firefighting officials to
5% by the beginning of FY2026 for firefighting as a whole. In order to achieve this, each fire department must set numerical targets
with the following used as yardsticks as they tailor it to the actual conditions at each headquarters, then work to systematically increase
the number of female personnel on the basis of this.
[Yardsticks for setting targets](1) Doubling the share of female firefighting officials over ten years by raising the number of women hired every year from the previous two-fold to
2.5-fold or higher (for fire defense headquarters at or above a certain size, such as local core regional fire defense headquarters, increase this by alevel of at least 5%)(2) Securing several female employees as quickly as possible for fire defense headquarters without any female firefighting officials, in order toimprove such situations in a short period of time

• In order to expand the hiring of women, efforts must be made for things like rolling-out proactive PR activities and consideringsmooth personnel management based on the future increase in female firefighting officials.
• For firefighting work, it must be fully understood that restrictions cannot
be placed on the work that people can engage in based on their gender,
except where restricted by law. As such, personnel must be allocated inaccordance with the desires and aptitude of female firefighting
officials.
• Various personnel considerations must be factored in according to
the person’s life stage, such as support for balancing work and family
life, offering role models, and expanding training opportunities in theform of “positive action.”• Fire departments, fire stations, and so forth must systematically promote
the installation of facilities like female restrooms and nap rooms.
• Visualization, such as by posting the status of initiatives to promote theactive involvement of women to the website, should be promoted .

Female firefighting officials who are active as members on a ladderequipped vehicle (provided by the Tokyo Fire Department)[Promoting the Active Involvement of Female Members in Volunteer Fire Corps]• While the number of female volunteer fire corps members has been climbing year by year, the number of volunteer fire corps with female members is only around
64.3% of the total.
• The activities of the volunteer fire corps are growing increasingly diverse and it is anticipated that female members will become actively involved. As such, proactive
initiatives geared towards getting women to join will be needed.

 The letters from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (see Special Feature 2) request proactive initiatives
to encourage women to join volunteer fire corps, and also call for understanding and cooperation from companies when it
comes to having their female employees join volunteer fire corps.
 The Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications has sent letters of gratitude to volunteer fire corps that haveconsiderably increased their number of female members.
 The FDMA is instituting measures conducive to encouraging women tojoin, such as model projects to promote enrollment in volunteer fire
corps. It is also requesting proactive initiatives geared towards getting women
to join volunteer fire corps in municipalities with no female volunteer fire
corps members.
 The FDMA holds the Nationwide Female Firefighting Skills Convention,
which aims to improve the firefighting skills of female volunteer fire corps
members and boost their moral. It also holds the National Convention to
Encourage Female Volunteer Fire Corps Members, which is designed tofurther encourage the activities of female volunteer fire corps members.

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National Convention to Encourage
Female Volunteer Fire Corps Members

Recent Developments in International Exchange related to International
Emergency Relief and Fire and Disaster Prevention (Topic 2)[Dispatch of International Emergency Relief Teams for the Nepal Earthquake Disaster]
A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck Nepal at approximately 15:11 on April 25, 2015 (Japan time). This caused enormous
damage that left more than 8,000 people dead and over 20,000 people injured, primarily in the capital of Kathmandu.

 Based on the decision to mobilize by the Commissioner of the FDMA, an International Rescue Team of Japanese Fireservice comprised of 17 people from the FDMA and seven fire departments gathered at Narita International Airport by
12:00 on April 26.
(The international emergency relief team that was dispatched consisted of 70 people in total from firefighting (International
Rescue Team of Japanese Fire-service), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the police, the Japan Coast Guard, JICA, and more.) Due to the impact from the congestion at the Kathmandu airport in the afflicted region, the rescue team arrived a day later
than scheduled at 11:44 on April 28 (local time). The team promptly initiated its search and rescue efforts starting fromthe afternoon of the same day by gathering advance information via the local Japanese embassy and other sources.
(The search and rescue efforts concluded on May 6, and they returned home early in the morning on May 9 (Japan time).) The international emergency relief team has acquired a capacity evaluation of “Heavy,” which is the highest category, fromthe International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG). The scope of the search and rescue activities weredemarcated by the On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC), which coordinates with the rescue teams from eachcountry (spearheaded by the United Nations) and the disaster response headquarters in the afflicted country. As a result of
this, the international emergency relief team carried out search and rescue efforts in locations where advanced searchand rescue skills were required. Their responsible areas included highly dangerous places where an enormous amount of
rubble had been accumulated and also there were buildings that had been about to collapse.

Search and rescue efforts by means ofmanually removing rubble (Saku)

Search and rescue efforts using jackhammers(Gonggabu Municipality)[Participation in the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction]
The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Sendai City from March 14 to 18, 2015. The Minister of Internal
Affairs and Communications served as a co-chair for a session on “Mobilizing Women’s Leadership,” in addition to which related eventswere held by cosponsoring forums.

 Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi served as the co-chairat the “Mobilizing Women’s Leadership” session. In her opening address, she
introduced examples of activities by female volunteer fire corps members andwomen’s firefighting clubs during the Great East Japan Earthquake, while also
remarking on the importance of female leadership at each stage of disaster
response.
 A forum was held on the theme of “The Role of Volunteer Fire Corps andLocal Residents during Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Landslides, and Other
Disasters.” Presentations on examples of activities during recent disasters andexchanges of opinions were also carried out for activities by junior high schools
and volunteer fire corps in the afflicted regions during the Great East Japan
Earthquake.
 Japan’s outstanding firefighting science and technology and its
countermeasures based on the Great East Japan Earthquake wereintroduced, and firefighting drills, firefighting vehicles, and firefighting scienceand technology were displayed with the cooperation of four fire defense
headquarters.

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
Takaichi serving as co-chair of a session

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Handling Heatstroke (Topic 3)• In an ordinary year, more than 40,000 people will receive emergency transport for heatstroke in Japan in the summertime, making this anextremely important issue regarding the people’s lives and safety.
• Since such cases are concentrated within a certain time period, it is important to transport people to medical institutions quickly andproperly and carry out awareness-raising activities in partnership with related institutions from the perspective of smoothly carrying out
ambulance services.

(Surveys on the Number of People Requiring Emergency Transport due to Heatstroke in the Summer) Surveys on the number of people requiring ambulance transport due to heatstroke have been carried out since2008. This is designed to clarify the actual status of ambulance transport due to heatstroke across Japan and provide
information to the media and research agencies, to thereby promote awareness-raising activities on preventing
heatstroke and contribute to the development of scientific knowledge on it.

9/28 – 10/4

9/21 – 9/27

9/7 – 9/13

9/14 – 9/20

8/31 – 9/6

8/24 – 8/30

8/17 – 8/23

8/10 – 8/16

8/3 – 8/9

7/27 – 8/2

7/20 – 7/26

7/6 – 7/12

7/13 – 7/19

6/29 – 7/5

6/22 – 6/28

6/15 – 6/21

6/1 – 6/7

6/8 – 6/14

5/25 – 5/31

5/18 – 5/24

5/11 – 5/17

5/4 – 5/10

4/27 – 5/3(People)State of emergency transport due to heatstroke in 2015 (changes by week)(Overview of the Survey)

Leaflet on Heatstroke Countermeasures

 The number of people requiring ambulance transport due to heatstroke surpasses 40,000 people in an ordinary year, withsaid number of people surpassing 50,000 in 2010, 2013, and 2015, which were years in which the heat was particularly
intense.
 In 2015 (survey period: April 27 - October 4) the number of people requiring ambulance transport due to heatstrokecame to 55,852 people (the number of people requiring ambulance transport in July came to 24,567, which is a record highfor said number of people in July since the survey began in 2008). The majority of the people transported were elderly
people, with this being the first time since the survey began that the recorded number of elderly people exceeded 50%.
(Initiatives by Firefighting Agencies) In order to prevent heatstroke, it will be important to raise awareness of it nationwide by announcing the results of thesurvey. It will also be important to roll-out ongoing awareness-raising activities in partnership with concerned parties ineach region.
 The FDMA distributes the Leaflet on Heatstroke Countermeasures to firefighting agencies throughout Japan, and urges
them to make use of opportunities such as various events, voluntary firefighting training, and first-aid treatment training. It
also disseminates finely detailed information via Twitter and its website.
 The FDMA also provides support to ensure that effective heatstroke prevention measures are carried out at fire
departments. It does this by sending notifications to regional public organizations and urging them to actively spread theword on heatstroke prevention measures by taking every available opportunity, while also introducing advanced caseexamples.
(Initiatives for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games) The FDMA will continue to collaborate with the related government ministries and agencies over setting in place
ambulance service systems for heatstroke suffered by guests, and also for launching an examination structure regarding
providing relevant information on heatstroke and other issues to foreign visitors.
 The FDMA is considering issues like strengthening education on heatstroke prevention aimed at foreign visitors and thegeneral public in the area around where the games will be held, preparing and distributing foreign language versions ofeducational materials (Twitter, leaflets), and raising public awareness about heatstroke prevention measures through firstaid drills.

10Handling the Heavy Rains that Continued after Typhoon No. 18 (Including
the Torrential Rains in Kanto and Tohoku in September 2015) (Topic 4)• The effects of Typhoon No. 18 and the low-pressure system that resulted from the typhoon gave rise to heavy rains over an
extensive region spanning from western Japan to northern Japan. There were record heavy rains, particularly in the Kanto
and Tohoku Regions.
• In Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, embankments along the Kinugawa River burst, killing two people and causing damage to agreat many houses.
• A total of eight people died in Miyagi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Tochigi Prefecture.
[FDMA Disaster Bulletin No. 36 (November 30, 2015](Response by Firefighting Agencies) In Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, rescue efforts were implemented for people requiring rescue in partnership with local fire
departments and volunteer fire corps, wide-area firefighting and mutual aid teams within Ibaraki Prefecture, andEmergency Fire Response Teams.
 In response to a relief request from the governor of Ibaraki Prefecture, the Commissioner of the FDMA sought themobilization of Emergency Fire Response Teams to the capital region and five prefectures (Tokyo, Gunma Prefecture,
Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, and Yamanashi Prefecture), where a total of 572 teams and2,246 people carried out activities over eight days.
 The Emergency Fire Response Teams’ land teams used amphibious buggies and boats, waders, and dry suits to rescue
residents who had been left behind in water-logged areas, and also engaged in activities to confirm the resident’s
personal safety via door-to-door visits.
 The Emergency Fire Response Teams’ aerial teams partnered with local aerial teams, the JSDF, police, the Japan Coast
Guard, and others to carry out rescue efforts for residents who were isolated in their homes, and also collectinformation on the damage from the skies above.

Rescue efforts by boat
(September 11, 2015) (Provided by the Tokyo Fire Department)

Aerial rescue efforts(September 11, 2015) (Provided by the Tokyo Fire Department)(Cooperation with Related Agencies) Decisions on action plans to carry out rescue and transport
quickly and efficiently for the enormous number of people
requiring rescue, as well as the determining criteria forsuspending activities given the rainfall in order to ensure thesafety of the team members, were examined and fine-tuned
in partnership with related agencies (Ibaraki Prefecture,
firefighters, JSDF, police, Japan Coast Guard, DMAT,
IMA, Ministry of Infrastructure, Land, Transport andTourism (MLIT), and others).
 Coordination was carried out over the regions in which
helicopters were active, the sharing of roles, transport ofrescue teams, and so on to smoothly carry out rescue
efforts in the limited air space.

Ibaraki Prefecture disaster response headquarters(September 11, 2015, Ibaraki Prefectural Government Office)11

Major Statistical Figures
Current Status of Fires and Recent Trends (Chapter 1, Section 1)
 The number of fire outbreaks and number of fatalities from fires have been largely trending downward over the pastten years• The number of fire outbreaks in 2014 came to 43,741, with the number of fatalities from these fires coming to 1,678 people.
• The number of fire outbreaks decreased compared to the previous year (a decrease of 4,354 fires), coming to 72.4% versus ten years
ago.
• The number of fatalities from fires rose compared to the previous year (increase of 53 people), coming to 83.7% versus ten years ago.
• There were 4,884 cases of fires caused by arson, which has been the number one cause of outbreaks of fire for 18 years in a row.
[Trends in the number of fire outbreaks and the number of fatalities from fires](Fires)(People)70,0003,500
Number of fire outbreaks

60,00060,3873,000

Number of fatalities from fires

57,46054,582
52,394
51,13953,27650,0002,195

50,006

46,6202,067

44,1891,969

40,000
2,004

2,500

2,005

1,766

1,721

2011

2012

1,877

48,09543,741
1,625

2,000

1,678

1,738
30,0001,500
2004

Notes:

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2013

2014 (Year)

1. Prepared based on Fire Reports
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 2014 came to 11,855 fires, while the number of fatalities from house fires (excluding
suicides by arson, etc.) came to 1,006 people.
• The number of house fires decreased from the previous year (a decrease of 647 fires), coming to 70.3% versus ten years ago.
• While the number of fatalities from house fires increased from the previous year (an increase of nine people), it represents a drop of 214
people compared with 2005, when 1,220 fatalities were recorded.
• The installation rate for home fire alarms is 81.0% (as of June 1, 2015).
[Trends in the number of house fires (excluding arson) and the number of fatalities from house fires (excluding suicides by arson, etc.)](Fires)(People)18,00017,0001,700
Number of house fires
住宅火災の件数(excluding
arson)
Numberof house fires（放火を除く。）
Number(excludingof fatalities
from housearson)
住宅火災による死者数
fires (excluding suicides byarson, etc.)
Number of fatalities from house fires（放火自殺者等を除く。）

16,866 17,014
16,68316,00016,1771,400
14,77814,00014,044

1,220
13,0001,187

12,00011,000

1,148
1,038

1,123

12,832

1,023

Notes:

12

2005
17

2006
18

2007
19

2008
20

2009
21

1,070

1,016

1,022
2010
22

1,300

13,673
12,502
11,855997

10,000
2004
平成16

1,500

(excluding suicides by arson, etc.)

15,61415,000

1,600

2011
23

2012
24

2013
25

1,006

1,200
1,100
1,000
900

2014
26

1. Prepared based on Fire Reports
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.)”(Year)

Major Storms and Floods in 2015 (Chapter 1, Section 5)
 Heavy rains accompanying Typhoon No. 11• This typhoon made landfall near Muroto City, Kochi Prefecture around 23:00 on July 16• Typhoon No. 11 and the intermixing of the warm, damp air facing the typhoon resulted in a great deal of precipitation, primarily
centered around western and eastern Japan. In the Kinki Region, in particular, there were lots of locations in which the precipitation thatfell in a 24-hour period exceeded the monthly average precipitation figures for all of July, and some locations saw their single highest
maximum precipitation in 24-hours in recorded history

 Heavy rains accompanying Typhoon No. 15• This typhoon made landfall near Arao City, Kumamoto Prefecture after 6:00 on August 25• As a result of Typhoon No. 15 and the warm, damp air blowing from the south, heavy rains blanketed the Nansei Islands, western Japan,
and the Tokai Region, while intense rains fell in a localized manner in Kyushu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Mie Prefecture Heavy rains accompanying Typhoon No. 18 (including the torrential rains in Kanto and Tohoku in September 2015)• Typhoon No. 18 and the damp air blowing from the south towards the low pressure system resulting from the typhoon resulted in heavy
rains that blanketed a wide region from western Japan to northern Japan. The Kanto and Tohoku Regions in particular saw record heavy
rains• The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued special warnings for heavy rains for Tochigi Prefecture at 00:20 on September 10, for
Ibaraki Prefecture at 07:45 the same day, and for Miyagi Prefecture at 03:20 the next day on September 11[Status of damage from major storms and floods in 2015]

InjuredTotally
destroyedHalfdestroyed

PartialdamageAbove-floor
flooding

Below-floor
flooding

No. of prefecturesthat establisheddisaster response
headquarters

2

59

2

3

38

63

180

5

Chubu, Chugoku,
Kyushu, Okinawa

1

134

10

90

2,075

28

192

5

Tohoku, Kanto,
Chubu

8

79

79

6,014

410

2,870

10,0595

Human harm (people)
No.

Disaster name

Major afflicted regions(1)

Heavy rains accompanying Typhoon
No. 11

Tohoku, Kansai,
Shikoku(2)

Heavy rains accompanying Typhoon
No. 15(3)

Heavy rains accompanying Typhoon
No. 18 (including the torrential rainsin Kanto and Tohoku in Sept. 2015)

Missing
persons

Fatalities

Damage to homes (buildings)

Major Volcanic Activity in 2015 (Chapter 1, Section 8)
 Kuchinoerabu-jima Island• An explosive eruption occurred at 9:59 on May 29, and a plume of black ash-colored smoke rose more than 9,000m above the crater rim.
• At 10:07 the same day the JMA raised the volcanic alert level from 3 (Do not approach the volcano) to 5 (Evacuate).
• Yakushima Town instituted an island-wide evacuation (137 people) that same day.
• On October 21 the JMA issued an eruption warning in which the range requiring rigorous warnings for evacuations and the like extended
over a range stretching roughly 2 km from Shindake Crater, and roughly 2.5 km to the west of Shindake Crater.

 Mount Asama• At 15:30 on June 11 the JMA raised the volcanic alert level from 1 (Potential for increased activity) to 2 (Do not approach the crater).
• Extremely minor eruptions occurred at the summit crater on June 16 and 19.

 Mount Hakone• Extremely minor eruptions occurred in Okuwadani from the night of June 29 until the morning of June 30.
• At 12:30 on June 30 the JMA raised the volcanic alert level from 2 (Do not approach the crater) to 3 (Do not approach the volcano).
(Thereafter, the volcanic alert level was lowered from 3 to 2 on September 11, and from 2 to 1 (Potential for increased activity) on
November 20.)

 Sakurajima Island• Volcanic earthquakes with their hypocenter located in the vicinity directly under Minamidake Crater began frequently occurring startingfrom around 7:00 on August 15.
• At 10:15 the same day the JMA raised the volcanic alert level from 3 (Do not approach the volcano) to 4 (Prepare to evacuate).
(Thereafter, the volcanic alert level was lowered from 4 to 3 on September 1, and from 3 to 2 (Do not approach the crater) on November
25.)

 Mount Aso• At 9:43 on September 14 an eruption occurred at the No. 1 craterlet at the volcano’s Nakadake Crater, and an enormous amount ofejected material was scattered in the vicinity around the craterlet and a pyroclastic flow began flowing downward.
• At 10:10 the same day the JMA raised the volcanic alert level from 2 (Do not approach the crater) to 3 (Do not approach the volcano).
(Thereafter, the volcanic alert level was lower from 3 to 2 on November 24).
• The JMA issued a Volcanic Activity Bulletin the same day at 9:50 (the first one issued since they began to be used in August 4, 2015).

13

Status for Firefighting Organizations (As of April 1, 2015) (Chapter 2, Section 1)
 Fire departments• 750 fire departments and 1,709 fire departments have been established, with the number of firefighting personnel coming to 162,124
people.

 Volunteer fire corps• The number of volunteer fire corps is 2,208 and the number of members is 859,995 people. Volunteer fire corps have been establishedin every municipality.

[Trends in the number of firefighting personnel and volunteer fire corps members](As of April 1 of each year)

165,000(People)160,000
156,758
155,524
154,487
156,082
153,439
155,016
151,703
153,952
152,464

155,000
150,000

157,396 157,860

161,244
162,124
160,392

159,730

158,809

159,354

158,327

Number of firefighting personnel
消防職員数145,000
1998

1,000,000

1999

962,625(People)

2000

2001

2002

951,069

2003

2004

2005

2007

2008

2009

2010

919,105
944,134

900,000

928,432
908,043

900,007883,698

889,900
885,394

892,893

850,000

2012

2013

874,1932015 (Year)2014

864,347

879,978
868,872

800,000
Notes:

2011

Number of volunteer fire corps members
消防団員数937,169

950,000
957,047

2006

859,995

1998
10 1999
11 2000
12 2001
13 2002
14 200315 2004
16 2005
17 2006
18 200719 2008
20 2009
21 201022 201123 201224 201325 201426 201527 (Year)
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 firefighting personnel and volunteer fire corps members in Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi
Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture for 2011 were totaled via 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, Miyagi Prefecture for 2012 were totaled via the figures fromtwo years ago (as of April 1, 2010).

Ambulance Service Implementation Status (Chapter 2, Section 5)
 The number of times ambulances have been dispatched for emergencies has risen year by year. In 2014 they weredispatched a record high 5,984,921 times, which is a roughly 19% increase compared to ten years ago.
 The number of ambulance service teams established as of April 1, 2015 is 5,069 teams (an increase of 41 teams
compared with the previous year), which is a roughly 7% increase compared with ten years ago.
 The average time required to take someone to a hospital was 39.4 minutes in 2014 (this is 9.4 minutes longer comparedwith ten years ago).
 The average time required to reach the scene was 8.6 minutes in 2014 (this is 2.2 minutes longer compared with ten
years ago).
[Trends in the time required to reach the scene and the time required to take someone to a hospital by ambulances](Minutes)(During each year)

Time from perception untl victim is taken to hospital

50

Time from perception until vehicle arrives at scene

40

36.1

37.4

38.1

38.7

39.3

39.4

35.0

30.0

31.1

32.0

33.4

6.4

6.5

6.6

7.0

7.7

7.9

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.5

8.6

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

30
20
10
0
Notes:

14(Year)

1. Prepared based on the Survey on Ambulance Service Implementation Status
2. Due to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the figures were totaled by excluding data from the fire defense headquarters at the Otsuchi District
Administrative Affairs Association in Kamaishi and the fire defense headquarters in Rikuzentakata City from 2011.