Extract of the 2021
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 2021 White Paper on Fire Service
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Section1 Fire Prevention /Japanese original P.55............................................................................................ 1[ Current Status and Recent Trends with Fires ] ........................................................................................................ 1[ Current Status of Fire Prevention Administration ] /Japanese original P.67.......................................................... 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.77...................................................................................................................... 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.81.............................................. 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.87.................................................................................................................... 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.88 ..................................................................................................................................... 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............... 18
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. ....... 21(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.117......................................................................... 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....................................................................................................................... 26

Section 4 Education and Training Structure /Japanese original P.136...................................................... 27
1. Education and Training for Firefighters.............................................................................................................. 27
2. On-the-job Training............................................................................................................................................. 27
3. Education and Training at Fire Academies........................................................................................................ 27(1) Establishment of Fire Academies.................................................................................................................. 27(2) Types of Education and Training................................................................................................................... 27
4. Education and Training and Technical Assistance at the Fire and Disaster Management College................ 27(1) Enrollment in Education and Training........................................................................................................... 27(2) Facilities and Equipment............................................................................................................................... 28(3) Technical Assistance for Fire Academies..................................................................................................... 28iiSection 5 Ambulance Service System /Japanese original P.139................................................................ 29
1. Implementation of Ambulance Services............................................................................................................ 29(1) Ambulance Service Dispatch........................................................................................................................ 29(2) People Transported by the Severity of Their Injury or Illness...................................................................... 29(3) People Transported by Ambulance by Age Group and Type of Incident.................................................... 29(4) Time Required to Arrive at the Scene........................................................................................................... 29(5) Time Required to Check the Patient into a Hospital.................................................................................... 30(6) First-aid Treatment Administered by Ambulance Team Members............................................................... 30
2. Implementation Structure for Ambulance Services........................................................................................... 30(1) Number of Municipalities Offering Ambulance Services.............................................................................. 30(2) Number of Ambulance Teams, Ambulance Team Members and Associate Ambulance Team Members.......... 30(3) Trends in the Number of EMTs and Ambulance Teams with EMTs.............................................................. 32(4) Number of Ambulances................................................................................................................................. 32(5) Ambulance Services along National and Other Expressways..................................................................... 32
3. Promoting Coordination between Firefighting and Medical Care.................................................................... 33(1) Standards on Patient Transport and Their Acceptance............................................................................... 33(2) Ambulance Medical Care Structure.............................................................................................................. 33(3) Acceptance of People Using Ambulance Transport at Medical Institutions............................................... 34
4. Promotion of More Sophisticated Ambulance Services................................................................................... 34(1) Promotion of Education for Ambulance Service Personnel......................................................................... 34(2) Increase in the Treatment Scope of EMTs.................................................................................................... 34(3) Enhancement of Medical Control System.................................................................................................... 34(4) Use of Emergency Resuscitation Statistics (Utstein data)........................................................................... 35

Section 6 Rescue System /Japanese original P.153.................................................................................... 36
1. Implementation Status for Rescue Activities..................................................................................................... 36(1) Number of Rescue Activities and Number of People Rescued................................................................... 36(2) Implementation Status of Rescue Activities by Type of Incident................................................................ 36
2. Implementation Structure for Rescue Activities................................................................................................ 36(1) Number of Rescue Crews and Number of Rescue Crew Members............................................................ 36(2) Possession Status of Rescue Equipment for Rescue Activities.................................................................. 37
3. National Firefighting and Rescue Skills Meets.................................................................................................. 37

Section 8	Integrated Fire Service Support and National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response/Japanese Original P.161............................................................................................................... 38

1. Integrated Support System for Fire Service...................................................................................................... 38(1) Mutual Support Agreement for Fire Services............................................................................................... 38(2) Establishment of Integrated Support System for Fire Service.................................................................... 38
2. National Fire-Service Teams for Disaster Response........................................................................................ 38	(1) Creation of National Fire-Service Teams for Disaster Response and Their Enshrinement in
Law via Revisions to the Fire Defense Organization Act............................................................................. 38(2) Organization of and Dispatch Plans for National Fire-Service Teams ........................................................ 40(3) Number of National Fire-Service Teams Registered and Their Equipment................................................. 43

Attachment

Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture /Japanese original P.9(Attachment)............................. 45

iii

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

1 Fire Prevention

Section☞ Japanese Original P.55

from the previous year), or 74.4% of the 46,620 fires that
occurred ten years prior (2010). Furthermore, the numberof fatalities from fires has also largely been trending
downward since 2010. The number of fatalities from fires
in 2020 was 1,326 (a decrease of 160, or 10.8%, fromthe previous year), or 76.3% of the 1,738 fatalities of ten
years ago (2010).

Current Status and Recent Trends with Fires
Looking at the number of fires since 2010, there has
been a downward trend. The number of fires that occurredin 2020 totaled 34,691(a decrease of 2,992, or 7.9%,

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 2010 to be 100.

-omitted-1

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters☞ Japanese Original P.67

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, 2021, the number of fire prevention
properties that were legally required to establish fire
prevention management structures and appoint fire
prevention managers totaled 1,081,668 nationwide. Of
these, 890,805 properties, which corresponds to 82.4%,
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 837,879, or 77.5% 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, 2021, thenationwide installation rate*1 was 83.1% and the ordinancecompliance rate*2 was 68.0%. 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, 2021, the number of fire prevention
properties throughout Japan totaled 4,228,692 (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 1,211,992, 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. (52.5% 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, 2021, the number of fire prevention
properties that were required to appoint supervisors of fire
prevention management totaled 88,819 nationwide. Of
these, 56,406, or 63.5%, 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.
a Cabarets, etc.

(2)

(3)

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

Percentage
Classification of fire prevention properties Nationwide
(%)

4,441

646

14.5

(3) Nursery schools, etc.

37,698

8,338

22.1

64,5446,237

9.7(4) Child development support
centers, etc.

3,836

603

15.7

(5) W
 elfare centers fordisabled persons, etc.

22,560

3,714

16.5

737

130

17.6

8,932

1,694

19.0

179

94

52.5

c
(6)

Subtotald Kindergartens, etc.

d Karaoke box and stores, etc.

2,382

591

24.8

(7)

Schools

2,516

456

18.1

(8)

Libraries, etc.

b Eating and drinking housesa Hotels, etc.

(Asof March
31, 2018)
21 major
Percentage

Nationwide

a Restaurants, etc.

(4) Department stores, etc.
(5)

(As of March 31, 2021)

21 majorcities

86,64918,09020.9

157,159

28,44418.1(9)

cities(%)

87,26016,62619.1

15,747

3,876

24.6

125,245

28,214

22.5

7,607

835

11.0

a Special bathhouses

1,392

633

45.5

b General bathhouses

4,023

918

22.8

60,337

8,216

13.6

(10)

Railroad depots

3,885

1,420

36.6

1,378,322

533,108

38.7

(11)

Temples and shrines, etc.

58,74912,34721.0(1) H ospitals that require patient
assistance for evacuation

6,186

1,030

16.7

486,11471,486

14.7(2) Clinics with 19 beds or lessthat need patient assistance for
evacuation

3,009

605

20.1

358

142

39.7

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

9,297

2,314

24.9

51,49813,82726.8(4) Clinics with no in-patient capacity,maternity homes without beds

45,303

8,591

19.0

711

98

13.8

Subtotal

63,795

12,54019.7

334,72953,756

16.1(1) Short-term welfare facilities for theelderly

44,667

8,525

19.1

494,195

111,817

22.6

218

33

15.1

a S
 pecified multipurpose fire
prevention properties

384,274

145,804

37.9

137

30

21.9

b Unspecified multipurpose
fire prevention properties

279,214

127,992

45.8

479

74

15.4

60

52

86.7

(5) Support facilities for the disabled

7,325

1,233

16.8 (16-3) Semi-underground malls

7

6

85.7

Subtotal

52,826

9,895

18.7

(17)

Cultural properties

9,535

1,533

16.1

(1) Elderly daycare centers, etc.

22,965

3,928

17.1

(18)

Arcades

1,270

469

36.9

201

43

21.4

(19)

Mountain forests

0

0

−

Total

4,228,692

1,211,992

28.7

b Apartment houses, etc.

(6)(2) Sheltersb(3) Nurseries(4) Welfare facilities for disabledchildrenc(2) Rehabilitation facilities

a Factories, etc.
(12)b Studiosa Parking lots, etc.
(13)b Aircraft hangars
(14)
(15)

(16)

Warehouses
Offices, etc.

(16-2) Underground malls(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 Order of Enforcement for the Fire Service Act that are listed in (1) through (16-3) and have a total area of 150m2 orlarger, 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 54,198, or 61.0%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 9,074, or 90.3% 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, 2021, the number of such inspectors
totaled 33,338.
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, 2021, the number of fire prevention
properties that were required to appoint supervisors of
disaster prevention management totaled 2,925 nationwide.
Of these, 2,626, or 89.8%, have appointed supervisors of
disaster prevention management and notified firefighting
agencies to this effect. Furthermore, the number of disasterprevention properties that have prepared firefighting plansin order to carry out disaster prevention management forthe building as a whole in an integrated manner, and thathave notified firefighting agencies to this effect, was 2,574,
or 88.0% 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, 2021, the number of properties underdisaster prevention measures that were legally required
to establish disaster prevention management systems
and appoint disaster prevention managers totaled 10,052
throughout Japan. Of these, 8,735, or 86.9%, 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 8,041, or 80.0%
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 FY2020
totaled 648,485. (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 Service
Act. In addition, in cases where this is recognized as
posing a hazard for fire prevention, necessary measures
such as 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
Service Act. The act also states that in the event that suchan order is issued, public notice shall be given.

*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
consent. (Attachment 1-1-65, untranslated)

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)(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,
2021, the installation rate for sprinkler systems (number
installed vs. number that need to be installed) was 99.4%,
while the rate for automatic fire alarms was 99.5%.
(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, 2021, the total number of fire
protection equipment engineers came to 1,253,425( Attachment 1-1-67 , untranslated). In addition, the(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 consent work throughout Japan in FY2020
totaled 208,469, with only 14 of these failing to receive

5Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

number of fire protection equipment inspectors totaled 737
special inspectors (for special fire protection equipment,etc.), 163,370 Class 1 inspectors (for mechanical systems)
and 153,955 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.
Ty p e a p p r o v a l s i n F Y 2 0 2 0 i n c l u d e d 2 9 f i r e
extinguishers, 1 fire extinguishing agent for fire
extinguishers, 5 fire-extinguishing foams, 49 detectors
or transmitters for fire alarm systems, 2 repeaters, 16
receivers, 22 residential fire smoke detectors, 0 enclosedtype sprinkler heads, 3 water flow detecting devices, 6deluge valves, 2 metallic escape ladders, and 0 descending
devices. The total number of products that have passedcompliance inspection is 21,901,430. (Attachment 1-169, 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, 2021, the number of flame retardancy
and fire prevention properties totaled 998,822. 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 88.1%, while it was 87.9% at those using
carpets, and 85.0% 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.

6

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

Similar to machinery and tools subject to inspection,
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 FY2020
totaled 10 for power fire pumps, 23 for fire hoses, 1 forfire suction hose, 13 for couplers, 1 for disposable aerosol
fire extinguishers, and 13 for electric leak alarms.

established aimed at equipment for which evaluationsof 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, 2021, 73
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

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 public

Table 1-1-2 Investigations into the causes of fires conducted by the Commissioner of the FDMA since2012 that have revised the fire prevention laws and ordinances№

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
fires that are still currently under investigation. (Fig. 1-119)
The results of these investigations are reported to
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.

in their daily lives have begun causing fires as well,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 FY2020 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 858 product fires,
137 were fires deemed to have been caused by productdefects, 665 were fires that could not be determined tohave occurred from a defect in a specified product as the
direct cause although the cause was identified, as well as
fires where the cause could not be identified, and 56 were

Fig. 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.77

facilities for hazardous materials has decreased. Accidents
attributable to human factors such as inadequate operating
checks and inadequate maintenance account for the
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 2020 was 187 (31 less than theprevious year). The amount of damages totaled 1,090.35
million yen (a decrease of 4,497.28 million yen year-onyear), and they resulted in 2 deaths (an increase of 1 yearon-year) and 33 people injured (a decrease of 4 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 byfuel supply depots, and manufacturing facilities, in thatorder. The sum of these 3 facility classifications accounts
for 95.7% 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 FY2020, there were
187 fires and 375 spills for a total of 562 accidents. This
represents a decrease of 36 accidents compared with theprevious year, and is the highest number ever. (Fig. 1-2-1)

1. Fire Accidents
The number of fire accidents that occurred at facilities
for hazardous materials in 2020 was 187. This is anincrease of roughly 1.7-times compared with the 107 such
accidents in 1993, which had the lowest number of fire
accidents since 1989, despite the fact that the number of*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 “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 “The Accident Reports on Hazardous Materials”.

At the same time, 88 of the 187 fire accidents (or 47.1%of the total) were cases where a hazardous material served
as the causative agent for the fire. (Fig. 1-2-4)

of 9 year-on-year), followed by 29 from overheating (anincrease of 4 year-on-year) , 27 from high temperaturesurface heat (an increase of 1 year-on-year) and 17 fromnaked flame (an increase of 4 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 2020
reveals that human factors accounted for 56.7%, physicalfactors accounted for 27.8%, and the total for other causes,
unknown, and under investigation came to 15.5%. (Fig.
1-2-5)
When viewed by ignition source, those ignited by static
electricity sparks were the most common at 31 (a decrease(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 2020 was 3 (a decrease of 1 year-on-year), leaving 0
people dead (a decrease of 3 year-on-year) and 2 injured (adecrease 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 “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 “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 “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 “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 2020, 0 fire accidents occurred during thetransportation of hazardous materials (the same as theprevious year).

2. Spillage Accidents
The number of spillage accidents involving hazardous
materials that occurred at facilities for hazardous materials
in 2020 was 375. This is an increase of roughly 2.2-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 2020, 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 outdoor storage tank facilities, and fuelsupply depots, in that order. (Fig. 1-2-8)
At the same time, 98.7% 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 3 petroleums (heavy oil, etc.) accountfor most of these, followed by Class 2 petroleums (lightoil, etc.), Class 1 petroleums (gasoline, etc.), in that order.
(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 2020 was 375 (adecrease of 5 year-on-year). The amount of damages
totaled 228.86 million yen (a decrease of 731.53 million
yen year-on-year), and they resulted in 0 deaths (the sameas the previous year), with 23 people injured (a decreaseof 4 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 “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 “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 “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.81

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 a z a r d o u s m a t e r i a l s o f v o l u m e s a t o r a b o v e
the designated quantities (the quantity at whichauthorization is necessary to store or handle a material
as designated by the Fire Service Act) cannot be
stored or handled at locations other than facilities forhazardous materials. Persons attempting to establish
a facility for hazardous materials must ensure it is incompliance with the standards regarding its location,
structure, and equipment specified by law, andreceive authorization from the municipal mayor for
this.
−The 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 “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 2020 reveals that human factors accounted for 38.9%,
physical factors accounted for 53.1% and the total forother causes, unknown, and under investigation came to
8.0%.
When viewed by causative factor, those caused bydeterioration such as corrosion fatigue were most common
at 129 (an increase of 1 year-on-year), followed by 56
from inadequate operating checks (an increase of 5 yearon-year) and 32 from incorrect operation (a decrease of 2
year-on-year). (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, 2021 came to 392,619. (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 2020 was 2 (a decrease of 3
year-on-year), with no casualties (the same as the previousyear).
(4) Spillage Accidents during the Transportationof Hazardous Materials
The number of spillage accidents that occurred during
the transportation of hazardous materials in 2020 was 9 (adecrease of 2 year-on-year), with no casualties (the sameas the previous year).

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, 2021, those facilities forhazardous materials that hold 50 times the designatedquantities or less accounted for 75.3% of the total. (Fig.
1-2-12)(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 2020 was 0 (a decrease of 1 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,

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

2017
(A)

2018

2020
(B)

2019

(As of March 31 of each year)
Rate of change (%)

2021
(C)

(C/A-1)×100(C/B-1)×100

5,096

5,093

5,098

5,077

5,045

△ 1.0

△ 0.6

Indoor storage facilities

50,02349,811

49,71749,61349,590

△ 0.9

△ 0.0

Outdoor storage tanks

61,12460,36059,69959,03558,225

△ 4.7

△ 1.4

Indoor storage tanks

10,586

10,386

10,170

9,988

9,837

△ 7.1

△ 1.5

Underground storage tanks

81,41779,723

77,98876,42574,938

△ 8.0

△ 1.9

Simple storage tanks

986

961

940

933

908

△ 7.9

△ 2.7

Transfer storage tanks

66,73365,80665,425

65,12464,965

△ 2.6

△ 0.2

Outdoor storage facilities

9,994

9,832

9,702

9,604

9,611

△ 3.8

0.1

Subtotal

280,863

276,879

273,641

270,722

268,074

△ 4.6

△ 1.0

Fuel supply depots

60,58559,71558,865

58,12457,497

△ 5.1

△ 1.1

Class 1 sales handling facilities

1,138

1,107

1,078

1,050

1,028

△ 9.7

△ 2.1

Handling Class 2 sales handling facilities
facilities Transfer handling facilities

499

493

482

474

469

△ 6.0

△ 1.1

1,098

1,084

1,077

1,062

1,048

△ 4.6

△ 1.3

General outlets

61,37260,86760,39859,94859,458

△ 3.1

△ 0.8

Subtotal

124,692

123,266

121,900

120,658

119,500

△ 4.2

△ 1.0

410,651405,238

400,639

396,457

392,619

△ 4.4

△ 1.0

Storagefacilities

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

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 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 “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.

a Class A or Class B hazardous material engineer must bepresent to ensure safety.
As of March 31 2021, the (cumulative) total numberof people who have passed the hazardous material
engineer test since the hazardous material engineer
system was launched came to 9,884,123 people. They
play a significant role in ensuring safety at facilities forhazardous materials.

(a decrease of 15,438 people year-on-year) for an averagepass rate of roughly 45.5% (an increase of 0.4% year-onyear). (Fig. 1-2-13)
Viewing the situation by test type and category reveals
that 68.7% of people took the test for Class B (category4), followed by Class C at 8.0%. These two test types
accounted for 76.7% of the total number of test takers.
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.

A. Hazardous Material Engineer Tests
Hazardous material engineer tests were held 4,091 times
throughout Japan in FY2020 (an increase of 434 year-onyear). They were taken by 292,330 people (a decrease of
37,149 people year-on-year), with 133,037 people passing

14

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters(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
mayors and similar officials (safety inspections) at regular
fixed intervals according to factors like the facility’s size.
In FY2020, 206 safety inspections were performed, of
which 203 involved outdoor storage tanks and 3 involved
transfer handling facilities.

In FY2020, safety training courses were held a total of
1,811 times throughout Japan (an increase of 348 times
year-on-year), and were attended by 170,774 people (adecrease of 11,763 people year-on-year). (Table 1-2-2)(4) Safety Systems at Offices
As of March 31, 2021, the total number of businessestablishments that owned facilities for hazardous
materials came to 177,904 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
for facilities for hazardous materials (1,613 businessestablishments), and the preparation of fire and disasterprevention rules (41,719 business establishments).
Moreover, it has been mandated that said businessestablishments that own 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 (79 businessestablishments) and appoint hazardous material safety
supervising managers (212 business establishments).

(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 FY2020, onsite inspections were carried out a totalof 140,460 times at 151,919 facilities for hazardous
materials.
In cases where violations of the Fire Service Act are
discovered as a result of onsite inspections, 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
courses

2016

178,002

14,182

10,702

11,581

10,129153,091

11,452

11,991

208,946

24,660247,788

1,467

2017

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

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”.

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.
In FY2020 municipal mayors or similar officials issued
such orders in 147 cases. (Fig. 1-2-14)

inspections are conducted to ensure the safety of thepipeline under the Petroleum Pipeline Business Act.
The facilities to which the Petroleum Pipeline BusinessAct 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) 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.

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-omitted-

16

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

3

SectionCountermeasures to Disasters at
Petroleum Industrial Complexes☞ Japanese Original P.87

increase of 1 year-on-year), and 25 injuries (a decrease of
24 year-on-year). (Attachment 1-3-1, untranslated)

Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters
at Petroleum Industrial Complexes

2. Characteristics of Accidents(1) Number of General Accidents by Type ofAccident
Looking at the number of general accidents by type of
accident, it reveals that 98 fires (a decrease of 14 yearon-year), 3 explosions (a decrease of 4 year-on-year),
155 leaks (an increase of 1 year-on-year), and 11 otheraccidents (same as the previous year). (Attachment 1-32, 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 2020 came to 267, none of them were accidents
caused by earthquakes and tsunamis (hereinafter referred
to as “earthquake-induced accidents”), and 284 wereaccidents other than caused by earthquakes and tsunamis(hereinafter referred to as “general 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, and although the numberof accidents during 2020 decreased for two consecutive
years from the year before last, which recorded thehighest number of accidents ever, the number of accidents
recorded during the year was 267 (a decrease of 17 yearon-year), the third highest number ever. (Fig.1-3-1)
In 2020 there were 18 general accidents (a decrease of
7 year-on-year) that resulted in casualties, with 1 death (an(2) Number of General Accidents by Cause of
Accident
Looking at the number of general accidents by cause,
it reveals that 99 accidents were caused by human factors(a decrease of 9 year-on-year), 141 (a decrease of 14 yearon-year) by physical factors, and 27 (an increase of 6 yearon-year) by other factors. The main causes were 85 casesof deterioration due to corrosion and fatigue (a decrease of
8 year-on-year), 30 cases of inadequate operation checks(same as the previous year), and 28 cases of insufficientmaintenance and management (a decrease of 10 year-onyear). (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

prevention equipment, etc.

1. Current Status of Special Disaster
Prevention Areas
As of April 1, 2021, 80 areas in which large quantitiesof petroleum or high-pressure gas at or above certain
quantities have been designated as special disasterprevention areas in 99 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 88 fire departments.
Furthermore, 655 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, 328 are Class 1 business establishments (including
155 layout business establishments) and 327 are Class 2
business establishments.

2. Disaster Prevention Systems in
Prefectures and at Firefighting Agencies(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.

(3) Number of General Accidents by Type ofSpecified Business Establishment
Looking at the number of general accidents by cause,
it reveals that 214 accidents, or 80.1%, were occurredat Class 1 business establishments (199 of which layout
establishments*2).(Attachment 1-3-3, untranslated)(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 98 petroleum and coal product manufacturingindustry-related accidents (an increase of 3 year-on-year),
97 chemical industry-related accidents (an increase of 12
year-on-year), 35 steel industry-related accidents (sameas the previous year), and 8 electrical industry-related
accidents (a decrease of 11 year-on-year). (Attachment
1-3-4, untranslated)☞ Japanese Original P.88

(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
Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities, which
stipulates the layout of each facility section, disaster*2(3) Maintaining the Firefighting Capabilities
of Municipalities Containing Special Disaster
Prevention Areas
As of April 1, 2021, 70 large chemical firetrucks, 54
large elevated water trucks, 86 foam solution transport

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, 2021)

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

Sendai2-2Ishikari

17

South Keiyo coast

35

Port of Nagoya coast

53

Kudamatsu

71-2 Kushikino

36

Yokkaichi coast54

Shunan71-3 Kagoshima

3

Muroran

18

Tokyo International
Airport4

Hokuto19

Keihin coast

37

Osaka North Port55

Ube/Onoda

72

4-2

Shiriuchi

20

Negishi coast

38

Sakai Senboku coast

57

Mutsurejima72-2 Shibushi

4-3

Mutsuogawara

21

Port of Niigata (East)

39

Kansai International
Airport

58

Anan

73

Henza

5

Aomori

22

Port of Niigata (West)

40

Kobe

59

Bannosu

75

Onaha

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*80areasChapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

vehicles, 32 large elevated chemical water trucks,
2,968kL of 3% fire-extinguishing foam, 789kL of 6% fireextinguishing foam, 33 fireboats, and other such equipment
had been allocated to firefighting agencies in municipalities
containing special disaster prevention areas. Likewise, 24
foam solution storage facilities, 5 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.

for self-defense had been established at every specified
business establishment (655 business establishments). 72
joint disaster prevention associations, 11 wide-area joint
disaster prevention associations, and 58 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 5,291 disaster prevention
personnel, 85 large chemical fire trucks, 40 large elevatedwater trucks, 128 foam solution transport vehicles, 114
large elevated chemical water trucks, 24 high capacity
foam cannons, 22 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
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, 2021, disaster prevention organizations(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 ofpassageways 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.

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(2) Status of New Establishment Notifications, etc.
The total number of notifications for new establishmentsof or changes to layout business establishments in FY2020
came to 3, while the number of confirmations in the same
year was 9. (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.

6. Recent Disaster Countermeasures at
Petroleum Industrial Complexes

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)(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 FY2020, in order to contribute to solving issues in
the introduction of AI in the field of plant security, the“Guidelines for AI Reliability Assessment in the Field ofPlant Security” and the “Collection of Advanced AI Case
Studies in Plants” were compiled and disseminated toprefectures, fire departments, and offices.
It is expected that the further use of drones and AI
will lead to improved plant safety and the elimination ofoccupational accidents.
(Fire and Disaster Management for Petroleum Industrial*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.
(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 ofAbnormal 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“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.
(4) Holding Investigative Committee Meetings toStrengthen the Disaster Prevention Systems ofPetroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.
The FDMA holds investigative committee meetings
for the purpose of enhancing the disaster prevention
systems of petroleum industrial complexes. (see Special
Feature 4 “Promoting Digital Transformation in the Fieldof Fire and Disaster Prevention (3) Support for disasterprevention activities using advanced technologies such as
AI and IoT”)

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.117

standing fire defense structures. The 29 towns and villages
without regular fire prevention services are located across
7 prefectures, and many of them are without regularfire prevention services due to geographical factors. 21
towns and villages in Tokyo and three other prefectures(72.4% of all towns and villages without regular fire
prevention services) are located on 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 145(39 cities, 86 towns, and 20 villages), which corresponds
to 8.6% of the total number of municipalities that haveswitched to a standing fire defense 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, 2021, there were 724 fire departments
and 1,718 fire stations throughout Japan. (Attachment
2-1-1, untranslated)
There were 167,073 firefighters, of which 5,885 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) as well as volunteer fire corps (so-called nonstanding fire defense), and [2] Towns and villages with
only volunteer fire corps.
As of April 1, 2021, 1,690 municipalities had switchedover to a standing fire defense structure, whereas 29 towns
and villages had not done so. This brings the percentage
of municipalities that have switched over to a standing
fire defense structure (standing ratio) to 98.3% (100%for cities and 96.9% for towns/villages). This conversion
has taken place virtually nationwide, barring sometowns and villages in mountainous regions or on remoteislands, with 99.96% of the population now covered by(2)Volunteer Fire Corps
As of April 1, 2021, the number of volunteer fire corps
throughout Japan came to 2,198, while their volunteer
members numbered 804,877. 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 that

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

Villages724

1,690 municipalities

1,690

794

735

436

436 municipalities

436

385

50

1,109 municipalities

1,109

370

599

140

145 municipalities

145

39

86

20 Outsourced

29

―

7

1,719

794

742

288

(As of April 1, 2021)

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.”

comprise 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 theirown communities themselves. They do this as local
government employees in special part-time positions
vested with authority and responsibility.
For the organizational structure of Volunteer fire corps,
see Special Feature 3.

(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.

2. Fire and Disaster Defense Facilities, etc.

A. Calls to 119
The number of incidents reported to 119 throughout
2020 came to 7,932,672. A breakdown of the reported
details shows that the number of reported cases related to
medical emergencies and rescues accounted for 69.7% of
the total. (Fig. 2-1-3)
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 49.7% and IP phone comprising 24.2%of the overall number of reports. (Fig. 2-1-4)(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)
Fig. 2-1-3 Number of reports to 119 (by thereported details)

Fig. 2-1-4 Number of reports to 119 (by type of
connection)(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey of the Current Status of Fire
Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so insome cases the totals may not be consistent.

(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey of the Current Status of Fire
Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures”.

24Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

impairments to make an emergency call to 119 without
using voice by tapping buttons on the screen of theirsmartphones or entering text. As of January 1, 2021,
563 out of the 724 fire departments (approx. 78%) havealready installed the system.

(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, 2021, 714 fire departments are equipped toreceive location information from callers.

(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.
As of June 1, 2021, 647 of the 724 departments (approx.
89%) have already installed the system. (Fig. 2-1-6)(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. 2-1-5), which allows people with hearing or speech

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.

Fig. 2-1-5 Flow of Net119 Emergency Report System

25

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-1-6 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 2,499,150, of which 1,941,751 arefire hydrants and 538,280 are fire prevention tanks.
(Attachment 2-1-5, 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-

26

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

4 Education and Training Structure

Section☞ Japanese Original P.136(Sapporo, Chiba, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Kobe, andFukuoka), and in the Tokyo Fire Department for a totalof 55 such academies throughout Japan (in the Tokyo
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 Education and Training Standards for Fire
Academies have been established to serve as standards forthe education and training offered at fire academies. The
fire academies formulate specific curricula out of respect
for the “achievement goals” stipulated in the standards
and by using the “Standard subjects and class hours”
found therein as reference guidelines.
In addition, the increasing scale and complexity ofdisasters require advanced firefighting activities, andprevention work is becoming more sophisticated andspecialized in accordance with revisions to fire laws andregulations. In order to enhance and strengthen educationand training at fire academies, the FDMA 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 for volunteer
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.
In order to ensure safe and efficient training activities
by each fire agency, 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 andduring 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 FY2020, some courses werecancelled or postponed due to the declaration of a state of
emergency for COVID-19, resulting in 709 graduates in
17 courses and 432 graduates in 9 practical courses.
As of FY2020, a total of 65,371 students have graduatedfrom these courses since their establishment.
In FY2021, the number of students was reduced to1,556 in order to avoid the three conditions (closed spaces,
crowds, and close contact) that facilitate the spread of
infectious diseases as a countermeasure against COVID-19.
(Attachment 2-4-1, untranslated)(1) Establishment of Fire Academies
The provisions of the Fire Defense Organization Act
mandate that prefectures must establish fire academies
independently or jointly, except in cases where financial
circumstances or other special circumstances prevent
them from doing so. In addition, the provisions stipulatethat ordinance-designated cities can also establish fire
academies independently or jointly together with theprefectures.
As of April 1, 2021, fire academies had been establishedin all 47 prefectures, seven ordinance-designated cities

27

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
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.

When conducting training, thorough measures are taken
to prevent infection, such as checking the temperatureand physical condition of faculty members and students,
wearing masks to prevent droplets, disinfection, andventilation.
(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.).
(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 Fireand Disaster Management College dispatches lecturers
upon request in order to enhance the educational content
of fire academies. In FY2020, a total of 91 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.

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.

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

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

Drill on responding to mass casualties

28

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

5 Ambulance Service System

Section☞ Japanese Original P.139(2) People Transported by the Severity of Their
Injury or Illness
Of the 5,293,830 people transported by ambulances in
2020, approximately 45% were people with minor injuries
or illnesses that did not require hospitalization (outpatientcare) or other cases (cases where a doctor did not provide
a diagnosis, etc.). (Attachment 2-5-5, untranslated)

1. Implementation of Ambulance
Services(1) Ambulance Service Dispatch
Ambulance services were dispatched a total of
5,933,277 times in 2020 (a decrease of 706,490, or 10.6%,
from the previous year). This was the first year-on-year
decrease in 12 years since 2008. Looking at the daily
average, ambulance services were dispatched an averageof approximately 16,211 times per day (a decrease of
approximately 1,980 compared to the previous year),meaning that ambulance service teams were dispatched at
a rate of once every 5.3 seconds or so (4.7 seconds in theprevious year).
Furthermore, the number of people transported byambulance also decreased, totaling 5,293,830 people (adecrease of 684,178 people, or 11.4%, from the previousyear). This means that one out of every 24 members (21members in the previous year) of the public has beentransported by an ambulance service team.
Looking at this by the type of incident that led people
to be transported by an ambulance reveals that 3,451,872
people (65.2%) were transported due to sudden illness,
866,529 people (16.4%) suffered a general injury, 342,250
people (6.5%) 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 2,417 (a decreaseof 588 from the previous year), and 1,897 people weretransported by them (a decrease of 353 from the previousyear).

(3) People Transported by Ambulance by Age
Group and Type of Incident
Viewing a breakdown of the 5,293,830 people
transported by ambulance in 2020 by age group reveals
that 12,180 of them were newborn infants (0.2%), 177,317
were young children (3.3%), 150,469 were youths (2.8%),
1,655,061 were adults (31.3%), and 3,298,803 were
elderly people (62.3%). As the aging of society advances,
the share accounted for by elderly people will continue totrend upwards year by year (an increase of 2.3% from theprevious year). (Attachment 2-5-6, 7, untranslated)
Furthermore, elderly people accounted for the largest
percentage of the people transported by ambulance forsudden illnesses (2,224,073 people, or 64.4%), while
the largest percentage transported for traffic accidents
consisted of adults (205,656 people, or 60.1%) and thelargest percentage for general injuries consisted of elderly
people (615,302 people, or 71.0%). (Attachment 2-5-7,
untranslated)(4) Time Required to Arrive at the Scene
Looking at a breakdown of the 5,933,277 cases inwhich ambulances were dispatched in 2020 by the timerequired to arrive at the scene (time it took to arrive at
the scene after the 119 report was received) reveals that

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.

29

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.

in the majority of cases it took between 5 and 10 minutes(3,634,310 cases, or 61.3% of the total). (Fig. 2-5-1)
Additionally, the average time required to arrive at thescene came to approximately 8.9 minutes (approximately
8.7 minutes, the previous year), and 0.8 minutes longer
than it was ten years ago (2010). (Fig. 2-5-3)

which is a roughly 0.8% increase year on year.

2. Implementation Structure forAmbulance Services(1) Number of Municipalities Offering Ambulance
Services
The number of municipalities offering ambulanceservices as of April 1, 2021 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 2015 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, 436 municipalities
offered them independently, 145 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 5,293,830 people
transported by ambulance in 2020 by the time required
to check the patient into a hospital (time required tocheck the patient into a hospital after the 119 report wasreceived) reveals that the majority of people were checkedin between 30 and 60 minutes at 3,426,943 people(64.7%). (Fig. 2-5-2)
In addition, the average time required to check thepatient into a hospital came to approximately 40.6
minutes (approximately 39.5 minutes, the previous year),and 3.2 minutes longer than it was ten years ago (2010).
(Fig. 2-5-3)(6) First-aid Treatment Administered by
Ambulance Team Members
Of the 5,293,830 people transported by ambulances in
2020, ambulance team members administered first-aid
treatment to 5,218,532 patients (98.6%). This brings thetotal number of cases in which ambulance crew members
administered first-aid treatment to 20,519,832. (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 * symbolin Attachment 2-5-8) came to 14,712,934 (an 11.5%
decrease year-on-year (YoY)). Of these, the number ofcases in which EMTs administered first-aid treatment inorder to resuscitate a patient based on the EMT act cameto 243,618 (an increase of 1,943 from the previous year),(2) Number of Ambulance Teams, Ambulance
Team Members and Associate Ambulance Team
Members
As of April 1, 2021, 5,302 ambulance teams (anincrease of 32 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, 2021, the number of firefighters who
fulfilled this eligibility requirement came to 129,801(an increase of 2,108 YoY). Of these, 65,181 were
engaged in ambulance services as ambulance team30

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”.

members (including not only full-time ambulance teammembers, but also ambulance team members who havebeen appointed as such and who concurrently serve on
firefighting vehicles such as pump vehicles by riding
along with them). (Fig. 2-5-5)
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
II Course) totaled 85,924 people (an increase of 1,153
YoY) nationwide as of April 1, 2020. Of these, 34,107
are engaged in ambulance services as ambulance team31

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

members.
As of April 1, 2021, 17 associate ambulance teammember*1 are engaged in ambulance services nationwide.

Of these, the number of high-standard ambulances was
6,452 (an increase of 173 YoY), which corresponds to
98.1% of the total.

(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, 2021, 723 fire departments out of 724
fire departments in Japan are making use of EMTs, andthe usage rate is 99.9% (same as the previous year). The
number of ambulance teams with EMTs came to 5,275(an increase of 34 YoY), which corresponds to 99.5% of
the 5,302 ambulance teams throughout Japan (an increaseof 0.1% from the previous year), with this rising year by
year. Furthermore, there were 41,266 fire departments
personnel with EMT qualifications (an increase of 1,223
people YoY). Of these, 28,722 had been put to use as
EMTs (an increase of 607 people YoY), with this number
steadily increasing year by year. (Fig. 2-5-6, 7)(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“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, 2021, ambulance services along nationaland other expressway were provided by municipal
firefighting agencies over every section of the 9,197km 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, 2021 totaled 6,579 (anincrease of 136 YoY), including those for emergency use.

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

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

*1

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.

32

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”.

In addition, in light of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s announcementthat ambulances returning to their stations from dispatch
point are eligible for free expressway tolls when passing
through to avoid situations where ambulances are notpresent and to quickly stand by for the next dispatch, theFDMA concluded an agreement with the East Nippon
Expressway Company, Central Nippon Expressway
Company, and West Nippon Expressway Company on
March 1, 2021 that stipulates the handling of expressway
tolls when returning from an emergency dispatch andmade this information known to each fire department.

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.
(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, 2021 there were 4,186 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 297 emergency medical carecenters (as of May 1, 2021) 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,
and acute poisoning, of which 45 locations have been set
in place (as of May 1, 2021).
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 through3. 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, theprefectures 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.

*2

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

33

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

the 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.

Management College. In FY2020, 685 EMTs at the EMT
Training Center of the Foundation for Ambulance Service
Development and 363 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, 2021, 2,407 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
activities are being done through training and research
opportunities such as the National Ambulance-Crew
Symposium and the Japanese Society for Emergency
Medicine.

(3) Acceptance of People Using Ambulance
Transport at Medical Institutions
The FDMA performed surveys on the actual state ofacceptance for pregnant or perinatal patients, patients withsevere conditions or worse, young patients, and patientstransported to emergency medical care centers.
The results of the “Survey of Medical Institution
Acceptance of Ambulance Transports in 2020” werecompared with the results of the same survey from2019, regarding cases with four or more inquiries, thenumber of cases involving transporting the seriously
injured increased, while the number of those involving
transporting women with pregnancy related and perinatal
conditions, transporting injured children, and transporting
patients to emergency medical care centers decreased.
Regarding cases with the ambulance stayed at the scene
for 30 minutes or more, the number of cases transporting
injured children decreased, while the number of othercases increased.
The proportion of cases with four or more inquiries
and cases with the ambulance stayed at the scene for 30
minutes or more increased in all cases of transporting theseriously injured, transporting women with pregnancy
related and perinatal conditions, transporting injured
children and transporting patients to emergency medicalcare centers. (Attachment 2-5-12, 13, untranslated)

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

(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, 2021, 15,655 ambulance team members
qualified as EMTs were able to perform tracheal intubation(of which 6,850 were able to use a video laryngoscope forrigid intubation,) 28,047 were able to administer drugs(adrenaline), 26,413 were able to establish an IV line
and administer fluids to severely injured patients before
cardiopulmonary arrest, and 26,409 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 the34

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

characteristics 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 in each prefecture and eachregion. As of August 1, 2021, there are 47 prefectural
Medical Control Councils and 251 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.
Under these circumstances, the FY2020 Study Groupon the State of Ambulance Services announced that it
will examine the current issues facing the medical control
system and their solutions, and based on the results of thisexamination, will work closely with related organizations
to further enhance and strengthen the medical control
system, evaluate the system using objective performanceindicators, and continuously build and improve the systemthrough PDCA cycles.
Furthermore, recently, the roles required of the Medical
Control Council have diversified.
As the number of elderly people requesting ambulanceservices is increasing, there are cases in which ambulanceservices are requested by the families of patients to stop
performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) because
they are told that the patient does not want CPR. Basedon this background, at a subcommittee of the “2018Investigative Committee on the State of Ambulance
Services”, experts indicated a basic awareness that ‘theperson’s choices’ should be respected’ in cases where
the patient’s family communicates at the scene of an
emergency that the patient does not want CPR treatment.

At scenes of emergencies, which consist of all kinds ofscenarios and are urgent situations, and in many cases,
there is no physician present, usually, the ambulance teamhas time 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 16 years’ worth of data from2005 to 2020. 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.

35

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

6 Rescue System

Section☞ Japanese Original P.153

number 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 (whichrefers to the total number of people dispatched in order tocarry out rescue activities) came to 1,440,859 in total. Of
these, the largest number of firefighters were dispatchedin response to “Accidents due to buildings”, followed
by “Traffic accidents”. At the same time, volunteer
firefighters were mostly dispatched for fires.
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
564,488. In terms of the number of people engaged ineach individual rescue activity by type of incident, “fire”
was the most common type of accident, followed by “water
accident”. (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 2020, 59,977 rescue activities werecarried out (a decrease of 1,363, or 2.2%, YoY) and 57,952
people were rescued (this refers to the number of people
rescued through rescue activities; a decrease of 5,718, or
9.0%, YoY). (Attachment 2-6-1, 2, untranslated)
The main reason for the decrease in the number ofrescue activities was “traffic accidents,” while the maindecrease in the number of rescued persons was “storms,
floods, and other natural disaster accidents.” (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 the(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 theseFig.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”.

36Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-6-1 Possession status of rescue equipment for rescue activities and board vehicles for carrying
rescue crews(As of April 1, 2021)
rescue crews
Major rescue equipment

special rescue
crews

advanced rescue
crews special
advanced rescue
crews.

Boarding vehicles

Three Part
ladders

Lifeline
throwing guns

8,093

1,723

Mat air jacks

Largehydraulicspreaders

2,730

2,268

Image searchequipment

Undergroundnoise
detectors

645

342

Rescue work
vehicles1,239

Ladderequipped
vehicles382

Hydraulicspreader
2,131
Large
hydrauliccutters
2,252

Hydrauliccutters

Portablewinches

2,064

Engine cutters

Chainsaws

Gas cutters

Inflammablegas measuring
instruments

Breathingapparatus

Simpleimage searchmachines

6,814

7,315

1,276

6,236

50,806929

Rope climbing
machines

Hammers/
drillsVentilators

Oxygen masks

1,731

2,437

3,223

4,428

Rock drills

Air saws

1,755

1,901

3,489

Night visionequipment

Earthquake
alarmsElectromagnetic
wave detectors

2,111

366

244

106

Folding ladderequipped
vehiclesFire pumpvehiclesFire cisternequipped
vehicles

118

228

410

Thermalimagingdevices

Chemicalvehicles109

Carbondioxidedetectors

Underwaterprobes64
Specialdisastervehicles
30

94
Other
518

Total
3,034

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

needed for rescue activities. They are categorized into
four classifications: rescue crews, special rescue crews,
advanced rescue crews, and special advanced rescue
crews.*1
As of April 2021, 1,422 crews had been establishedat 707 fire departments, and the number of rescue crew
members came to 24,370 people (a decrease of 300 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 49th meet, which was scheduled to be held in 2021,
was cancelled due to the impact of the Covid-19. The
50th meet is scheduled to be held in Tachikawa, Tokyo, in
August 2022.

(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. (Table 2-6-1)-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.

37

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.161

effective manner.
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(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 (hereinafter referred to38

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

as the “Basic Plan”), and the financial measures of thenational government.

government, but provided for use free of charge to theprefectures 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 a legal sense as
constituting “expenses to be subsidized by the national
government.” In addition, the eligible facilities and thesubsidy rate (one-half) have been established throughgovernment 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 referred to as“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. (Fig. 2-8-1)(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

39

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities(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.

Fig 2-8-1 Organization of coordination
headquarter for firefighting support activities
Coordination headquarters perform overall coordination
for the movement of teams within the prefecture.
They also gather information on the afflicted region,
liaise and coordinate over the activities of the relevantorganizations, and assist prefectural governors inreaching appropriate decisions.

(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.
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, andFig 2-8-2 Organization of teams comprising National Fire-Service Teams

40

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

Objective

MissionComprising unit

Integrated Mobile Unit

Established at the time of the 3rd Basic
Plan (April 2014) 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.

Consists of Comprehensive Mobile Command Unit, some
3 Firefighting Units, some 3 Rescue Units, some 3 Firstaid Units, Logistical Support Unit, and Communication
Support Unit

National Fire-Service
Team for Energy/
Industrial DisasterCommand Unit of National Fire-Service Team for Energy/
Industrial
To conduct advanced and specialized
Disaster, Special Disaster Company（equipped with large
Established at the time of the 3rd Basic
firefighting activities quickly andelevated water truck, hose extension vehicle with a large
Plan (April 2014) to strengthen emergency
accurately in response to special
water cannon, chemical fire truck, large elevated water
response capabilities for petroleum
disasters in areas where energy andtruck, and foam solution transport vehicle), Firefighting
complex disasters, etc., based on lessons
industrial infrastructure such as petroleum
Company (equipped with chemical fire truck)learned from the Great East Japan
complexes and chemical plants are
In addition to the above Special Equipment Unit,
Earthquake.
located.
Logistical Support Unit, Communications Support Unit,
and Water Unit are added depending on local conditions.

Established at the time of the 4th Basic
Plan (April 2019) to establish a system
to promptly dispatch the NBC Disaster
Battalion in the event of an NBC terrorist
NBC Disaster Battalion
disaster, in light of the occurrence ofterrorist attacks in other countries andthe 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 (April 2019) as a mobile unit to
be deployed to disaster areas in order
Mobile Support
Battalion for Landslide, to strengthen the rescue system in theevent of wind and flood damage, which
Storm and flood
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.

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.”

others. 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.
(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. (Fig.
2-8-2)(B) Rapid Dispatch Standards for when Large-scale
Earthquakes Occur
When large-scale earthquakes occur, communications
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(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.
(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)

41Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig 2-8-3 Basic dispatch and action plans for National Fire-Service Teams

earthquake.

NBC disaster response units will be dispatched promptly.

(C) 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
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)(E) 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 organizationof 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(D) 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 and42

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
almost 5 times more than its launch. (Attachment 2-8-2,
untranslated, Fig. 2-8-4)

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.

B. Equipment
Since they were first launched, the FDMA has
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 for(3) Number of National Fire-Service Teams
Registered and Their Equipment
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, 2021, 6,546 teams havebeen registered from 723 fire departments nationwide(roughly 99% of the fire departments nationwide). This isFig 2-8-4 Trends in registration number of National Fire-Service Teams(Note)

Numbers with * exclude double registered units.

43

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

their team activities and logistical activities is allocatedto fire departments and other sites throughout Japan.
Such equipment includes systems for water sources for
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 vehicle, information
gathering drone video transmission equipment have also
been deployed. (Attachment 2-8-3, 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-

44

Attachment☞ Japanese Original P.9 (Attachment)
Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture
Classification(During 2020)

No. of fires

300

89

374

530

157

28

116

20

104

68

26

123

135

29

143

144

73

377

651

85

520

2,358

39

158

231

15

48

80

83

13

55

161

28

144

185

78

370

664

17

73

144

90

454

1,041

15

58

96

7

34

42

160

149

1,008

47

287

5

0

lwate

376

202

38

36

0

0

Akita

306

1

0

Fukushima

494

0

0

150

0

0

179

0

0

0

0

0

0

87

0

40

0

111

0

210

0

635

0

121

0

359

1,738

153

0

198

225

56

0

76

0

242

0

204

0

125

0

100

0

105

0

224

0

153

0

156

Miyagi

642

Yamagata

308

Ibaraki

1,051

Gunma

640

369
173
155
245
562
328

Tochigi

600

Saitama

1,586

Tokyo

3,721

2,677

Niigata

513

360

Ishikawa

215

Yamanashi

304

Gifu

611

Aichi

1,870

Shiga

378

Osaka

1,903

1,344

Nara

418

170

Tottori

177

Okayama

689

Yamaguchi

512

Kagawa

319

Chiba

1,654

Kanagawa

1,804

Toyama

172

Fukui

172

Nagano775

Shizuoka

880

Mie

615

Kyoto

487

Hyogo

1,496

339
927
860

1,094
128
136
102
145
349
318
454
976
288
202
316
766
137

Wakayama

294

Shimane269

119

Hiroshima

736

394

Tokushima

286

Ehime

372

Fukuoka

1,230

Nagasaki

394

Oita

453

Kagoshima

667

Kochi

257

Saga

291

Kumamoto

604

Miyazaki

442

Okinawa

460

76

324
225
137
137
215
119
706
138
187
276
216
220
296
187

31
28
24
26
36
21
32
9
8

77
5
9

12
2

12
1

17
32
25
18
27
21
7

15

45
69
27
31
63

133
61
92

156
140
217
181
54
22
26
32
31
69
58

124
231
64
48
45

8

191

4

46

65
9
8

40
56
57
31
13
24
15
21
45
17
42
58
32
29
36
49

166
17
16
13
67
69
49
27
30
26
17
99
31
25
43
34
40
58
60

0

3

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

3

0

3

0

517

1

0

19

0

36

1
1
0
0
0
4
1
2
0
1
1
5
0
0
1
1
0
4
3
1
3
2
0
8
0
4
3
2
0
3
8

34,691

19,365

1,239

3,466

78

Sendai City

251

168

2

23

0

Chiba City

204

Prefectural total

259

Sapporo city

376

Saitama City

264

Special wards

2,737

2,062

Kawasaki City

326

224

Niigata City

140

109

Hamamatsu City

166

74

Kyoto City

204

Sakai City

173

Okayama City

165

Kitakyushu City

248

151
125
380

Yokohama City

624

Sagamihara City

152

Shizuoka City

146

Nagoya City

516

318

Osaka City

704

543

Kobe City

385

Hiroshima City

214

135

Fukuoka City

261

188

21 city total

8,403

Kumamoto City

147

88
81

154
124
226
92

147
91

5,739

3
0
6

60
28
13

0

129

0

24

0
5
0
1
7
2
3
0
0

15
8
5

10
1
8

76

61
12
12
21
26
65
17
45
18
42
17
14
16
18
11

672

419

2

0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
3
1

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

45

81
96

334
200
495
574
822

0

280

0

240

0

110

0

494

0

131

0

96

1,293
472
366
557
312
234

168
149
120
82

443

159

516

200

904
551

1,394
1,234
3,038
1,318
565
185
188
152
226

307
180
293
277
75

126
137
52
45
37

547

192

660

156

518
1,363
417
295
435

1,024
210
115
181

251
113
61
67

174
66
32
71

0

372

0

136

0

169

0

274

0

10,54327,476

6,270

0

58

218

20

0

60

621
212
204

345
519
208

247

0

19

0

59

0

60

0

51

0

1,902

0

48

0

73
36

51

286

55

332

805

11

54

68

9

46

60

35

166

154

42

177

285

18

120

166

30

108

43

264

543

12

35

97

7

25

68

303
208
152
460
110
168
117
101
385
198
652
164
252
144
172
211
212
113

6,894

77
66

131
114
217
28
14
27
21

620

75

230

78

34

170

244

18

40

74

93

128

45

280

450

84

116

103

118

140

141

1,414

7,118

12,674

7

39

152

15

19

344

78

101

193

104

413

0

0

149

16

2,307

31

29

89

546

30

321

305

214

0

115

80

62

225

190

85

0

173

65

51

965

220

0

131

80

118

54

0

10

354

0

40

259

25

114

0

119

134

0

47

30

356

108

0

128

30

0

180

147

181

212

0

29

520

0

0

14

173

325

0

1

100

0

0

1

141

Total

Minor fire

1,766

263

Other

Partially
destroyed

Vehicles482

AircraftHalf
destroyed

Forests

Aomori

Ships

Totally
destroyed

Buildings

Prefecture
Hokkaido

Total

No. of buildings burned

15
12
8

97
68
60
65

100
53
71
75

16

112

154

18

107

106

21
8

12
8
2

55

117

92

185

63

110

34

95

33

60

400

1,814

12

5

55

175

39

85

32
15

15
3

34

10

21

5

18

4

131

282

26

66

24

71

34

41

32

24

104

225

30

31

178

413

9

57

157

38

108

61

140

1,617

4,542

14
8

29
36
18
42
5

16

477

19
9
9
8
9
6
3

258

56

109

41

106

48
68
29

51
92
65

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

Area burned
Building
Building
floor area (㎡) surface area(㎡)

Hyogo
Nara

Wakayama
Tottori

Shimane

580

1,719

22,760

3,499

1,485

18

76

199

72

16

111

452

64,19817,593

12,62922,18833,40230,791

22,77038,90250,91016,264

19,567

24,784

10,033

7,476

9,181

8,176

1,532

25,88853,644

18,783

10,344

12,864

31,39028,461

5,522

9,793

5,545

7,950

304

1,792

4,056

1,212

5,902

642

1,429

3,300

2,617

798

1,301

62

4,461

207

7,396

726

4,908

3,464

682

24

2,366

321

635

119

720

764

1,752

176

736

520

4,938

3,834

1,067

34

5

859

219

246

111

83

1,611

1,203

2,620

5,706

298

179

133

1,083

1,581

702

8,295

883

554

Yamaguchi

17,12826,049

2,027

2,423

1,358

189

70

159

27

96

26

112

20

40

24

60

24

96

35

126

28

110

60

253

31

91

61

279

87

52

14

39

13

62

18

114

53

252

65

11

10

Sapporo city
Sendai City

Saitama City
Chiba City

5

139

Kyoto City

Osaka City
Sakai City
Kobe City

Okayama City

Hiroshima City

Kitakyushu City
Fukuoka City

Kumamoto City
21 city total

78

19

215

177

79

6

115

419

7

71

238

31

38

43

7

2

70

10

65

13

29

17

93

270

107

131

14

7

284
71

70

84

163

137

156

85

657

881

232

380

207

289

524

506

444

527

245

17,931

3,944

1,073

12,91437,754

3,094

307

0

9

39

143

19

3

121

308

2,871

8,786

2,115

1,922

876

4,852

1,115

28

89

1,472

3,114

0

8

78

210

31

6

173

394

0

84

15

226

6

2,127

721

20

939

738

4,190

987

0

15

2

5

61

11

0

11

4

6,103

1,946

2,350

92,118

35

11

233

49

5

21,228

2,397

4

45

8

1,328

0

10

64

5

477

723

52

55

524

2,811

255

20

71

625

12

21

46

192

89

40

154

1,583

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

134

143

16

257

180

44

36

12

0

12

149

76

4

26

25

32

9

57

107

317

304

6,135

62

99

4,569

0

438

5

30

25

7

4,320

412

35

5

9,358

1,254

95

21

172

108

5,348

18

2

120

434

103

94

8

203

1,664

30

29

15

549

7

157

18

58

1,317

43

236

0

30

354

6,139

70

18

5,044

2,411

14

0

190

414

Nagoya City

64

237

19

5,583

4,334

Hamamatsu City

47

243

221

95

1,326

Kawasaki City

Shizuoka City

172

458

129

71

249

145

115

3

45

44,885

5,643

Niigata City4

74

108,593

10,514

Sagamihara City

288

8

1,481

6

79

5

100

538

1,015,053

Special wards

Yokohama City

423

7

54

47

17

2,842

205

53

309

1,108

1,247

33

15

614

97

458

18

1,205

388

248

494

39

183

1,634

119

155

142

70

109

28

1,932

639

307

18

33,800

20

816

670

109

405

17

35

713

10

124

46

17

40

769

64

33

11

147

198

10

200

11

9

20

180

43

291

77

11

50

241

122

207

Prefectural total

69

9

274

420

1,684

1,679

117

7

719

143

786

3,120

725

65

198

2,211

102

13,837

Okinawa

318

20

1,801

27

168

1,631

31

60

27

Nagasaki

24,389

159

222

134

157

Kagoshima

154

55

396

30

889

242

22

7

80

1,447

35

8

298

398

39

Miyazaki

59

75

265

68

1,696

7

46

22

60

22

1,105

25

5

63

263

2,301

15,364

12

70

25

2,823

Oita

9

91

1,102

2,563

195

379

781

1,240

31

857

132

86

110

24,842

4,282

51

588

42

26

25,857

Kumamoto

1,956

40

211

28

29

127

34

19

576

2,095

15

761

505

35

995

728

107

Fukuoka

10,264

176

49

182

333

1,192

Saga

210

18

266

119

16,331

6,275

677

37

55

Ehime
Kochi

91

352

167

72

70

422

15

298

109

84

738

101

70

114

8

92

1,051

270

1,084

10

223

538

433

143

838

26

150

14

446

283

15

83

108

950

7,220

530

43

161

32

13

135

65

2,244

45

11

167

75

712

32

23

324

71

183

341

31

236

960

9,164

KagawaNo. of people
affected

91

27,380Tokushima

Minor
destruction

159

Okayama

Hiroshima

Halfdestroyed

830

2,240

Osaka

Totally
destroyed

246

24,778

Kyoto

Total

83

Shizuoka

Shiga

Injured

9,842

2,508

2,089

Mie

Fatalities

6,462

24,59027,533

Aichi

Forests (a)(During 2020)
No. of households affected55,324

Nagano
Gifu

No. of casualties

68

355

58

70

51

38

323

197

858

133

255

146

116

38

31

248

93

41

491

1,061

148

360

16

15

30

28

18

43

15

18

649

18

15

14

8

146

104

53

7

118

6

133

8

6

324

121

84

4,375

586

313

296

206

294

302

247

206

10,149

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
2,919,231
1,197,590
1,078,192
6,956,768
940,094
520,601
2,432,148
2,280,439
2,389,055
1,641,918
3,649,493
5,124,695
5,600,805
1,790,745
1,480,273
545,449
503,248598,507
470,668
1,701,265
2,546,257
3,069,315
5,652,100
1,467,752
986,082
984,9832,854,794
2,637,602
708,049
749,253
341,930
339,454
1,311,064
1,304,843
800,441
577,849
639,031
1,081,555
271,820
2,196,789
552,275
811,819
1,267,140
643,574
24,696,609
944,412481,414103,739,390
257,333
214,122585,507282,114
4,518,291
480,093229,646
88,228306,502
241,162
216,369
487,485
313,529
931,724
151,608
415,598
263,148
216,427
708,234
192,073
118,306
11,217,499

Subtotal
2,613,825
1,126,291
1,024,839
6,858,707
746,181
501,025
1,146,606
2,169,492
2,260,464
1,487,462
3,418,313
4,898,775
5,486,142
1,671,274
1,438,786
520,377
486,437
552,476
423,419
1,535,954
2,490,546
2,825,568
5,081,415
1,392,164
947,008
948,275
2,716,234
2,482,284
633,630
725,357
334,319
319,814
1,209,168
1,240,596
696,800
548,874
557,591995,642
255,611
1,686,814
531,529
748,314
1,186,253
585,610
24,646,934
837,146
387,936
97,378,277
246,688
200,949
533,002272,981
4,451,280
438,172
215,632
80,578299,475
198,302
181,147
459,274
284,472
882,276
139,082
389,605
249,542
206,167
299,632
153,370
108,444
10,290,070

Building

Buildings
1,939,769
608,056
800,737
5,100,277
568,768
366,327929,253
1,647,207
1,276,055
1,205,445
2,302,451
2,836,328
4,105,188
1,372,664
1,203,016
399,137
311,504
413,630
320,925
1,175,065
1,539,341
1,535,333
2,222,585
1,041,901
586,354
684,453
1,772,730
1,684,422
466,318
548,909
217,864
273,063
912,834
793,042
577,221472,483
390,360
542,447
173,680
1,073,536
438,073
550,738
773,656
485,131
8,841,688
551,482
320,088
58,351,534
139,930
157,437
275,095
185,992
3,490,948
371,360
178,899
60,356
248,056
167,750
146,958
361,618
174,634
524,484
116,551
282,493
178,257
105,006
210,337
87,371
93,354
7,556,886(During 2020) (Unit: 1,000 yen)Amount of damages
Contents
674,056
518,235
224,102
1,758,430
177,413
134,698
217,353522,285
984,409
282,017
1,115,862
2,062,447
1,380,954
298,610
235,770
121,240
174,933
138,846
102,494360,889
951,205
1,290,235
2,858,830
350,263
360,654
263,822943,504
797,862
167,312
176,448
116,455
46,751
296,334
447,554
119,579
76,391
167,231453,195
81,931
613,278
93,456
197,576
412,597
100,479
15,805,246
285,664
67,84839,026,743
106,758
43,512257,907
86,989960,332
66,812
36,733
20,222
51,41930,552
34,18997,656
109,838
357,792
22,531
107,11271,285
101,161
89,29565,99915,0902,733,184

Forests
20,32818,592
7,134
1,069
30,599114
366
348
25,465
39
6,426
2,495
199
10
13
29
476
3
529
1,798
0
1,428
453
175
123
9,815
4
35,907
910
891
1,201
4,921
561
394
1,304
39
0
1,705
5,086
2,774
46
223
4,804
1,721
10,626330
0201,473
0
1
0
500
0
0
0
10
0
31
16
0
9,540
0
0
25
0
0
0
0
0
10,123(Note) The “21 city total” is found within the prefectural total.

-omitted-

47

VehiclesShips

241,892
34,622
20,73640,093
15,10914,842
48,231
49,61950,04846,214
95,22895,63092,197
77,49638,197
9,042
11,942
37,07515,85545,98443,802
118,238
149,632
37,19023,44022,931
110,968
67,50034,282
4,537
5,606
10,29663,09743,85239,366
22,81012,411
13,796
6,873
47,615
14,44014,721
16,711
20,19012,62424,01873,4302,134,428
9,091
12,082
27,6595,088
53,481
17,907
8,961
6,166
5,928
28,23932,02916,291
19,22245,782
10,38921,456
11,679
4,592
7,167
2,967
2,976
349,152

18,7763,305
0
11,12011,530
0
0
600
0
0
180
6,413
0
19,754
0
48
0
0
330
0
0
87,807
11,205
3,568
0
139
771
22,451
0
0
117
1,000
0
3,776
385
517
43,628473
041,233034,24019,116970
060,7608,495
412,70700000
19,754
0
0
0
2,807
0
0
0
51
720
1
0
0
61
34,028
6,679
64,101

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

24,262
14,401
25,48344,926
136,604
4,620
10,83547,95153,078103,003
128,254
116,809
15,16822,066
3,172
15,617
4,381
8,953
30,466111,999
10,15536,120389,458
34,655
13,506
3,743
25,367
27,588
7,326
18,468687
2,102
37,947
11,75944,756
5,607
25,401
69,9394,250
418,086
6,260
13,68931,55231,51024,004
21,890
10,541
2,248,414
1,426
1,090
24,3393,545
12,599
4,257
5,053
1,474
1,099
11,783
3,177
11,920
215
3,615
1,417
4,330
1,927
2,428
401,374
1,441
207
498,716

Explosions
148
379
0
853
71
0
1,226,110
12,429
0
5,200
1,092
4,573
7,099
145
105
336
12
0
69
5,530
1,754
154
19,937
0
2,005
80
1,450
1,872
31,901
0
0
1,321
291
4,466
17,830
2
0
0
0
267
0
632
8,704
3,573
2,421
268
1,012
1,364,091
128
0
507
0
931
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
80
0
0
181
0
3,240
0
267
0
5,337