Extract of the 2020
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 2020 White Paper on Fire Service
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Section1 Fire Prevention /Japanese original P.57............................................................................................ 1[ Current Status and Recent Trends with Fires ] ........................................................................................................ 1[ Current Status of Fire Prevention Administration ] /Japanese original P.71.......................................................... 3
1. Current Status of Residential Fire Prevention Measures.................................................................................... 3
2. Fire Prevention Properties................................................................................................................................... 3
3. Fire Prevention Management System.................................................................................................................. 4(1) Fire Prevention Managers................................................................................................................................ 4(2) Supervisors of Fire Prevention Management................................................................................................. 5(3) Periodic Inspection and Reporting System for Fire Prevention Properties.................................................. 5
4. Disaster Prevention Management System........................................................................................................... 5(1) Disaster Prevention Managers........................................................................................................................ 5(2) Supervisors of Disaster Prevention Management.......................................................................................... 6
5. Onsite Inspections and Corrections of Violations............................................................................................... 6(1) Current Status of Onsite Inspections and Corrections of Violations............................................................. 6(2) Fire Safety Certification Mark.......................................................................................................................... 6(3) Initiation of a System for Publicly Announcing Violating Properties............................................................. 7
6. Fire Protection Equipment, etc............................................................................................................................. 7(1) Current Status of Fire Prevention Consent..................................................................................................... 7(2) Current Status of the Installation of Fire Protection Equipment, etc............................................................. 8(3) Fire Protection Equipment Engineers and Fire Protection Equipment Inspectors....................................... 9(4) Flame Retardancy Regulations....................................................................................................................... 9(5) Regulations for Equipment and Tools that Use Fire....................................................................................... 9
7. Inspection System for Fire Protection Machinery and Tools, etc..................................................................... 10(1) Inspections..................................................................................................................................................... 10(2) Self-labeling................................................................................................................................................... 11
8. Performance Inspections of Technical Standards for Fire Protection Equipment, etc.................................... 11
9. Current Status of Investigations into the Causes of Fires................................................................................. 11
10. Promoting Countermeasures to Product Fires.................................................................................................. 12

Section2	Countermeasures to Disasters at Facilities for Hazardous Materials/Japanese original P.85.................................................................................................................... 14[ Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters at Facilities for Hazardous Materials ]............................................ 14
1. Fire Accidents..................................................................................................................................................... 14(1) Number of Fire Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials and their Damage................................... 14(2) Causative Factors behind the Fire Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials.................................. 15(3) Fire Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities..................................................................................................... 15(4) Fire Accidents during the Transportation of Hazardous Materials.............................................................. 15(5) Fire Accidents during the Temporary Storage or Handling.......................................................................... 16
2. Spillage Accidents.............................................................................................................................................. 16(1) Number of Spillage Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials and their Damage............................ 16(2) Causative Factors behind the Spillage Accidents at Facilities for Hazardous Materials........................... 17(3) Spillage Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities.............................................................................................. 18(4) Spillage Accidents during the Transportation of Hazardous Materials....................................................... 18(5) Spillage Accidents during the Temporary Storage or Handling................................................................... 18[ Current Status of Hazardous Materials Administration ] /Japanese original P.89.............................................. 18
1. Regulations on Hazardous Materials................................................................................................................. 18(1) Regulatory Structure for Hazardous Materials............................................................................................. 18(2) Current Status of Facilities for Hazardous Materials.................................................................................... 18(3) Hazardous Material Engineers...................................................................................................................... 19(4) Safety Systems at Offices.............................................................................................................................. 20(5) Safety Inspections......................................................................................................................................... 21(6) Onsite Inspections and Orders...................................................................................................................... 21i

2. Securing Petroleum Pipelines............................................................................................................................ 21(1) Safety Regulations for the Petroleum Pipeline Business............................................................................. 21(2) Ensuring the Safety of Petroleum Pipelines................................................................................................. 21

Section3	Countermeasures to Disasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes/Japanese original P.95.................................................................................................................... 22[ Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters at Petroleum Industrial Complexes ].............................................. 22
1. Number of Accidents and Damage.................................................................................................................... 22
2. Characteristics of Accidents.............................................................................................................................. 23(1) Number of General Accidents by Type of Accident..................................................................................... 23(2) Number of General Accidents by Cause of Accident................................................................................... 23(3) Number of General Accidents by Type of Specified Business Establishment............................................ 23(4) Number of General Accidents at Specified Business Establishment by Type of Business Category....... 24[ Current Status of Damage Countermeasures at Petroleum Industrial Complexes ]/Japanese original P.98 ..................................................................................................................................... 24
1. Current Status of Special Disaster Prevention Areas........................................................................................ 24
2. Disaster Prevention Systems in Prefectures and at Firefighting Agencies...................................................... 26(1) Establishing Disaster Prevention Schemes.................................................................................................. 26(2) Emergency Responses when Disasters Occur............................................................................................ 26(3) Maintaining the Firefighting Capabilities of Municipalities Containing Special Disaster Prevention Areas............... 26
3. Disaster Prevention Systems at Specified Business Establishments.............................................................. 26(1) Establishing Disaster Prevention Organizations for Self-defense............................................................... 26(2) Installation of High Capacity Foam Systems................................................................................................ 26(3) Enhancing Disaster Prevention Systems for Self-defense.......................................................................... 27
4. Layout Regulations for Business Establishments............................................................................................. 27(1) Layout Regulations........................................................................................................................................ 27(2) Status of New Establishment Notifications, etc. ......................................................................................... 27
5. Other Disaster Countermeasures....................................................................................................................... 27(1) Establishing Disaster Response Systems.................................................................................................... 27(2) Establishing Green Buffer Zones for Disaster Prevention............................................................................ 27
6. Recent Disaster Countermeasures at Petroleum Industrial Complexes.......................................................... 28(1) L iaison Conferences of the FDMA and Related Ministries to Examine Disaster Prevention Measures
at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. ...................................................................................................... 28(2) Earthquake and Tsunami Measures for Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc........................................... 28(3) Skill Contest for Self-defense Disaster Prevention Organizations at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. ....... 28(4) H
 olding Investigative Committee Meetings to Strengthen the Disaster Prevention Systems ofPetroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. .......................................................................................................... 29

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Section1 Fire Service Structure /Japanese original P.151......................................................................... 30
1. Fire Defense Organizations................................................................................................................................ 30(1) Standing Firefighting Agencies..................................................................................................................... 30(2) Volunteer Fire Corps...................................................................................................................................... 30
2. Fire and Disaster Defense Facilities, etc............................................................................................................ 31(1) Maintenance of Fire Trucks and Other Vehicles........................................................................................... 31(2) Fire Defense Communication Equipment..................................................................................................... 31(3) Water Sources for Firefighting....................................................................................................................... 34

Section 4 Education and Training Structure /Japanese original P.185...................................................... 36
1. Education and Training for Firefighters.............................................................................................................. 36
2. On-the-job Training............................................................................................................................................. 36
3. Education and Training at Fire Academies........................................................................................................ 36(1) Establishment of Fire Academies.................................................................................................................. 36(2) Types of Education and Training................................................................................................................... 36(3) Enhancing and Strengthening the Education and Training at Fire Academies........................................... 36(4) Enrollment in Education and Training........................................................................................................... 37
4. Education and Training and Technical Assistance at the Fire and Disaster Management College................ 37(1) Facilities and Equipment............................................................................................................................... 37

ii

(2) Enrollment in Education and Training........................................................................................................... 38(3) Technical Assistance for Fire Academies..................................................................................................... 40(4) Special Lectures............................................................................................................................................. 40

Section 5 Ambulance Service System /Japanese original P.191................................................................ 41
1. Implementation of Ambulance Services............................................................................................................ 41(1) Ambulance Service Dispatch........................................................................................................................ 41(2) People Transported by the Severity of Their Injury or Illness...................................................................... 41(3) People Transported by Ambulance by Age Group and Type of Incident.................................................... 41(4) Time Required to Arrive at the Scene........................................................................................................... 43(5) Time Required to Check the Patient into a Hospital.................................................................................... 43(6) First-aid Treatment Administered by Ambulance Team Members............................................................... 43
2. Implementation Structure for Ambulance Services........................................................................................... 46(1) Number of Municipalities Offering Ambulance Services.............................................................................. 46(2) Number of Ambulance Teams, Ambulance Team Members and Associate Ambulance Team Members.......... 46(3) Trends in the Number of EMTs and Ambulance Teams with EMTs.............................................................. 48(4) Number of Ambulances................................................................................................................................. 48(5) Ambulance Services along National and Other Expressways..................................................................... 48
3. Promoting Coordination between Firefighting and Medical Care.................................................................... 49(1) Acceptance of People Using Ambulance Transport at Medical Institutions............................................... 49(2) Standards on Patient Transport and Their Acceptance............................................................................... 49(3) Ambulance Medical Care Structure.............................................................................................................. 50
4. Promotion of More Sophisticated Ambulance Services................................................................................... 50(1) Promotion of Education for Ambulance Service Personnel......................................................................... 50(2) Increase in the Treatment Scope of EMTs.................................................................................................... 51(3) Enhancement of Medical Control System.................................................................................................... 52(4) Use of Emergency Resuscitation Statistics (Utstein data)........................................................................... 53

Section 6 Rescue System /Japanese original P.216.................................................................................... 54
1. Implementation Status for Rescue Activities..................................................................................................... 54(1) Number of Rescue Activities and Number of People Rescued................................................................... 54(2) Implementation Status of Rescue Activities by Type of Incident................................................................ 54
2. Implementation Structure for Rescue Activities................................................................................................ 55(1) Number of Rescue Crews and Number of Rescue Crew Members............................................................ 55(2) Possession of Rescue Equipment for Rescue Activities............................................................................. 55
3. Holding National Firefighting and Rescue Skills Meets.................................................................................... 55

Section 8	Integrated Fire Service Support and National Fire-Service Team for Disaster Response/Japanese Original P.229............................................................................................................... 57

1. Integrated Support System for Fire Service...................................................................................................... 57(1) Mutual Support Agreement for Fire Services............................................................................................... 57(2) Establishment of Integrated Support System for Fire Service.................................................................... 57
2. National Fire-Service Teams for Disaster Response........................................................................................ 58
	(1) Creation of National Fire-Service Teams for Disaster Response and Their Enshrinement in
Law via Revisions to the Fire Defense Organization Act............................................................................. 58(2) Organization of and Dispatch Plans for National Fire-Service Teams ........................................................ 61(3) Number of National Fire-Service Teams Registered and Their Equipment................................................. 63

Attachment

Attachment 1-1-2
Attachment 1-2-1
Attachment 2-1-2
			Extent of fire damage by prefecture /Japanese original P.320............................................... 66
Trends in the number of facilities for hazardous material /Japanese original P.356............ 69
Trends in the number of firefighting agencies and volunteer firefighter/Japanese original P.369............................................................................................................. 70

iii

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

1 Fire Prevention

Section☞ Japanese Original P.57

number from ten years prior (i.e., the number of fires in2009). Furthermore, the number of fatalities from fires
has also largely been trending downward since 2009.
The number of fatalities from fires in 2019 was 1,486, adecrease of 59 (4.1%) compared to the previous year, or
79.2% of that from ten years ago (based on the number offatalities from fires in 2009). (Fig. 1-1-1, Table 1-1-1)

Current Status and Recent Trends with Fires
Looking at the number of fires since 2009, there
has been a downward trend. The number of fires that
occurred in 2019 totaled 37,683, a decrease of 298 (0.8%)
compared to the previous year, or 73.7% compared to theFig. 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 2009 to be 100.

1

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table1-1-1 Status of fires
Classification(During each year)
Unit

No. of fires

2018
(A)

2009

Change(B) - (A)
(C)

2019
(B)

Rate of change(C) / (A) X 100(%)

51,13937,981

37,683△ 298

Building fires

28,372

20,76421,003239

1.2

Forest fires

2,084

1,363

1,391

28

2.1
△ 2.0

Vehicle fires

Fires

△ 0.8

5,326

3,660

3,585

△ 75

Ship fires

109

69

69

0

0.0

Aircraft fires

4

1

1

0

0.0
△ 4.0

15,244

12,124

11,634△ 490

No. of buildings burned

Other fires

38,80029,96230,653691

2.3

Totally destroyed

8,433

7,138

7,404

266

3.7
△ 1.6

2,537

1,658

1,631

△ 27

Partially destroyed

Half destroyed

Buildings

11,034

7,833

7,853

20

0.3

Minor fire

16,796

13,333

13,765432

3.2

Building floor area burned㎡

1,224,884

1,063,583

1,102,687

39,104

3.7

Building surface area burned㎡

123,176

117,981111,123△ 6,858

△ 5.8
38.0

a

106,400

60,624

83,651

23,027

Fatalities

Forest area burned

People

1,877

1,427

1,486

59

4.1

InjuredPeople

7,654

6,114

5,865

△ 249

△ 4.1

25,48718,18018,364

184

1.0

5,554

3,978

4,173

195

4.9
△ 2.2

No. of households affected
Totally destroyed
Half destroyed

Households

Partially destroyed
No. of people affected

People

2,085

1,233

1,206

△ 27

17,848

12,96912,98516

0.1

61,51739,75839,983225

0.6

Amount of damages

93,124

84,62790,8006,173

7.3

Building fires

87,36576,35384,186

7,833

10.3
33.0

Forest fires

521

202

269

67

Vehicle fires

2,332

2,227

2,259

32

1.4

721

859

254

△ 605

△ 70.4△ 99.6

Ship fires

Millions

Aircraft fires

74

730

3

△ 727

Other fires

1,432

3,172

3,286

114

3.6

Explosions

680

1,084

543

△ 541

△ 49.9

4.0

3.0

3.0

△ 0.0

−

Fire outbreak rate

Fires/10,000(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “Fire Reports”.
2 “Building fires” refer to fires that burn buildings or the contents contained therein. The same holds true in this section hereinafter unlessotherwise noted.
3 “Forest fires” refer to fires that burn forests, wilderness, or grassland. The same holds true in this section hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
4 “Vehicle fires” refer to fires that burn automotive vehicles, railway vehicles, trailer vehicles, or their cargo. The same holds true in this section
hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
5 “Ship fires” refer to fires that burn ships or their cargo. The same holds true in this section hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
6 “Aircraft fires” refer to fires that burn aircraft or their cargo. The same holds true in this section hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
7 “Other fires” refer to fires other than building fires, forest fires, vehicle fires, ship fires, and aircraft fires (fires involving vacant land, fields,
roads, flood plains, waste collection sites, outdoor item collection sites, train tracks, utility poles, etc.). The same holds true in this section
hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
8 Fatalities includes those people who were injured by fires and passed away within 48 hours. The same holds true in this section hereinafter
unless otherwise noted.
9 The fire outbreak rate refers to the number of fires per 10,000 people. The same holds true in this section hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
10 The amount of damages and so forth includes cases that are still under investigation, and is subject to change. The same holds true in thissection hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
11 The symbol '△' indicates negative numbers. The same holds true in this section hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
12 The rate of change was found by rounding up less than whole numbers with the displayed units. The same holds true in this section
hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
13 The population for 2006 was found from the Basic Resident Register as of March 31, the population for 2015 was found from a Survey on the
Current Status of Fire and Disaster Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures as of March 31 for each year, and the population for 2016
was found from the Basic Resident Register as of January 1.
14 If a fire is spread across more than two types of fires, it is aggregated into the number of fires based on which type had the larger amount ofdamages. For the amount of damages, this is aggregated for each type of fire by the objects damaged in the fire (building, vehicle, forest,
ship, aircraft, or other). The same holds true in this section hereinafter unless otherwise noted.
15 The amount of damages from “Explosions” is posted to “Explosions” within “Amount of damages” without regard to the type of fire.
16 The figures in the total column may not align with the totals for each figure due to rounding. The same holds true in this section hereinafter
unless otherwise noted.

-omitted-

2

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters☞ Japanese Original P.71

Install and Maintenance Residential Fire Alarms, andbased on the Basic Policy on Measures to Install andMaintenance Residential Fire Alarms established at
this committee, various initiatives have been deployed
to ensure that residential fire alarms are thoroughly
installed and maintained. This is done by fire departments
throughout Japan in cooperation with volunteer fire corps,
women’s (female) firefighting clubs, voluntary disasterprevention organizations, and others. As of June 1, 2019,the nationwide installation rate *1 was 82.6% and theordinance compliance rate*2 was 68.3%. When viewed by
prefecture, Fukui Prefecture had the highest installation
rate, and the highest ordinance compliance rate. (Table
1-1-15)Current Status of Fire Prevention Administration
1. Current Status of Residential Fire
Prevention Measures
The number of residential fires in 2019 (10,058,
excluding those from arson) accounted for roughly 50%of the total number of building fires (19,716, excluding
those from arson). Furthermore, the number of fatalities
from residential fires (899, excluding suicides by arson),accounted for roughly 80% of the total number of fatalities
from building fires (1,080, excluding suicides by arson).
(Attachment 1-1-25, untranslated) In addition, elderly
people age 65 or older accounted for approximately 70%
of fatalities from residential fires.
As a result of the revision of the Fire Service Act in
2004, the installation of residential fire alarms became
mandatory for newly-built residences from June 2006, andfor existing residences by June 2011 in all cities, towns,
and villages nationwide in accordance with the ordinancesof each municipality. The Fire and Disaster Management
Agency (FDMA) held the Committee on Measures to

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 1-1-15 Residential fire alarm installation and ordinance compliance rates by prefecture (July 1,
2020)
Prefecture

Installation rate

Ordinance compliance rate

Prefecture

All of Japan

82.6%

68.3%

Mie

76.3%

(39)

61.8%

(38)

Shiga

82.4%

(21)

63.6%

(31)

Hokkaido(Note)

*1
*2
*3

84.1%

(16)

70.8%

(11)

Installation rate

Ordinance compliance rate

Aomori

81.0%

(26)

67.5%

(18)

Kyoto

87.9%

(5)

75.1%

(7)

Iwate

85.1%

(13)

64.8%

(26)

Osaka

84.1%

(16)

76.4%

(6)

Miyagi

92.1%

(2)

69.1%

(13)

Hyogo

85.5%

(11)

65.7%

(23)

Akita

82.5%

(20)

63.6%

(31)

Nara

74.9%

(42)

62.3%

(35)

Yamagata

82.4%

(21)

63.3%

(33)

Wakayama

78.9%

(33)

62.3%

(35)

Fukushima

79.3%

(32)

58.2%

(41)

Tottori

85.4%

(12)

63.8%

(30)

Ibaraki

73.1%

(43)

60.2%

(39)

Shimane

87.4%

(7)

65.8%

(22)

Tochigi

78.4%

(35)

67.3%

(19)

Okayama

77.5%

(38)

63.1%

(34)

Gunma

71.4%

(44)

57.0%

(43)

Hiroshima

87.2%

(8)

79.4%

(4)

Saitama

78.1%

(37)

67.3%

(19)

Yamaguchi

79.8%

(30)

65.3%

(25)

Chiba

75.9%

(40)

52.5%

(45)

Tokushima

79.7%

(31)

65.7%

(23)

Tokyo

89.9%

(4)

77.7%

(5)

Kagawa

75.6%

(41)

59.2%

(40)

Kanagawa

84.3%

(15)

68.7%

(14)

Ehime

78.8%

(34)

68.5%

(15)

Niigata

87.0%

(9)

72.2%

(9)

Kochi

70.8%

(45)

52.1%

(46)

Toyama

84.9%

(14)

66.2%

(21)

Fukuoka

82.8%

(19)

71.8%

(10)

Ishikawa

87.5%

(6)

84.1%

(2)

Saga

68.1%

(46)

56.8%

(44)

Fukui

94.8%

(1)

87.0%

(1)

Nagasaki

78.2%

(36)

57.9%

(42)

Yamanashi

81.1%

(25)

68.2%

(16)

Kumamoto

80.0%

(29)

64.0%

(29)
(12)

Nagano

80.7%

(28)

64.8%

(26)

Oita

86.3%

(10)

70.6%

Gifu

81.3%

(23)

64.4%

(28)

Miyazaki

83.8%

(18)

74.3%

(8)

Shizuoka

80.9%

(27)

68.1%

(17)

Kagoshima

91.1%

(3)

81.8%

(3)

Aichi

81.2%

(24)

62.3%

(35)

Okinawa

57.5%

(47)

43.6%

(47)

(  ) : The numbers in parenthesis show the rank in order starting with the prefecture with the highest installation rate and so forth.

The “installation rate” refers to the share of households that have installed residential fire alarms in at least one location of the sections of their homein 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” refers to 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.)3Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table I of the Ordinance of Enforcement for the Fire
Service Act according to their purpose, size, and so forth.
As of March 31, 2020, the number of fire prevention
properties throughout Japan totaled 4,215,231 (thisnumber is from the Survey on the Actual Conditions ofFire Prevention Properties (targeting those fire prevention
properties listed in Appended Table I of the Ordinanceof Enforcement for the Fire Service Act that are listedin (1) through (16-3) and have a total area of 150m2 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 1,205,031, accounting for 28.6% of

the total number of fire prevention properties throughout
Japan. Those properties that are particularly concentrated
in urban areas include underground malls (86.9% of thenational total), semi-underground malls*4 (85.7% of thenational total), stores engaged in sex-related businesses,
etc. (57.1% of the national total). (Table 1-1-16)

3. Fire Prevention Management System(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

Table 1-1-16 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
(%)

4,551

663

14.6

(3) Nursery schools, etc.

36,781

8,014

21.8

65,0496,274

9.6(4) Child development support
centers, etc.

3,440

546

15.9

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

21,295

3,523

16.5

788

134

17.0

9,370

1,790

19.1

175

100

57.1

c
(6)

Subtotald Kindergartens, etc.

d Karaoke box and stores, etc.

2,487

611

24.6

(7)

Schools

2,695

488

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, 2020)

21 majorcities88,006

18,605

21.1

158,618

28,85718.2(9)cities(%)

84,731

16,091

19.0

16,127

3,908

24.2

125,598

28,204

22.5

7,632

860

11.3

a Special bathhouses

1,416

648

45.8

b General bathhouses

4,141

977

23.6

60,770

8,153

13.4

(10)

Railroad depots

3,915

1,415

36.1

1,370,573

528,616

38.6

(11)

Temples and shrines, etc.

58,937

12,35321.0(1) H ospitals that require patient
assistance for evacuation

6,249

1,024

16.4

490,158

72,311

14.8(2) Clinics with 19 beds or lessthat need patient assistance for
evacuation

3,204

643

20.1

378

156

41.3

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

9,478

2,339

24.7

52,165

14,742

28.3(4) Clinics with no in-patient capacity,maternity homes without beds

44,792

8,484

18.9

860

101

11.7

Subtotal

63,723

12,49019.6

335,640

55,312

16.5(1) Short-term welfare facilities for theelderly

43,641

8,215

18.8

489,348

110,681

22.6

239

48

20.1

a S
 pecified multipurpose fire
prevention properties

381,134

143,680

37.7

147

35

23.8

b Unspecified multipurpose
fire prevention properties

274,245

125,279

45.7

492

74

15.0

61

53

86.9

(5) Support facilities for the disabled

6,986

1,153

16.5 (16-3) Semi-underground malls

7

6

85.7

Subtotal

51,505

9,525

18.5

(17)

Cultural properties

9,180

1,485

16.2

(1) Elderly daycare centers, etc.

22,991

3,962

17.2

(18)

Arcades

1,248

463

37.1

224

46

20.5

(19)

Mountain forests

0

0

−

Total

4,215,231

1,205,031

28.6

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 Ordinance of Enforcement for the Fire Service Act that are listed in (1) through (16-3) and have a total area of 150m2
or larger, and those listed in (17) through (19); the same hereinafter).
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).

*4

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.

4

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
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, 2020, the number of fire prevention
properties that were legally required to establish fire
prevention management structures and appoint fire
prevention managers totaled 1,077,127 nationwide. Of
these, 887,968 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 834,777, or 77.5% of the total number ofproperties. (Attachment 1-1-40, untranslated)

they do, it is important for not only firefighting agencies
but also personnel from the fire prevention properties, toperform fire prevention maintenance on said properties
and to strive to comply with fire prevention laws andordinances.
Therefore, the Fire Service Act mandates thatmanagement officials at fire prevention properties withcertain purposes or structures have people with expertisein fire prevention (hereinafter referred to as “qualified
inspectors of fire prevention properties”) perform
inspections and report the inspection 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
attesting that they have acquired the necessary knowledge
and skills regarding inspections for fire prevention
properties.
As of March 31, 2020, the number of such inspectors
totaled 32,712.
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 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, 2020, the number of fire prevention
properties that were required to appoint supervisors of fire
prevention management totaled 88,224 nationwide. Of
these, 54,976, or 62.3%, have appointed supervisors of fire
prevention management and notified firefighting agencies
to this effect. Furthermore, the number of fire prevention
properties that have prepared overall fire prevention plansin order to carry out fire prevention management for thebuilding as a whole in an integrated manner, and that havenotified firefighting agencies to this effect was 52,521,
or 59.5% of the total number of properties. (Attachment
1-1-41, 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(3) Periodic Inspection and Reporting System forFire Prevention Properties
To prevent fires from occurring and mitigate the damage
*5
*6
*7
*8
*9

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.
Firefighting 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.
Fire protection equipment engineer: A person with expert knowledge of fire protection equipment etc. who has been issued a fire protection
equipment engineer certification.
Firefighting plans for disaster prevention management: These are plans that establish matters which are necessary for disaster prevention
management.

5Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

 . Onsite Inspections and Corrections of5
Violations

firefighting 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, 2020, the number of properties underdisaster prevention measures that were legally required
to establish disaster prevention management systems
and appoint disaster prevention managers totaled 10,053
throughout Japan. Of these, 9,510, or 94.6%, 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 9,160, or 91.1%of the total. The number of said properties that haveestablished fire defense organizations for self-protection
came to 9,043, or 90.0% of the total. (Attachment 1-1-42,
untranslated)(1) Current Status of Onsite Inspections andCorrections of Violations
Firefighting agencies enter fire prevention properties toperform onsite inspections pursuant to the regulations ofArticle 4 of the Fire Service Act when it is necessary to doso for the sake of fire prevention.
The number of times onsite inspections were carriedout by firefighting agencies throughout Japan in FY2019
totaled 827,783. (Attachment 1-1-44, 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 regulations in
Article 8, Article 8-2, or Article 17-4 of 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, aswell as prohibition or restriction of use of the relevant
fire prevention property may be ordered pursuant to theregulations in Article 5, Article 5-2, or Article 5-3 of theFire Service Act. The act also states that in the event thatsuch an order is issued, public notice shall be given.
In cases where violations of fire prevention laws orordinances are discovered as a result of such onsite
inspections, the fire chief or fire station chief works toredress these violations to bring them back into legal
compliance, such as by issuing warnings or other remedial
instructions, orders, etc. (Attachment 1-1-45, 46, 47, 48,
untranslated)
Particularly for specified violating properties (thisrefers to specified fire prevention properties with a floorarea of 1,500m2 or more, or unspecified fire prevention
properties with 11 or more floors excluding the basement
where sprinkler systems, indoor fire hydrants, or fire alarmsystems have not been installed in a majority of sections
where such equipment must be installed), strict guidanceis imposed based on the severity of the violation, such as
those that pose a significant hazard to human life in theevent that a fire should break out.
As of March 31, 2020, there were 148 specified
violating properties, and therefore it is necessary tocontinue working to thoroughly correct these violations ina focused manner. (Table 1-1-17)(2) Supervisors of Disaster Prevention
Management
For those buildings 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 for each area where management
authority exists. At the same time, it also stipulates thatsupervisors of disaster prevention management are tobe 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, 2020, the number of fire prevention
properties that were required to appoint supervisors of
disaster prevention management totaled 2,854 nationwide.
Of these, 2,649, or 92.8%, 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 2,583,
or 90.5% of the total. (Attachment 1-1-43, untranslated)(2) Fire Safety Certification MarkThis new labeling system, which fire departments
throughout Japan were notified of in October 2013,provides users with information on a building’s
compliance with laws and ordinances related to fire*9

Firefighting 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.

6

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table 1-1-17 Trends in the improvement status of specified violating properties
Category
By FY

No. of violating properties at thestart of the FY(a)No. of properties that corrected
their violations during the FY(b)Correction rate(%)(c=b/ax100)

FY2009

301

63

20.9%

FY2010

299

69

23.1%

FY2011

389

37

9.5%

FY2012

179

46

25.7%

FY2013

230

54

23.5%

FY2014

249

56

22.5%

FY2015

331

100

30.2%

FY2016

359

125

34.8%

FY2017

392

151

38.5%

FY2018

240

96

39.6%

FY2019

189

85

45.0%

FY2020148－－(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on the Actual Conditions of Fire Prevention Properties”.
2 “No. of violating properties at the start of the FY” is the sum of properties that remained in violation from two fiscal years before and violating
properties that newly became aware they were in violation during the previous fiscal year at the end of the previous fiscal year for each fiscal
year (as of March 31).
3 “No. of properties that corrected their violations during the FY” is the number of properties that corrected their violation during the fiscal year (itdoes not include those that newly became aware of their violation or that were abandoned).

Table 1-1-18 Process status for fire prevention consent
Gist ofapplication

Breakdown(Cases)Consent
FY2018Dissent
FY2019FY2018Total
FY2019FY2018FY2019New construction

213,645

206,77610

8

213,655

206,784

Extension

18,533

17,2205

018,53817,220Reconstruction

665

543

0

0

665

543

Relocation

101

93

0

0

101

93

Repair

132

155

0

0

132

155

110

109

0

0

110

109

3,975

2,193

3

2

3,978

2,195

Remodeling
Change of classification
Other

2,690

3,042

1

0

2,691

3,042

Total

239,851

230,13119

10

239,870

230,141(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on the Actual Conditions of Fire Prevention Properties”

prevention and construction. Applications began
being tendered and received on April 1, 2014, andhotels, Japanese-style hotels, and other facilities begansequentially putting the silver display marks out on
display starting from August 1, 2014.
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/).

to do so. This announcement system was initiated in all
ordinance-designated cities starting from April 2015.
Furthermore, fire departments overseeing populationsof 200,000 people or more started utilizing this publicannouncement system beginning April 2018, and thoseof less than 200,000 people have also started utilizing it
sequentially.
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/).

(3) Initiation of a System for Publicly Announcing
Violating Properties
The System for Publicly Announcing Violating
Properties, in accordance with the December 2013 notice,
is a system for announcing the details of legal violations
on the websites of municipal governments based on
the ordinances of said municipalities. This is aimed
at specified properties under fire prevention measuresthat have not yet installed sprinkler systems, indoor fire
hydrants, or fire alarm systems, despite being obligated(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.
When it comes to the operation of this system, thefirefighting agencies offer finely-detailed examinations
and instructions based on legal regulations related tobuilding fire prevention from the perspective of fire

6. Fire Protection Equipment, etc.

7

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
prevention safety and firefighting activities. They also
work to enhance structures and strengthen cooperation,
ensuring that this work is handled promptly.
The number of cases processed regarding fire
prevention consent work throughout Japan in FY2019
totaled 230,141, with only 10 of these failing to receive
consent. (Table 1-1-18)

the 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,
2020, the installation rate for sprinkler systems (number
installed vs. number that need to be installed) was 99.8%,
while the rate for automatic fire alarms was 99.4%. (Table
1-1-19)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. In recent years, a fireoccurred at a medical clinic in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka
Prefecture in October 2013 (which left ten people dead(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 of

Table 1-1-19 Installation status of sprinkler systems and fire alarm systems at specified properties
under fire prevention measures throughout Japan(As of March 31, 2020)
Equipment typeClassification ofproperties
under fire prevention measures
(1)

(2)

(3)
(4)

Installed

Violations

Violations

Installation
rate (％)
99.8

Theaters, etc.

809

809

0

100.0

3,798

3,791

7

Public halls, etc.

551

549

2

99.6

31,12931,099

30

99.9

a

Cabarets, etc.

7

7

0

100.0

439

429

10

97.7

b

Game centers, etc.

710

701

9

98.7

8,592

8,582

10

99.9

c

Stores engaged in sex-related businesses,
etc.

2

2

0

100.0

159

158

1

99.4

d

Karaoke box and stores, etc.

9

9

0

100.0

2,555

2,548

7

99.7

a

Restaurants, etc.

2

2

0

100.0

1,880

1,865

15

99.2

b

Eating and drinking houses

107

106

1

99.1

34,71134,364

347

99.0

7,541

7,514

27

99.6

85,59885,315

283

99.7

2,321

2,310

11

99.5

74,15773,391766

99.0

Hospitals that they need patient assistance(1)
for evacuation

3,875

3,863

12

99.7

5,942

5,937

5

99.9

(2)

Clinics with 19 beds or less that they needpatient assistance for evacuation

1,358

1,354

4

99.7

2,845

2,840

5

99.8

(3)

Hospitals(not including those listed in (1)),
Clinics with 19 beds or less(not including
those listed in (2)) and maternity homes with
beds

3,608

3,605

3

99.9

9,116

9,111

5

99.9

(4)

Clinics with no in-patient capacity, maternity
homes without beds

205

205

0

100.0

21,452

21,420

32

99.9

a

(6)
b

Hotels, etc.

Subtotal

9,046

9,027

19

99.8

39,35539,30847

99.9(1) Short-term welfare facilities for the elderly

41,82541,78540

99.9

43,82643,810

16

100.0
100.0

(2) Shelters

196

196

0

100.0

239

239

0

(3) Nurseries

126

126

0

100.0

223

221

2

99.1

(4) Welfare facilities for disabled children

445

444

1

99.8

514

514

0

100.0

(5) Support facilities for the disabled
Subtotal(1) Elderly daycare centers, etc.

c

(16)

Installed

a

a

(9)

Number of Automatic fire alarm systems
Installation Needs to berate (%)
installedb

Department stores, etc.

(5)

Number of Sprinkler systems

Equipment Needs to becondition
installed

6,588

6,572

16

99.8

7,556

7,549

7

99.9

49,18049,12357

99.9

52,35852,333

25

100.0

1,359

1,353

6

99.6

15,163

15,13627

99.8(2) Rehabilitation facilities

43

12

31

27.9

171

171

0

100.0

(3) Nursery schools, etc.

108

108

0

100.0

30,78730,77215

100.0(4) Child development support centers, etc.

33

33

0

100.0

1,476

1,475

1

99.9

(5) Welfare centers for disabled persons, etc.

652

648

4

99.4

17,677

17,63047

99.7

Subtotal

2,195

2,154

41

98.1

65,27465,184

90

99.9

d

Kindergartens, etc.

217

217

0

100.0

14,13814,133

5

100.0

a

Special bathhouses

20

20

0

100.0

1,325

1,323

2

99.8

a

Specified multipurpose fire prevention
properties

20,256

20,21244

99.8

208,030

205,739

2,291

98.9

(16-2) Underground malls

59

59

0

100.0

61

61

0

100.0

(16-3) Semi-Underground malls

5

5

0

100.0

6

6

0

100.0

Total

93,037

92,826

211

99.8

623,565

619,629

3,936

99.4

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on the Actual Conditions of Fire Prevention Properties”.
2 For the installation rate, the digits in the second decimal place were rounded off.

8

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters( Attachment 1-1-49 , untranslated). In addition, thenumber of fire protection equipment inspectors totaled 727
special inspectors (for special fire protection equipment,etc.), 161,049 Class 1 inspectors (for mechanical systems)
and 151,683 Class 2 inspectors (for electrical systems).
Programs for displaying that inspections have been
performed, in which certificates of completion verifyingthat inspections of fire protection equipment, etc.
have been properly carried out are posted, have been
independently instituted at the prefectural level. This isdone in an effort to clarify responsibilities and have therelevant personnel from fire prevention properties performthe proper inspections.

and five injured). In light of this, it was mandated that
Clinics with 19 beds or less or Hospitals that need patient
assistance for evacuation must install sprinkler systems
as a general rule, regardless of their floor area. The
installation of these sprinkler systems has been in force
since April 1, 2016 as a result of the Partial Revision of
the Order for Enforcement of the Fire Service Act andother legislation (promulgated on October 16, 2014).
At the time of enforcement, transitional measures that
equipment should be installed by June 30, 2025 were set
for existing facilities.
Moreover, a large-scale urban fire occurred in Itoigawa
City, Niigata Prefecture in December 2016 (which left
30,213.45m2 of burned floor area). In light of this, it was
mandated that restaurants with equipment or appliancesthat use fire must install fire extinguishing equipment as a
general rule, regardless of their floor area. The installationof these has been carried out since October 1, 2019 as aresult of the Partial Revision of the Order for Enforcementof the Fire Service Act and other legislation (promulgatedon March 28, 2018).
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.

(4) Flame Retardancy Regulations
A. Usage Status of Flame Retardant Materials
The use of flame-resistant materials for various objects
that are likely to ignite within buildings simultaneously
prevents fires from starting and suppresses the spreadof fires during their initial stages when they do occur.
As such, this is extremely effective when it comes topreventing fires. Therefore, fire prevention properties
that must give forethought to fire prevention due to theirstructural features or configuration, such as high-risebuildings and underground malls, as well as fire prevention
properties like theaters, hotels, and hospitals that areused by large unspecified numbers of people and people
requiring special consideration have been designatedas “flame retardancy and fire prevention properties.”
The Fire 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, 2020, the number of flame retardancy
and fire prevention properties totaled 996,258. 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 andfire prevention properties using curtains and stage curtains
was 87.9%, while it was 87.6% at those using carpets, and84.7% at those using plywood display boards. (Table 1-120)						

(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, 2020, the total number of fire
protection equipment engineers came to 1,228,901

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

9Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table 1-1-20 Number of flame retardancy and fire prevention properties and the usage status of flame
retardant goods(As of March 31, 2020)
No. of flame
retardancy
Categories of flame retardancy and fireand fire
prevention properties
prevention
properties
(1)

(2)

(3)

Properties on theleft using all of thegoods under the flame
retardancy requirement

Use ofcurtains,
stage
curtains,
etc.

Properties on theleft using all of thegoods under the flame
retardancy requirement

Use ofcarpets

Compliance
rate (%)

Compliance
rate (%)

Properties on theleft using all of thegoods under the flame
retardancy requirement

Use ofplywooddisplayboardsCompliance
rate (%)

a

Theaters, etc.

4,282

2,622

2,501

95.4

1,952

1,859

95.2

479

453

94.6

b

Public halls, etc.

63,20242,65738,97691.4

25,40322,713

89.4

4,296

3,786

88.1

a

Cabarets, etc.

746

369

276

74.8

396

320

80.8

46

41

89.1

b

Game centers, etc.

9,149

4,661

4,204

90.2

4,290

3,967

92.5

639

573

89.7

c

S
 tores engaged in sexrelated businesses, etc.

190

131

112

85.5

106

92

86.8

7

4

57.1

d

Karaoke box and stores, etc.

2,450

1,333

1,205

90.4

1,069

992

92.8

169

160

94.7

a

Restaurants, etc.

2,584

1,602

1,384

86.4

1,483

1,306

88.1

154

131

85.1

b

Eating and drinking houses

83,98540,90633,574

82.1

23,634

19,679

83.3

4,333

3,643

84.1

(4)

Department stores, etc.

152,672

64,871

59,24691.3

33,312

29,721

89.2

8,341

7,256

87.0

(5)

a

Hotels, etc.

58,734

46,10242,42392.0

36,93634,293

92.8

2,817

2,420

85.9

a

Hospitals, etc.

61,71545,41342,838

94.3

25,124

23,416

93.2

4,063

3,690

90.8

b

S
 pecial elderly nursing
homes, etc.

50,11841,46139,45495.2

23,42322,214

94.8

3,846

3,574

92.9

c

Elderly daycare centers, etc.

82,36361,01657,05693.5

34,40931,518

91.6

5,622

5,135

91.3

d

Kindergartens, etc.

15,661

12,224

11,413

93.4

6,356

5,876

92.4

1,043

937

89.8

(9)

a

Special bathhouses

1,524

1,105

970

87.8

1,032

946

91.7

69

55

79.7

(12)

b

Studios

497

187

170

90.9

159

149

93.7

71

63

88.7

a

S
 pecified multipurpose fire
prevention properties

328,786

148,594

118,093

79.5

95,536

77,13380.7

17,774

13,63076.7

b U nspecified multipurpose fire
prevention properties

21,379

3,668

2,951

80.5

2,791

2,291

82.1

929

752

80.9

61

46

39

84.8

39

35

89.7

12

12

100.0

7

5

3

60.0

4

3

75.0

1

1

100.0

56,153

24,798

21,10085.1

22,353

19,148

85.7

4,279

3,638

85.0

996,258

543,771477,98887.9

339,807297,671

87.6

58,99049,954

84.7

(6)

(16)

(16-2) Underground malls(16-3)

Semi-underground malls
High-rise buildings
Total(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on the Actual Conditions of Fire Prevention Properties”.
2 High-rise buildings (buildings that are taller than 31m) are not classified within Appended Table I of the Ordinance of Enforcement for the Fire
Service Act. Moreover, fire prevention properties that correspond to high-rise buildings were counted in the “High-rise buildings” field withinthe “Classification of fire prevention properties” column.

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.

confirm that the shape and other factors of the individualmachinery and tools subject to inspection are identicalto the shape, etc. for models of said equipment thathave received model approval). ( Attachment 1-1-50,
untranslated)
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.
Regarding the inspection system, it came to light thatcases of misconduct occurred in October 2008, including
test samples being secretly switched out during model
compliance inspections for fire hoses. Furthermore, inMarch 2010 it was discovered that fire-extinguishingfoam used in compressed air foam apparatuses on fire
trucks, which had not been inspected, was being sold.
As part of the public service corporation program review
carried out in May 2010, evaluation results were issued
to the effect that reassessments were to be made with a

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 Article 37 of the Order for
Enforcement of the Fire Service Act, including fire
extinguishers and enclosed sprinkler heads.
These inspections consist of “model approvals”(approval indicating that the shape and other factorsof the machinery and tools conform with the technicalspecifications established in ministerial ordinances) and“model compliance inspections” (inspections conducted to10Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
view towards expanding both voluntary screenings andincreasing involvement of the private sector when it
comes to inspections. Based on this, the Act for Partial
Revision of the Fire Service Act, enacted on April 1, 2013,
established collection orders via the Minister of Internal
Affairs and Communications and strengthened penal
provisions in cases where machinery and tools subject toinspection were not in compliance with the standards, orin cases where machinery and tools which lacked labels
indicating their compliance were circulating on the market.
It also relaxed requirements in order to promote the entry
of private companies into the registered inspection bodymarket, among other stipulations.
Moreover, the Partial Revision of the Order for the
Enforcement of the Fire Service Act, enacted on April 1,
2013, made machinery and tools subject to inspections(mainly fire hoses and couplers used by firefighting
agencies and electric leak alarms), for which there has beena decline in need due to changes in building configurations,
into items that are subject to self-labeling. At the sametime, the ordinance for Partial Revision of the ordinanceof Enforcement for the Fire Service Act, enacted on April
1, 2014, newly added residential fire alarms, which arerequired to be installed in all homes, to the machinery andtools subject to inspection.
With regard to the fire-extinguishing foam that received
type approval in 2013, it was revealed that a fraudulent act
was committed during the type approval test involving thesubmission of a sample with a composition that differedfrom the values in the application, and administrative
action was taken in September 2020 to revoke the typeapproval based on the provisions of Article 21-6 of theFire Service Act.

fire extinguishers, and 2 for electric leak alarms.

8. Performance Inspections of TechnicalStandards for Fire Protection Equipment, etc.
When it comes to the technical standards for fire
protection equipment, etc., oftentimes details like materials
or dimensions are prescribed in specification documents,
etc. This makes it difficult for new technologies togain acceptance, even when they offer satisfactory
performance. Therefore, technical development in thefields of fire and other disaster prevention is promoted,
and performance regulations are adopted to ensure thateven more effective fire prevention and safety measures
can be established.
The basic philosophy behind this is to judge whether
equipment offers performance that is at or above thelevel of performance of the installed fire protection
equipment, etc. based on the conventional technicalstandards. Equipment that has been confirmed to be at or
above the conventional performance level is approved for
installation in place of existing fire protection equipment,
etc.
The performance demanded of fire protection
equipment, etc. is divided up into three categories. Theseare “initial spread inhibition performance,” which is
performance for inhibiting the spread of fires during theirinitial stages, “evacuation safety support performance,”
which is performance that supports safe evacuating during
fires, and “firefighting activity support performance,”
which is performance that supports the activities offirefighting teams. For those for which a certain levelof knowledge has been obtained, equivalence will beassessed by objective verification methods (methods ofobjectively and impartially verifying newly developed
technologies and technical innovations).
At the same time, a certification system via the
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications has been
established aimed at equipment for which 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, 2020, 73
cases of special fire protection equipment, etc. have been
approved. (Attachment 1-1-51, untranslated)
The expectation is that, by applying these regulations,
new equipment using new technologies will be proactively
developed and disseminated.

(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 toself-labeling”) are the responsibility of manufacturers to
confirm their compliance with the specifications on theirown, and are prohibited from being sold, displayed forcommercial purposes, and so forth unless they include alabel.
Similar to machinery and tools subject to inspection,
the Act for Partial Revision of the Fire Service Act,
enacted on April 1, 2013, established collection orders
via the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
and strengthened penal provisions for machinery andtools subject to self-labeling which are not in compliancewith the standards, or which lacked labels indicating theircompliance.
Items that fall under the category of machinery andtools subject to self-labeling include power fire pumps
and fire suction hoses. Furthermore, as a result of thePartial Revision of the Order for Enforcement of the Fire
Service Act and other legislation enacted on April 1, 2014,
fire hoses, couplers, and electric leak alarms that had
previously been counted as machinery and tools subject toinspection, as well as disposable aerosol fire extinguishers
in general widespread circulation but which frequently
suffer from rupture accidents, etc. were newly added tothis category.
The number of reports from manufacturers in FY2019
totaled 35 for power fire pumps, 32 for fire hoses, 0 for
fire suction hose, 22 for couplers, 3 for disposable aerosol

9. Current Status of Investigations into
the Causes of Fires
Advances in science and technology have brought
increasing sophistication for industry and changes insocial conditions. This has resulted in a tendency towards
the frequent occurrence of fires which are large in scale or11Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table 1-1-21 Recent investigations into the causes of fires conducted by the Commissioner of the
FDMA and responses based on their results№

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.

which assume aspects of complexity, and investigating thecauses behind these fires requires sophisticated expertise.
In addition, investigating the causes of fires andclarifying the extent of damage caused by both fires andfirefighting is crucial in order to examine the future of thefire prevention administration.
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.
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.
Reviews are conducted based on the knowledge and dataobtained from the investigations, and this is reflected inpolicies for fire prevention administration. Cases where
responses such as the revision of fire prevention laws andordinances were carried out based on the results of recent
investigations into the causes of fires conducted by theCommissioner of the FDMA are shown in Table 1-1-21.
In an effort to improve the effectiveness of investigations

into the causes of product fires, the Act for Partial Revisionof the Fire Service Act (Law No. 38 from 2012), enacted
on April 1, 2013, grants firefighting agencies the right toorder manufacturers and importers to submit materials, andthe right to collect reports.

10. Promoting Countermeasures to
Product Fires
In recent years, as the causes of fires have grown
extremely diverse, products close to the general publicin their daily lives have begun causing fires as well,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 FY2019 which firefighting

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).

12

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
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 797 product fires,
221 were fires deemed to have been caused by productdefects, 512 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 64 were
fires that are still currently under investigation. (Fig. 1-119)
In recent years, there have been many cases of productfires involving electronic appliances that were caused bybatteries. As of February 1, 2018, mobile batteries mustbe labeled with the PSE mark in accordance with the Act
on Product Safety of Electrical Appliances and Materials,
and sales of batteries without this mark are restricted toprevent hazardous products from reaching consumers.
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.

-omitted-

13

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

2

SectionCountermeasures to Disasters at
Facilities for Hazardous Materials☞ Japanese Original P.85

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

Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters
at Facilities for Hazardous Materials(1) Number of Fire Accidents at Facilities for
Hazardous Materials and their Damage
The number of fire accidents that occurred at facilities
for hazardous materials in 2019 was 218 (12 more thanthe previous year). The amount of damages totaled 5,588
million yen (an increase of 3,169 million yen year-onyear), and they resulted in 1 death (a decrease of 1 yearon-year) and 37 people injured (a decrease of 83 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 90.8% 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 FY2019, there were
218 fires and 380 spills for a total of 598 accidents. This
represents a decrease of 11 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 2019 was 218. This is anincrease of roughly 2.0-times compared with the 107
such accidents in 1993, which had the lowest number offire accidents since 1989, despite the fact that the number*1

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

Details

Manufacturing facilities

Storage facilities

Handling facilities*2

Facilities that manufacture hazardous materials

Indoor storage facilities

Store hazardous materials inside buildings

Outdoor storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks located outdoors

Indoor storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks located indoors

Underground storage tanks

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

Simple storage tanks

Stores hazardous materials in small tanks less than 600 L

Transfer storage tanks

Store hazardous materials in tanks that have been affixed to vehicles

Outdoor storage facilities

Store certain hazardous materials in containers in outdoor locations

Fuel supply depots

Handling facilities that fuel vehicles and the like

Sales handling facilities

Stores that sell containers full of hazardous materials

Transfer handling facilities

Handling facilities that transfer hazardous materials through pipes

General outlets

Handling facilities other than the above three types of handling facilities

Hazardous materials: The Fire Service Act (Article 2-7) defines them as such: “The term ‘hazardous materials’ means the materials listed in theNames of Items column of Appended Table 1, which have the properties listed in the Nature column of said table according to the Categories
specified in said table.” Moreover, the properties of each hazardous material are defined for each type in the “Remarks” to Appended Table I of theFire 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 acid14

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, accidents are listed by splitting them up into thenumber of accidents caused by earthquakes with a seismic intensity of six-lower or greater (since September 1996 this was changed to aseismic intensity of six or greater) and the number attributable to other causes.

Fig. 1-2-2 Number of fire accidents at facilities for hazardous materials and their damage(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Accident Reports on Hazardous Materials”.
2 The figures are rounded to the nearest unit, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.

At the same time, 97 of the 218 fire accidents (or 44.5%of the total) were cases where a hazardous material served
as the causative agent for the fire. (Fig. 1-2-4)

25 from electrical sparks (an increase of 10 year-on-year)and 25 from ignition due to overheating (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 2019
reveals that human factors accounted for 56.9%, physicalfactors accounted for 29.4%, and the total for other causes,
unknown, and under investigation came to 13.8%. (Fig.
1-2-5)
When viewed by ignition source, those ignited bystatic electricity sparks were the most common at 40 (anincrease of 8 year-on-year), followed by 26 from hightemperature surface heat (a decrease of 11 year-on-year) ,(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 2019 was 4 (an increase of 2 year-on-year), leaving 3
people dead (an increase of 3 year-on-year) and 3 injured(an increase of 2 year-on-year).
(4) Fire Accidents during the Transportation ofHazardous Materials
In 2019, 0 fire accidents occurred during the15

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.

transportation of hazardous materials (a decrease of 2
year-on-year).

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 those causedby physical factors both occur in large numbers. However,of those accidents caused by physical factors, the number
caused by age-related deterioration, such as corrosion
fatigue, are on the rise.

(5) Fire Accidents during the Temporary Storage
or HandlingIn 2019, 0 fire accident occurred during the temporarystorage or handling of hazardous materials (a decrease of
1 year-on-year).

(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 2019 was 380 (adecrease of 23 year-on-year). The amount of damages

2. Spillage Accidents
The number of spillage accidents involving hazardous
materials that occurred at facilities for hazardous materials
in 2019 was 380. This is an increase of roughly 2.2-times
compared with the 174 such accidents in 1994 (which had

16Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
totaled 960 million yen (an increase of 466 million yen
year-on-year), and they resulted in 0 deaths (the same as
the previous year), with 27 people injured (the same as theprevious year). (Fig. 1-2-7)
Moreover, looking at the number of spillage accidents
that occurred by type of facility for hazardous materials
reveals that the majority occurred at general outlets,
followed by fuel supply depots, and outdoor storage tankfacilities, in that order. (Fig. 1-2-8)
At the same time, 98.2% of the number of spillage
accidents at facilities for hazardous materials involved
spills of Class 4 hazardous materials, which consist
primarily of petroleum products. Viewing this item typereveals that Class 2 petroleums (light oil, etc.) account formost of these, followed by Class 3 petroleums (heavy oil,etc.), Class 1 petroleums (gasoline, etc.), in that order. (Fig.
1-2-9)(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 2019 reveals that human factors accounted for 40.0%,
physical factors accounted for 52.4% and the total forother causes, unknown, and under investigation came to
7.7%.
When viewed by causative factor, those caused bydeterioration such as corrosion fatigue were most common

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.

17Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters☞ Japanese Original P.89

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.”(see P.14 *2). Enacting safety regulations for the storage,
handling and 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, andmitigate the damage from fires.
Regulations concerning hazardous materials have been
instituted in a uniform manner throughout Japan throughpartial revisions to the Fire Service Act of 1959 and byenacting cabinet orders on regulations for hazardous
materials. Since then, efforts like revising the relevant
legislation to ensure that it contains content such as
the establishment of necessary and sufficient technicalstandards that are safer for facilities for hazardous
materials (see P.14 *1) have sequentially been carried out
in striving to thoroughly ensure safety at such facilities.
An overview of the regulations on hazardous materials
is shown below. (Fig. 1-2-11)−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.

at 128 (a decrease of 2 year-on-year), followed by 51
from inadequate operating checks (a decrease of 7 yearon-year) and 34 from incorrect operation (an increase of 8
year-on-year). (Fig. 1-2-10)(3) Spillage Accidents at Unauthorized Facilities
The number of spillage accidents that occurred atunauthorized facilities in 2019 was 5 (a decrease of 2
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 2019 was
11 (a decrease of 1 year-on-year), leaving 0 people dead(the same as the previous year), and 0 people injured (adecrease of 1 year-on-year).
(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 2019 was 1 (an increase of 1 year-on-year), with nocasualties (the same as the previous year).

(2) Current Status of Facilities for Hazardous
Materials
A. Number of Facilities for Hazardous Materials

The total number of facilities for hazardous materials

Fig. 1-2-11 Regulatory structure
Storage andhandling

For quantities at or over those listed in Appended Table III of
the Cabinet Order on Control of Hazardous Materials

For quantities less than those listed in Appended Table III of
the Cabinet Order on Control of Hazardous Materials
Transport

Regulated via the Fire Service Act regardless of quantity

18

Regulated via the Fire Service Act as facilities forhazardous materials
Regulated via the Fire Service Act as temporary storage
or handling in the event it is stored or handled on an
extraordinary basis
Regulated via municipal ordinances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

2016
(A)

2017

2019
(B)

2018

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

2020
(C)

(C/A-1)×100(C/B-1)×100

5,088

5,096

5,093

5,098

5,077

△ 0.2

△ 0.4

Indoor storage facilities

50,20150,02349,811

49,71749,613

△ 1.2

△ 0.2

Outdoor storage tanks

62,12061,12460,36059,69959,035

△ 5.0

△ 1.1

Indoor storage tanks

10,802

10,586

10,386

10,170

9,988

△ 7.5

△ 1.8

Underground storage tanks

83,341

81,41779,723

77,98876,425

△ 8.3

△ 2.0

Simple storage tanks

1,002

986

961

940

933

△ 6.9

△ 0.7

Transfer storage tanks

67,17066,73365,80665,425

65,124

△ 3.0

△ 0.5

Outdoor storage facilities

10,213

9,994

9,832

9,702

9,604

△ 6.0

△ 1.0

Subtotal

284,849

280,863

276,879

273,641

270,722

△ 5.0

△ 1.1

Fuel supply depots

61,40160,58559,71558,865

58,124

△ 5.3

△ 1.3

Class 1 sales handling facilities

1,178

1,138

1,107

1,078

1,050

△ 10.9△ 2.6

Handling Class 2 sales handling facilities
facilities Transfer handling facilities

510

499

493

482

474

△ 7.1

△ 1.7

1,111

1,098

1,084

1,077

1,062

△ 4.4

△ 1.4

General outlets

62,097

61,37260,86760,39859,948

△ 3.5

△ 0.7

Subtotal

126,297

124,692

123,266

121,900

120,658

△ 4.5

△ 1.0

416,234

410,651405,238

400,639

396,457

△ 4.8

△ 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. 1-2-12 Number of facilities for hazardous
materials by classification

Fig. 1-2-13 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.

quantities or less accounted for 75.4% of the total. (Fig.

(number of facilities for construction permits) as of March
31, 2020 came to 396,457. (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. 1-2-12)

1-2-13)(3) Hazardous Material Engineers
Hazardous material engineers are classified into
three types. Class A engineers can handle all hazardous
materials, Class B engineers can handle types of hazardous
materials for which they have obtained approval, andClass C engineers can handle designated hazardous
materials from (among) category 4. When hazardous
material engineers or someone else handles hazardous
materials at facilities for hazardous materials, a Class A
or Class B hazardous material engineer must be present toensure safety.

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, 2020, those facilities forhazardous materials that hold 50 times the designated19Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
As of March 31 2020, the (cumulative) total numberof people who have passed the hazardous material
engineer test since the hazardous material engineer
system was launched came to 9,751,086 people. They
play a significant role in ensuring safety at facilities forhazardous materials.

(starting from April 1, 2012, within three years fromthe first April 1 since the date on which the hazardous
material engineer license was issued or the date they took
the safety training course).
In FY2019, safety training courses were held a totalof 1,463 times throughout Japan (an increase of 11 times
year-on-year), and were attended by 182,537 people (adecrease of 263 people year-on-year). (Table 1-2-2)

A. Hazardous Material Engineer Tests
Hazardous material engineer tests were held 3,657
times throughout Japan in FY2019 (an increase of 113
year-on-year). They were taken by 329,479 people (adecrease of 25,882 people year-on-year), with 148,475
people passing (a decrease of 11,720 people year-on-year)
for an average pass rate of roughly 45.1% (the same as theprevious year). (Fig. 1-2-14)
Viewing the situation by test type and category reveals
that 67.3% of people took the test for Class B (category4), followed by Class C at 8.4%. These two test types
accounted for 75.7% of the total number of test takers.

(4) Safety Systems at Offices
As of March 31, 2020, the total number of businessestablishments that owned facilities for hazardous
materials came to 180,611 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 (1,594 businessestablishments), and the preparation of fire and disasterprevention rules (42,522 business establishments).
Moreover, it has been mandated that said businessestablishments that own certain facilities for hazardous
materials and that store or handle hazardous materials

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

Fig. 1-2-14 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
courses2015

178,843

14,2809,507

10,554

9,008

152,324

10,362

11,248203,003

25,473242,756

1,407

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

20

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-2-15 Trends in orders for measures related to facilities for hazardous materials(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on Regulation work of Hazardous Materials”.

at or above certain quantities must establish fire
defense organizations for self-protection (98 businessestablishments) and appoint hazardous material safety
supervising managers (232 business establishments).

on storage and handling, orders to take measures relating
to standards for installing, constructing, or establishingequipment, and more.
In FY2019 municipal mayors or similar officials issued
such orders in 215 cases. (Fig. 1-2-15)(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 FY2019, 215 safety inspections were performed, of
which 211 involved outdoor storage tanks and 4 involved
transfer handling facilities.

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,the minister in charge must formulate basic plans andlisten to the opinion of the Minister of Internal Affairs
and Communications regarding business licenses inorder to ensure safety pursuant to the Petroleum Pipeline
Business Act, enacted in 1972. Furthermore, the Ministerof Internal Affairs and Communications provides licenses
for construction plans and safety regulations, performs
completion and safety inspections, and more.
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.

(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 FY2019, onsite inspections were carried out a totalof 189,458 times at 173,702 facilities for hazardous
materials.
In cases where violations of the Fire Service Act are
discovered as a result of onsite inspections, municipal
mayors and other officials can issue a variety of different
orders to the owners of said facilities for hazardous
materials. These include orders to comply with regulations(2) Ensuring the Safety of Petroleum Pipelines
Safety inspections are carried out periodically on thepipelines transporting airplane fuel to Narita International
Airport pursuant to the Petroleum Pipeline Business Act.
In addition, the business operators must do everything
they possibly can to ensure safety, such as having
maintenance and inspections carried out in accordancewith the technical standards established by law.

-omitted-

21

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

3

SectionCountermeasures to Disasters at
Petroleum Industrial Complexes☞ Japanese Original P.95

ever. (Fig.1-3-1)
In 2019 there were 25 general accidents (a decrease of
2 year-on-year) that resulted in casualties, with 0 deaths (anincrease of 1 year-on-year), and 49 injuries (a decrease of
16 year-on-year). (Fig.1-3-2)

Current Status and Recent Trends in Disasters
at Petroleum Industrial Complexes
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 2019 came to 284, of which 0 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”).
All of earthquake-induced accidents were caused by the“Eastern Iburi Earthquake” in Hokkaido, which occurred
on September 6, 2018, with a maximum recorded seismic
intensity of 7.
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 2019 decreased compared to last year,
which recorded the highest number of accidents ever, thenumber of accidents recorded during the year was 284 (adecrease of 30 year-on-year), the second highest number

Fig. 1-3-2 Trends in the Number of Fatal
Accidents and Fatalities(Note) Prepared based on “The Overview of Accidents at Specified
Business Establishments in Petroleum Industrial Complexes andOther Special Disaster Prevention Areas (2019)”.

Fig. 1-3-1 Trends in the number of accidents that occurred at petrochemical complexes(Note) Prepared based on “The Overview of Accidents at Specified Business Establishments in Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Special
Disaster Prevention Areas (2019)”.

*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).

22

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
at Class 1 business establishments (189 of which layout
establishments*2).(Table 1-3-1)

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 112 fires (a decrease of 34 yearon-year), 7 explosions (an increase of 1 year-on-year),
154 leaks (a decrease of 1 year-on-year), and 11 otheraccidents (an increase of 4 year-on-year). (Fig. 1-3-3)

Fig. 1-3-4 Number of General Accidents by
Cause of Accident(2) Number of General Accidents by Cause of
Accident
Looking at the number of general accidents by cause, it
reveals that 108 accidents were caused by human factors(a decrease of 25 year-on-year), 155 (a decrease of 1 yearon-year) by physical factors, and 21 (a decrease of 4 yearon-year) by other factors. The main causes were 93 casesof deterioration due to corrosion and fatigue (an increaseof 4 year-on-year), 38 cases of insufficient maintenanceand management (an increase of 1 year-on-year), and 30
cases of insufficient operation confirmation (a decrease of
23 year-on-year). (Fig. 1-3-4)(3) Number of General Accidents by Type ofSpecified Business Establishment
Looking at the number of general accidents by cause,
it reveals that 229 accidents, or 80.6%, were occurred(Note) Prepared based on “The Overview of Accidents at Specified
Business Establishments in Petroleum Industrial Complexes andOther Special Disaster Prevention Areas (2019)”.

Fig. 1-3-3 Trends in the Number of General Accidents by Type of Accident(Note) Prepared based on “The Overview of Accidents at Specified Business Establishments in Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Special
Disaster Prevention Areas (2019)”.

*2

Layout business establishments: Business establishments from among Class 1 business establishments that handle both petroleum and highpressure gases. Said business establishments are subject to layout regulations stipulating that their sites must be segmented off into six types ofsections according to their purpose, with these including manufacturing facility sections and storage facility sections.

23

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Table 1-3-1 Number of General Accidents by Type of Specified Business Establishment
Type of business establishment

No. of businessestablishments(A)

Share of the total No. of
accidents(%)

No. of accidents(Ｂ)

Class 1 business establishments

No. of accidents per businessestablishment
(B/A)

340

229

80.6

0.67

Layout business establishments

158

189

66.6

1.20

Other business establishments

182

40

14.0

0.22

327

55

19.4

0.17

667

284

100.0

0.43

Class 2 business establishments
Total(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Overview of Accidents at Specified Business Establishments in Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Special
Disaster Prevention Areas (2019)”.
2 The number of business establishments is current as of April 1, 2019.
3 The figures in the total column may not align with the totals for each figure due to rounding.

Table 1-3-2 Number of General Accidents at Specified Business Establishments by Business Category
Type of accidents

Number of accidents

Business Category
Fire
Food manufacturing-related

Explosion
3

leak

Other

Subtotal

1

4

Number of accidents by businesscategory

Share of theNo. of accidents
No. of businesstotal No. of
per businessestablishments
accidents(%)
establishment
1.4

Pulp, paper, processed paper manufacturing-related

12

0.33

3

0.00

Chemical industry-related

31

3

47

4

85

30.0

225

0.38

2

70

4

95

33.5

47

2.02

4

1.4

10

0.40

35

12.3

31

1.13

3

1.1

6

0.50

8

2.8

9

0.89

19

6.7

60

0.32

10

3.5

28

0.36

11

3.9

220

0.05

3

1.1

8

0.38

7

2.5

8

0.88

284

100.0

667

0.43

Petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry-related

19

Ceramic industry-related

2

Steel industry-related

32

Non-ferrous metal industry-related

1

Industrial Machinery manufacturing-related

8Electrical industry-related

7

Gas industry-related

1

Warehouse industry-related

2

Waste disposal industry-related

3

Other

3

Total

112

2
1

1

1

2
12
1

6

2

9
4
7

154

11

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Overview of Accidents at Specified Business Establishments in Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Special
Disaster Prevention Areas (2019)”.
2 The number of business establishments is current as of April 1, 2019.

(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 95 petroleum and coal product manufacturingindustry-related accidents (a decrease of 4 year-on-year),
85 chemical industry-related accidents (a decrease of
6 year-on-year), 35 steel industry-related accidents (adecrease of 26 year-on-year), and 19 electrical industryrelated accidents (a decrease of 4 year-on-year). (Table
1-3-2)

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, disasterprevention equipment, etc.

1. Current Status of Special Disaster
Prevention Areas
As of April 1, 2020, 83 areas in which large quantitiesof petroleum or high-pressure gas at or above certain
quantities have been designated as special disasterprevention areas in 102 municipalities in 33 prefectures
based on the Act on the Prevention of Disaster inPetroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum
Facilities. (Fig. 1-3-5) These special disaster prevention
areas are under the jurisdiction of 90 fire departments.
Furthermore, 659 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, 333 are Class 1 business establishments (including
154 layout business establishments) and 333 are Class 2
business establishments.

☞ Japanese Original P.98

Current Status of Damage Countermeasures
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,

24

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-3-5 Designation Status for Special Disaster Prevention Areas(As of April 1, 2020)

66

68

52
12

67

15

13
14

16
18

Special disasterprevention areas

No.

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

Special disasterprevention areas

No.

17

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

No.

Special disasterprevention areas

1

Kushiro15

North Keiyo coast

33

Tahara49

Fukuyama/Sasaoka

68

Fukushima

2

Tomakomai

16

Central Keiyo coast

34

Kinuura50

Etajima69

Kamigoto

2-2Ishikari

17

South Keiyo coast

35

Port of Nagoya coast

51

Nomi

70

Yatsushiro

3

Muroran

18

Tokyo International
Airport36

Yokkaichi coast

52

lwakuni/Otake

71

Oita

4

Hokuto19

Keihin coast

37

Owase

53

Kudamatsu

71-2 Sendai

4-2

Shiriuchi

20

Negishi coast

38

Osaka North Port

54

Shunan71-3 Kushikino

4-3

Mutsuogawara

21

Port of Niigata (East)

39

Sakai Senboku coast

55

Ube/Onoda

71-4 Kagoshima

5

Aomori

22

Port of Niigata (West)40

Kansai International
Airport57

Mutsurejima

72

6

Hachinohe

23

Naoetsu

41

Misaki58

Anan72-2 Shibushi

6-2

Kuji

24

Toyama

42

Kobe

59

Bannosu

73

Henza

7

Shiogama

25

Fuchu

43

Higashiharima

60

Niihama

75

Onaha

8

Sendai26

Shinminato

44

Himeji coast

61

Namikata

9

Oga

27

Fushiki

44-2 Ako

62

Kikuma63

Matsuyama

10

Akita

28

Port of Nanao,Mimuro

45

Northern coast in north
Wakayama

11

Sakata29

Kanazawa Port north46

Central coast in north
Wakayama

64

Buzen

Southern coast in north
Wakayama

65

Kitakyushu

12

Hirono30

Fukui coast

47

13

Iwaki

31

Shimizu

47-2 Gobo

66

Shirashima

14

Kashima coast

32

Atsumi48

67

Fukuoka

Mizushima coast

25

Kiire

*83areasChapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

2. Disaster Prevention Systems in
Prefectures and at Firefighting Agencies

as well as firefighting robots (Scrum Force), in order tosupport the development of firefighting capabilities formunicipalities located in special disaster prevention areas.

(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. 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, 2020, disaster prevention organizations
for self-defense had been established at every specified
business establishment (659 business establishments). 71
joint disaster prevention associations, 11 wide-area joint
disaster prevention associations, and 55 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 5,270 disaster prevention
personnel, 84 large chemical fire trucks, 41 large elevatedwater trucks, 126 foam solution transport vehicles, 116large elevated chemical water trucks, 24 high capacity
foam cannons, 22 oil recovery vessels, and more.
In addition, the law states that these specified businessestablishments are required to install embankments
to prevent oil spills, outdoor water supply equipment
for firefighting, and emergency notification systems
according to their size. As of April 1, 2020, 133 businessestablishments had installed embankments to prevent oil
spills, 483 had installed outdoor water supply equipment
for firefighting, and 462 had installed emergency
notification systems, respectively.

(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.
(3) Maintaining the Firefighting Capabilities
of Municipalities Containing Special Disaster
Prevention Areas
As of April 1, 2020, 70 large chemical firetrucks, 54
large elevated water trucks, 86 foam solution transport
vehicles, 34 large elevated chemical water trucks,
2,961kL of 3% fire-extinguishing foam, 848kL of 6% fireextinguishing foam, 33 fireboats, and other such equipment
had been allocated to firefighting agencies in municipalities
containing special disaster prevention areas.
Likewise, 23 foam solution storage facilities, 5 portablefoam cannons, and other such equipment has been allocatedto prefectures containing special disaster prevention areas inorder to supplement their municipal firefighting capabilities,
as well as enhance and strengthen the disaster prevention
systems of said special disaster prevention areas.
In addition, 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,

*3
*4
*5

(2) Installation of High Capacity Foam Systems
During the Tokachi-Oki Earthquake in September
2003, damage that included damage to numerous outdoor
storage tanks and oil leaks occurred at an oil refining
business establishment in Tomakomai City. In addition,
approximately 54 hours after the earthquake struck, all of
the floating roof outdoor storage tanks caught fire when
the floating roof sank.
Before this disaster struck, it had been assumed that

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.

26

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
extensive knowledge and skills.
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
Because disasters are particularly likely to spread atlayout business establishments that handle large amountsof petroleum and high-pressure gases, regulating eachindividual facility at business establishments on astandalone basis is not sufficient, and from the perspectiveof mitigating damage it is necessary to take measures atthe establishment level.
Therefore, the Act on the Prevention of Disaster inPetroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum
Facilities mandates certain standards for layout
establishments regarding the layout of facility areas andthe securing of passageways within the premises. It also
mandates that in cases where business establishments are
newly established or change their facility area layouts,
they must provide notification of their plans, and after
completion, they must undergo confirmation to determine
whether or not the work is consistent with the relevantplans.

The high capacity foam system

the fires that would occur at floating roof outdoor storage
tanks would be ring fires.*6 But after considering the riskof earthquakes in Japan, it became necessary to expand
the assumption to include fires in all of the tanks.
In light of this, the Act on the Prevention of Disasterin Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum
Facilities was revised in June 2004, and the order for theenforcement of this law was revised in November 2005
to strengthen and enhance disaster prevention systems.
Furthermore, it was mandated that specified businessestablishments must equip themselves with new highcapacity foam systems by November 2008 in order to
respond to fires that fully envelop floating roof outdoor
storage tanks.
High capacity foam systems are a type of firefighting
equipment that consist of high capacity foam cannons,
feed pumps, foam mixers, and hoses. They have thecapacity to spray more than 10,000 liters of foam per
minute. A single high capacity foam cannon is capable ofspraying up to ten times as much foam as a conventional
three-piece set (consisting of a large chemical firetruck, alarge elevated water truck, and a foam solution transport
vehicle).
At present, high capacity foam systems with the capacity
to spray anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 liters per minuteare stationed at 12 wide-area joint disaster prevention
associations throughout Japan.

(2) Status of New Establishment Notifications, etc.
The total number of notifications for new establishmentsof or changes to layout business establishments in FY2019
came to 9, while the number of confirmations in the same
year was 9. (Fig. 1-3-6)

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 occur.*7 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.

(3) Enhancing Disaster Prevention Systems for
Self-defense
Disaster prevention activities in petroleum industrial
complexes are often difficult due to the large amount of
hazardous materials, complicated facilities, and the risk oflarge-scale disasters. Therefore, when such disasters occur,
disaster prevention organizations for self-defense and joint
disaster prevention associations must carry out precise
disaster prevention activities. In addition, the disasterprevention personnel responsible for said activities require*6*7(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

Ring fires: Fires that occur at floating roof outdoor storage tanks all the way around the tank in the gap between the floating roof and the tank’s sidepanel before spreading out in a ring pattern.
Abnormal phenomena: Fires, explosions, spills of oil and other substances, and other such abnormal phenomena at specified businessestablishments.

27

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters
Fig. 1-3-6 Status of Notifications and Confirmations for New Layout Business Establishments, etc.

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on the number of notifications received in accordance with the provisions of Articles 5 and 7 of the Act on the Prevention ofDisasters in Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities.
2 Prepared based on the number of confirmed cases as stipulated in Article 11 of the provisions of Articles 5 and 7 of the Act on the Preventionof Disasters in Petroleum Industrial Complexes and Other Petroleum Facilities
3 The number of notifications and the number of confirmations for each fiscal year do not match because a certain amount of time is requiredfor construction after the notification of new establishment, etc., before confirmation is made.

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.

solving issues in the introduction of AI in the field of plantsecurity, the "Guidelines for AI Reliability Assessmentin the Field of Plant Security" and the "Collection ofAdvanced AI Case Studies in Plants" were compiled anddisseminated to prefectures, 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
Complexes, etc.; Liaison Conference of FDMA, MHLW,
and METI; Website run jointly by the three organizations:
https://www.fdma.go.jp/relocation/neuter/topics/
fieldList4_16.html)

6. Recent Disaster Countermeasures at
Petroleum Industrial Complexes(1) Liaison Conferences of the FDMA and Related
Ministries to Examine Disaster Prevention
Measures at Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.
In the wake of the fatal explosion and fire at the
Yokkaichi Plant of Mitsubishi Materials Co., Ltd. that
occurred in January 2014, 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 since FY2014.
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 FY2019, “Guidelines for Safe Operation of Drones at
Plants” were revised to organize the safety requirements forthe use of drones indoors and incorporating the necessary
risk assessment and risk countermeasures, and theseguidelines were made known to prefectural governments,
fire departments, and business establishments.
In addition, in November 2020, in order to contribute to(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 to enhance andstrengthen disaster prevention systems at petroleum
industrial complexes, etc., such as revising disasterprevention assessment guidelines and handbooks for disasterprevention efforts of self-defense disaster prevention
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.

28

Chapter 1 Current Status and Challenges for Disasters

Commendation Ceremony for the Skill Contest

utilizing fire-extinguishing foam agents using a large-size
chemical ladders fire pumper a foam solution transport
vehicle, an elevation platform truck, and a chemical fire
truck in specified business establishments.
(4) Holding Investigative Committee Meetings toStrengthen the Disaster Prevention Systems ofPetroleum Industrial Complexes, etc.
The FDMA holds investigative committee meetings forthe purpose of enhancing the disaster prevention systemsof petroleum industrial complexes.
In FY2019, an investigative committee meeting withmembers from academia, government agencies, and otherconcerned personnel, etc. was held to promote the use ofadvanced technologies, such as AI and IoT technologies,
for safer and more effective disaster response by businessestablishments and fire departments in the event of adisaster at a petroleum complex. The committee conducteda survey and analysis on how advanced technologies
can be used in disaster response, and after examining
the current issues, proposed an image of future disaster
response, which was compiled and published in a report.

Skill contest

During the contest, which will be around the time of“World Tsunami Awareness Day” on November 5, theMinister of Internal Affairs and Communications andthe Commissioner of the FDMA will commend selfdefense disaster prevention organizations, etc. that achieve
excellent results in safety, reliability, and promptness ina training exercise to extinguish a large-scale tank fire

-omitted-

29

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

1 Fire Service Structure

Section☞ Japanese Original P.151(37 cities, 86 towns, and 20 villages), which corresponds
to 8.5% 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, 2020,
there were 726 fire departments and 1,719 fire stations
throughout Japan. (Table 2-1-1)
There were 16,628 firefighters, of which 5,587 were
women. (Table 2-1-1, Fig. 2-1-1)
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, 2020, 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 some towns andvillages in mountainous regions or on remote islands, with
99.96% of the population now covered by standing fire
defense structures.
Of these, 289 fire departments were established by
special district authorities or extended associations (22 ofwhich were established by extended associations). The
1,110 municipalities that have organized these (371 cities,
599 towns, and 140 villages) correspond to 65.7% of thetotal number of municipalities that have switched to a
standing fire defense structure. Furthermore, the numberof municipalities outsourcing this work comes to 143(2)Volunteer Fire Corps
Volunteer fire corps are municipal, non-standing
firefighting agencies. The volunteer firefighters thatcomprise their members have other main occupations,and engage in fire and disaster defense activities basedon their love for their hometown and a desire to protect
it thinking that they should be the ones to protect theirown communities themselves. They do this as local
government employees in special part-time positions
vested with authority and responsibility.
As of April 1, 2020, the number of volunteer fire corps
throughout Japan came to 2,199, while their volunteer
members numbered 818,478. They have been establishedin every municipality. (Table 2-1-1, Fig. 2-1-1)
Volunteer fire corps have the unique qualities of being:• Rooted in local communities (volunteers live or workwithin the jurisdiction)• Able to dispatch personnel (there are roughly 4.9-times
the number of volunteers as there are regular firefighters)• Able to respond immediately (volunteers acquire theskills and knowledge to respond to disasters throughroutine education and training)
By harnessing these qualities, they are able to engage in
the initial firefighting when fires break out and deal withany residual fires, as well as sound warnings and carry out
rescue activities when storm and flood disasters occur. In
addition, when large-scale disasters occur, they engage
in activities like assisting with resident evacuations anddisaster prevention, as well as providing guidance toevacuated citizens in cases where they safeguard civilians.
Volunteer fire corps play a major role in ensuring thesafety and security of their communities, such as by

Table 2-1-1 Current status of municipal fire defense organizations
Classification

As of April 1, 2018

Fire departments

Rate of change (%)

726

0

0.0

Cities

385

385

0

0.0

Towns/villages

52

52

0

0.0

289

289

0

0.0

Fire station

1,719

1,719

0

0.0

Branch offices

3,113

3,106

△7

△ 0.2

No. of firefighters

165,438

166,628

1,190

0.7

5,307

5,587

280

5.3

2,198

2,199

1

0.0

Individual

Special district authorities, etc.

Of which, No. of female firefighters
Volunteer fire corps
Volunteer fire corps

Comparison
Change726

Breakdown
Fire departments

As of April 1, 2019

Divisions

22,38822,309

△ 79

△ 0.4

No. of volunteer fire corps members

831,982

818,478△ 13,504△ 1.6

26,62527,200575

2.2

Of which, No. of female members(Note) Prepared based on the Survey of “The Current Status of Fire Prevention” and “Earthquake Countermeasures” and “The Report on Personnel
Changes concerning Fire Departments and Volunteer Fire Corps”.

30

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-1-1 Trends in the number of Firefighters and Volunteer Fire Corps(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).

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

Villages726

1,690 municipalities

1,690

793

736

437

437 municipalities

437

385

51

1,110 municipalities

1,110

371

599

140

143 municipalities

143

37

86

20 Outsourced

29

―

7

1,719

793

743

289

(As of April 1, 2020)

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."

overseeing fire defense activities in an across-the-board
manner. This is particularly true in towns and villages
without a standing fire defense structure, where fire
departments and fire stations have not been established.
In addition, volunteer fire corps engage in activities
that are rooted in local communities during times ofnormalcy, such as raising awareness of fire prevention anddisseminating first-aid treatment. They also play a majorrole in improving local fire prevention capabilities andrevitalizing local communities.

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. (Table 2-1-2)(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. Such equipment includes dedicatedphone lines for reporting fires, fire defense communication
networks, and more.

2. Fire and Disaster Defense Facilities, etc.
(1)Maintenance of Fire Trucks and Other Vehicles
Fire departments and fire stations maintain firepumpers, ladder-equipped vehicles (including vehicles
with folding ladders), chemical fire trucks, ambulances,

31

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-1-2 Number of firefighting vehicles owned(As of April 1, 2020) (Units: vehicles, ships, machines)
CategoryFiredepartments

Volunteerfire corps

Total

Fire pumpers

7,769

13,98921,758

Ladder-equipped vehicles

1,132

0

1,132

946

4

950

Ambulances

6,443

0

6,443

Command vehicles

1,759

892

2,651

Rescue vehicles

1,243

0

1,243

Other firefighting vehicles

9,489

2,118

11,607

Small power pumps

3,544

49,89253,436434

35,63836,072Equipped on wheeled platforms

1,821

2,594

4,415

Other than those above

1,289

11,66012,949Firefighting boats

39

9

48

Fire and disaster prevention helicopters

33

0

33

Chemical fire trucks

Equipped on vehicles
Breakdown(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey of the Current Status of Fire Prevention and Earthquake
Countermeasures”, “The Survey on the Implementation Status of Emergency Services”,
and “The Survey on the Implementation Status of Rescue Work”.

A. Calls to 119
Dedicated phone lines for reporting fires refer todedicated phone lines whereby firefighting agencies canreceive emergency reports related to fires and medical
emergencies from people providing notification.
The telecommunication number related to emergency
reports to firefighting agencies has been set to “119” asper regulations on telecommunication numbers.
The number of incidents reported to 119 throughout
2019 came to 8,786,855. A breakdown of the reported
details shows that the number of reported cases related to
medical emergencies and rescues accounted for 70.9% of
the total. (Fig. 2-1-3)
Following the recent popularization of cell phones andIP phones*1 (hereinafter referred to as “cell phones and(A) Location Information Notifications for Emergency
Reports to 119
While the firefighting agencies that receive 119 reports
ascertain the locations of the disaster and information
pertaining to it through their interaction with the caller,
firefighting agencies that have installed advanced
fire defense command centers can display location
information, such as the reported location, on a map on amonitor when they receive a 119 call.
The Location Information Notification System, which

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”.

*1

other types of phones”), the number of reports to 119 fromcell phones and other types of phones has risen, with cell
phones comprising 47.7% and IP phone comprising 24.2%of the overall number of reports. (Fig. 2-1-4)

IP (Internet Protocol) phones: A voice call service offered through the use of IP technology at the contact point between the telephone network andthe phone terminals.

32Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activitiesof the “Net 119 Emergency Report System” (Fig. 2-1-5)
since FY2015, and in March 2017, compiled standards
to adopt the system in fire departments throughout Japan.
The FDMA is working toward the goal of adopting thissystem at all fire departments, and as of June 1, 2020, 307
out of 726 fire departments (approx. 42%) have alreadyintroduced the system.
In addition, as a means for the hearing or speech
impaired to use the phone, The Nippon Foundation has
been implementing a model project since 2013 for a“telephone relay service” in which an operator interpretsfrom “sign language” or “text” to “voice” to provide
an immediate two-way connection between hearingor speech impaired person and non-hearing or speech
impaired people. Until now, no emergency calls had been
made using the telephone relay service. However, the Act
on Facilitation of the Use of Telephones for the Persons
with Hearing Impairments, etc., which was enacted inJune 2020 and came into effect in December of the same
year, has positioned the telephone relay service as public
infrastructure. Fire departments are making the necessary
preparations to respond to emergency calls made via
the telephone relay service, which will be available
nationwide starting in 2021.

provides firefighting agencies of the location informationof 119 calls originating from cell phones and other typesof phones, began operating in April 2007. The Integrated
Location Information Notification System, which
integrates this Location Information Notification Systemwith the already operating New Origin Location Display
System *2 which displayed information from landline
phones, began operating in October 2009.
As of April 1, 2020, the number of fire departments thatare able to determine the location information when theyreceive a 119 call from a cell phone or another type ofphone as a result of the Location Information Notification
System and Integrated Location Information Notification
System is now 712 (of which 598 headquarters use theIntegrated Location Information Notification System).
(B) Nonverbal Reports
Since the system for calling 119 is based on verbal
communication, non-verbal alternatives such as fax ande-mail have been introduced as a means for people withhearing and speech disabilities to make emergency calls.
However, there are a number of problems with these sortsof alternative means, such as the fact that in some cases
reports can only be provided from locations equippedwith FAX machines, and that it takes time to convey theaddress and status of the person providing the report.
As a means for persons with hearing or speech
impairments to make an emergency call to 119 without
using voice, the FDMA has been investigating the use(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 toFig. 2-1-5 Flow of Emergency Report*2

New Origin Location Display System: This is a system that notifies fire departments of the location information (address information) of the person
making a report with regard to 119 reports from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West
Corporation landline phones.

33

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-1-6 Flow of 3-Way Telephone Interpretation

respond promptly and accurately to 119 calls by foreign
nationals, or from an emergency site where a foreign
national is present.
The FDMA notified each fire department of the“Promotion of Multi-language Service using 3 Way
Telephone Interpretation provided by the Telephone
Interpretation Center” (Firefighting Notice No. 8 from theManager of the Fire and Ambulance Service Division at
the FDMA, dated January 25, 2017), and is working topromote multi-language response for 119 calls throughjoint contracts with local fire departments and the use of
telephone interpretation centers that have already been
contracted by prefectural governments, etc., with the goalof having this system installed in all fire departments. (Fig.
2-1-6)

who are active at the scenes of disasters, or for situations
where orders are to be given and information collected at
the scenes of fires. In addition, fire defense phone lines are
dedicated phone lines that are used for communications
such as simultaneously relaying information and orders
when reports are received between fire departments, firestations, and branch offices.
In addition, the image information recorded by thecameras equipped on fire prevention helicopters are usednationwide and in local regions through the use of satellite
communication networks.
(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.
With artificial sources, a certain amount of water
can be drawn up at any time from near the location

B. Fire Defense Communications Networks, etc.
Fire and emergency wireless radios are an importantpiece of equipment. They are considered necessary forsituations where a fire department needs to provide
instructions to fire brigades, rescue crews, and others

Table 2-1-3 Number of water sources for firefighting installed(mainly artificial water sources)(As of April 1 of each year)
Category

2019

Comparison

2020

Percent change(%)

No. installed nationwide

2,483,960(100.0)2,491,074(100.0)

7,114

0.3

Fire hydrants

1,930,125(77.7)

1,936,132(77.7)

6,007

0.3

Fire cistern

534,345(21.5)

535,651(21.5)

1,306

0.2

20㎥-less than 40 ㎥

103,166

102,913

△ 253

△ 0.2

40㎥-less than 60 ㎥

384,700

386,180

1,480

0.4

60㎥ or more

46,47946,558

79

0.2

Wells

19,490(0.8)

19,291
(0.8)

△ 199

△ 1.0

(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey of the Current Status of Fire Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures”.
2 The numbers in parentheses show the proportion, and their unit is %.

34

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
where the fire breaks out, and so they are frequently
used as water sources while fighting a fire. Ever since
the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in particular, theinstallation of fire cisterns and other equipment that has
been seismically-reinforced against earthquakes has been
actively promoted as a countermeasure for water sources
for firefighting to combat large-scale earthquakes. In 2014
the Standards for Water Sources for Firefighting (FDMA
Bulletin No. 7 from 1964) were revised to allow for theirinstallation in a systematic manner. (Table 2-1-3)
Additionally, in recent years, on top of the aforementioned
concerns about earthquake-proofing, due to concerns
about aging water resources for firefighting, and because
demand for new resources is densely populated areas fullof wooden buildings is being anticipated, according to thereport “Regarding the Promotion of the Reinforcement andMaintenance of Water Resources for Firefighting” (Issue
No. 272, Fire and Ambulance Division's Manager, FDMA,
November 24, 2017) Municipalities are setting numericaltargets for short, medium, and long term incremental
maintenance goals for water resources for firefighting.
In addition, with natural water sources it is often thecase that water can be taken in over a long period oftime without any restrictions on the amount that can betaken. As such, these sources play an important role as awater source for firefighting together with artificial water
sources. On the other hand, because there are sometimes
cases where these water sources cannot be used due to theseason, or because there are restrictions on where water
can be drawn from, an appropriate combination of both
artificial and natural water sources must be establishedwhen it comes to arranging water resources for firefighting.

-omitted-

35

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

4 Education and Training Structure

Section☞ Japanese Original P.185

As of April 1, 2020, fire academies had been establishedin all 47 prefectures, seven ordinance-designated cities(Sapporo, Chiba, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Kobe, andFukuoka), and in the Tokyo Fire Department for a totalof 55 such academies throughout Japan (in the Tokyo
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
from around 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.
The types of education and training offered include
initial education, specialized education, management
education, and special education for firefighters, as wellas basic education, specialized education, management
education, and special education 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.
The firefighting agencies work to promote training
activities that are safe and effective. This is done throughefforts like the establishment of standards for on-the-job
training at the FDMA in the form of the Standards for Fire
Training Etiquette, Standards for Firefighting Techniques,
and Standards for Fire and Rescue Techniques, as well
as safety management manuals both for during drills andduring security activities.

• Initial education refers to foundational education andtraining offered to all newly-hired firefighters. The
standards designate that 800 hours of class time is required
for this.
• Basic education refers to basic education and training
offered to those people who must acquire knowledge andskills as volunteer firefighters after joining a volunteer
fire corps due to their limited experience. The standards
designate that 24 hours of class time is required for this.
• Specialized education refers to expert education andtraining related to specific fields offered to active duty
firefighters and mainly those volunteer firefighters who
have completed their basic education.
• Management education refers to the education andtraining that is generally required for fire defense
management, and is offered to management personnel
and prospective candidates expected to advance onto
management.
• Special education refers to education offered for special
objectives that fall outside the bounds of the educationand training mentioned above.

3. Education and Training at Fire
Academies(1) Establishment of Fire Academies
The provisions of Article 51 of the Fire Defense
Organization Act mandate that prefectures must establish
fire academies independently or jointly, except incases where financial circumstances or other special
circumstances prevent them from doing so. In addition,
the provisions stipulate that ordinance-designated cities
can also establish fire academies independently or jointly
together with the prefectures.

(3) Enhancing and Strengthening the Education
and Training at Fire Academies
Sophisticated firefighting activities are required
due to the increasing size and complexity of disasters.
In addition, prevention work also continues to growincreasingly sophisticated and specialized as a result ofrevisions to fire defense laws and ordinances.

36

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Within this context, the knowledge and skills that
firefighters need in order to properly carry out theirprofessional duties must be further improved. Therefore,
partial revisions were made to both the Standards for
the Establishment, Personnel, and Operation of Fire
Academies and the Education and Training Standards forFire Academies in March 2015 with the goal of working
to enhance and strengthen the education and training
offered at fire academies.
As part of the revisions, facilities capable of holding
practical training by simulating actual disasters (simulated
firefighting training equipment, earthquake training
facilities, etc.) were added to the standards. In addition, themethod for calculating the number of teaching personnel
at fire academies was revised out of consideration forsafety management, and revisions to the required subjects
and class hours were also made based on the needs andchallenges of firefighting.

Table 2-4-1 Holding of education and training
aimed at firefighters(people)(4) Enrollment in Education and Training
In FY2019 a total of 32,044 firefighters attended
education and training at fire academies. (Table 2-4-1)
As for volunteer firefighters, in FY2019 a total of
36,429 attended education and training either at fire
academies or through the dispatch of teachers from said
academies. (Table 2-4-2)
Since volunteer firefighters each have their own main
occupations, in cases where it is determined that it will
be difficult to adequately provide them with educationand training at a fire academy, it has been stipulated thatteachers from said academies can be dispatched locally toprovide education and training. Many fire academies haveadopted this approach.
Furthermore, education and training is also provided byfire academies to people other than volunteer firefightersto the extent that doing so does not interfere with theeducation and training of said members. In FY2019,education and training was provided to a total of
16,759 people, from local voluntary disaster prevention
organizations and others.

Special education

FY2018
5,364

5,315

Specialized education

10,017

10,113

Fire Suppression Class

1,201

1,200

Special Disaster Class

704

642

1,112

1,065

Preventive Inspection Class
Hazardous Material Class

447

389

Fire Inspection Class

1,130

1,226

Ambulance Class

3,748

3,906

-

4

Rescue Class

1,675

1,681

Management education

Associate Ambulance Class

3,835

3,554

Introductory Management Class

2,301

2,294

Intermediate Management Class

1,131

882

Advanced Management Class

403

378

12,828

11,59632,04430,578

Total(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on Education and Training at Fire
Academies”.

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.
(1) Facilities and Equipment
The Fire and Disaster Management College's educationand training facilities consist of a main building, asecondary building, training facilities, and a dormitory.

Table 2-4-2 Enrollment in education and training aimed atvolunteer firefighters
Category(people)FY2019School education

Teacher dispatch

Basic education

4,277

3,451

7,728

Specialized education

1,963

0

1,963

751

0

751

1,212

0

1,212

7,347

84

7,431

2,336

48

2,384

561

0

561

Branch Supervisor Course

1,784

22

1,806

Local command Course

2,666

14

2,680

6,473

12,834

19,307

20,06016,36936,429Fire Suppression Class
Machinery Operation ClassManagement education
Introductory Management Class
Supervisory Management Class (Whole)

Special education
Total

FY2019Initial education

Total(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on Education and Training at Fire Academies”.
* The Intermediate Management Class was replaced with the Supervisory Management Class through the partial
revisions to the education and training standards for fire academies from March 2014.
* The Supervisory Management Class was counted as having completed the Branch Supervisor Course and the
Local Command Course.

37Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
The main building contains four classrooms, anaudiovisual classroom, a scientific combustion laboratory,
and a library, as well as disaster training rooms for training
situational judgment and command skills by experiencing
a variety of simulated disasters.
The secondary building contains an auditorium, as well
as rescue training rooms, special classrooms, an indoor
training ground, and more.
In addition to a 4-story low-rise training building and an
11-story high-rise training tower, these training facilities
include a training facility where trainees can experience
the same changes in the environment as an actual fire
scene by burning wood in a container, as well as a townformed housing unit that can conduct training assuming
difficult-to-operate areas such as dense wooden houses.
The dormitory consists of two dormitories, the South
Dormitory and the North Dormitory, and has a womenonly space (bathrooms, restrooms, changing rooms, andlounges, etc.).
As for education and training vehicles, the college
is equipped with command vehicles, ordinary pumpvehicles, pump vehicles equipped with water tanks, rescue
work vehicles, special disaster chemical response vehicles,
disaster support vehicles, high-grade emergency vehicles,
and vehicles for transporting materials and equipment.
(2) Enrollment in Education and Training
A. Enhancement of education and training content
in response to changes in social conditions
The Fire and Disaster Management College turnedout 968 graduates from its comprehensive classes andspecialized classes, and 567 graduates from its practicalcourses in FY2019. This brings the total number of
its graduates from the time it was founded up throughFY2019 to 64,230.
However, its capacity was planned to be 1,916 people
in FY2020, due to the spread of COVID-19 and thedeclaration of a state of emergency, some courses werecancelled, postponed, or the schedule was changed, andthe capacity was set at 1,532 people. (Table 2-4-3)
The college's classes were substantially reorganized in
FY2006, following which reviews have been carried out
where appropriate based on the needs of the attendees.
In FY2019, 22 classes and 13 practical courses werescheduled to be held during the year. However, in light ofthe spread of COVID-19, 2 classes and 1 practical course
scheduled for March 2020 were cancelled.
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, as well as the implementation ofTraining 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

38

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-4-3 Education and training implementation status
Category

FY2018(actual result)

Revised plan (as of
Original plan
July 2020)
No. ofNo. ofNo. ofGraduates
Capacity
Capacity
times held
times held
times held(people)(people)(people)(times)(times)(times)Comprehensive education
ClassesSpecialized education

Management Class

4

239

4

240

4

AdvancedManagement Class

1

46

1

54

1

2

46

2

102

1
(*2)

2

63

2

72

2

Fire Suppression
Class

2

120

2

120

1
(*2)

Rescue Class

2

120

2

120

1
(*2)

Emergency Medical
Service Class

1

48

1

48

1

Prevention Class

2

96

2

96

2

Hazardous
Substances Class

1

33

1

42

1

Fire Survey Class

2

96

2

96

1
(*2)

New Teachers
Orientation Class

1
(*1)

61

1

72

1

1

36

1

New Fire
Chief/Principal
Orientation Class
Volunteer Fire
Corps Management
Class

In-service Teachers
Class
Subtotalsuspended (*1)

Emergency Fire Response

20

968

21

1,098

17

2

75

2

96

1
(*2)

Advanced
Rescue/Special
Advanced Rescue
Coursesuspended (*1)

1

66

1

66

Practical courses

Crisis management/firefighting educationetc.

Air Corps Officer
CourseCrisisManagement/Public
Protection Course
Voluntary Disaster
Prevention
Organization
Training Course
Short-term Voluntary
Disaster Prevention
Organization
Training Course
Volunteer Fire
Corps Revitalization
CourseCourses
encouraging theactive involvementof women
Inspection
operations
management course

Subtotal
Total

Time

Educational goals

To provide comprehensive training in advanced knowledge
240 2 months and techniques related to firefighting as well as train
personnel to become senior firefighters.
To improve the qualifications of personnel currently serving
54 2 weeks as senior firefighters through training in advanced knowledge
and skills related to firefighting.
To provide comprehensive training in the knowledge and102 2 weeks skills needed by newly appointed fire chiefs and fire academy
principles for their positions.
To provide comprehensive training to senior management at
72 1 week volunteer fire corps in the knowledge and skills they will needfor their positions.
To provide specialized training in the skills and knowledge
60 2 months related to fire suppression in order to improve the quality of
rescue workers and educators.
To provide specialized training in the skills and knowledge
60 2 months related to rescue work in order to improve the quality of
rescue workers and educators.
To Improve the qualifications of rescue work instructors byhaving emergency rescue team leaders and others acquire48 1 monthadvanced knowledge and skills in a comprehensive manner(including education for fostering EMTs to offer instruction).
To provide specialized training in the skills and knowledge
96 2 months related to fire prevention in order to improve the quality of
rescue workers and educators.
To provide specialized training in the skills and knowledge
42 1 month related to hazardous material safety in order to improve thequality of hazardous material safety workers and educators.
To provide specialized training in the skills and knowledge
48 2 months related to fire investigation in order to improve the quality offire investigators and educators.
To provide specialized training to new fire academy
72 2 weeks education and training instructors in the knowledge and skills
they will need for the position.
To improve the ability of existing fire academy education andtraining instructors to comprehensively lead instruction on
36 2 weeks
operational management, fire prevention operations, and fire
suppression operations.
930
To provide the command support battalion cheif of
96 2 weeks Emergency Fire Response Teams with the knowledge andskills they will need for their work.

Commanding Officer
CourseNBC Course

FY2019 (planned)

To provide the leaders of advanced rescue teams and2 weeks special advanced rescue teams with the knowledge andskills they will need for their work.
To provide NBC disaster personnel on Emergency Fire
3 weeks Response Teams with the knowledge and skills they willneed for NBC disaster response duties.
To provide firefighting and fire defense air patrol commanders
2 weeks
with the knowledge and skills they will need for their work.
To provide crisis managers, fire defense managers, and those
1 week in charge of protecting the public at local public bodies withthe knowledge and skills they will need for their work.

1

71

1

72

1

72

1

69

1

84

1

84

1

56

1

96

suspended (*2)

1

57

1

72

suspended (*2)

1 weekTo provide those in charge of training at voluntary disasterprevention organizations with the knowledge and skills they
will need for their work.

2

77

2

128

2

128

2 daysTo provide the personnel in charge of the task of training
voluntary disaster prevention organizations with the basic
knowledge and skills they will need for their work.

2

63

2

96

1
(*2)

48

1

51

1

60

1

60

1

48

1

48

1

48

12

567

13

818

9

602

32

1,535

34

1,916

26

1,532

To provide those involved in volunteer fire corps duties andeducation/training with the knowledge and skills they willneed for their work.
To support the career development of female firefighting
officials who are candidates for management positions and2 weeks
provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to
expand their career opportunities.
To provide personnel at or above the section head-level
who supervise preventive operations at fire departments with
1 week the knowledge and skills needed to perform management
for inspection operations as a whole, such as handlingviolations.
1 week*1 Due to countermeasures against COVID-19, “New Teachers Orientation Class” will be conducted through e-learning and 2-day short-term schooling,and “In-service Teacher Class” and “Advanced Rescue/Special Advanced Rescue Course” will be cancelled.
*2 Due to countermeasures against COVID-19, the “New Fire Chief/Principal Orientation Class” and “Commanding Officer Course” were consolidated
from two to one. One out of two sessions of the “Fire Suppression Class,” “Rescue Class,” and “Fire Survey Class” were postponed to FY2021. Oneof the two “Volunteer Fire Corpse Revitalization Course” was cancelled, and the “Crisis Management and Public Protection Course” and “Voluntary
Disaster Prevention Organizations Training Course” were cancelled.

39

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
firefighting drills (hot training) in environments similar toreal fires utilizing the real fire training facilities.
Moreover, some of the classes incorporate learningin advance over the internet (e-learning) in an effort
to provide efficient education and training within alimited period of time. And, in order to expand training
opportunities for women, 5% of the capacity of eachdepartment has been set as a priority quota for female
firefighters to promote women's entry into the school,
and a Women's Activity Promotion Course, which is apractical training course designed to support the careerdevelopment of female firefighters, is available, as isa "Fire Academy Forum" with the theme of promoting
women's activity.
Furthermore, in preparation for holding large international
events (such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic
Games to be held in 2021 (hereinafter referred to as
the “Tokyo 2020 Games”)) the NBC course has been
increased from 10 days to 15 days from 2018 until theyear of the Olympic, in order to strengthen Japan’s NBC
response capabilities.
In FY2019, positive pressure protective suits, large
scale decontamination systems, transport vehicles, andother NBC equipment was installed at the Fire andDisaster Management College in order to improve theresponse capabilities of fire departments in the event of an
NBC disaster involving a significant number of victims at
a large-scale event.

academies must be enhanced and strengthened owing to
the increasing diversity and growing scale of the situations
resulting from natural disasters, fires, and accidents. The
Fire and Disaster Management College provides thefollowing sorts of technical assistance in order to achieve
this.
A. Education and Training for Fire Academy
Principals and Teachers
Education and training for newly-appointed fire
academy principals and teachers is provided via classes
specifically for newly appointed fire chiefs, fire academy
school principals, and teachers, including existingteachers.
Furthermore, the classes for newly-appointed teachers
and in-service teachers provide education centered mainly
around learning teaching techniques. In addition, theyalso incorporate practices in which teachers actually givelectures, and provide training for educational leaders at
the fire academies.
The classes for people other than newly-appointed
teachers and existing teachers also strive to foster
educational leaders as one of their objectives, and offer
training on teaching techniques and practice with giving
lectures as part of this.
B. Dispatch of Lecturers
Lecturers on fire suppression duty, prevention, ambulanceservice, rescue, and other forms of fire service administrationand firefighting techniques are dispatched in responseto requests from fire academies in order to enhance theeducational content at said academies. Lecturers weredispatched a total of 131 times in FY2019.

B. Impact of the Spread of COVID-19
In light of the government's request for the temporary
closure of all elementary, junior high, and senior highschools nationwide due to COVID-19, the Fire andDisaster Management College decided to conduct the New
Teacher Orientation Class (11 days), which was scheduled
to be held in March 2020, through e-learning and shortterm schooling (two days and one night), and canceled
the In-service Teacher Class and the Advanced Rescue/
Special Advanced Rescue Course. Furthermore, although
21 classes and 13 practical courses had been planned for
FY2020, those scheduled to be held between April andearly June and in August were combined, postponed to thefollowing year, or cancelled in response to the situation
surrounding COVID-19 and the declaration of a state of
emergency. As a result, only 17 classes and 9 practicalcourses were offered, and overall capacity decreased from1,916 to 1,532 students.
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.

C. Editing Firefighting Textbooks
The FDMA edits the textbooks for beginners that areused at the fire academies. As of April 2019, it had issued
21 types of textbooks.
D. Providing Information on Lecturers, etc.
The FDMA provides a roster of the names of graduatesfrom the Fire and Disaster Management College,
information on lecturers, and more. This is designed
to secure lecturers who have acquired a certain levelof knowledge and skills in specialized areas, as wellas to contribute to further improving the quality of theeducation and training offered by the fire academies.
(4) Special Lectures
In order to strengthen the ability to respond to largescale events such as the Tokyo 2020 Games, the FDMA
has been holding special lectures on safety management,
responding to mass casualties, and NBC responses in
16 locations nationwide from FY2016 to FY2019 inprefectures where large-scale events are held.

(3) Technical Assistance for Fire Academies
The education and training provided at prefectural fire

40

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

5 Ambulance Service System

Section☞ Japanese Original P.191

411,528 people (6.9%) suffered a traffic accident, andso on. (Table 2-5-1, Table 2-5-2, Attachment 2-5-1, 2,
untranslated)
The number of times fire and disaster prevention
helicopters were dispatched came to 3,005 (a decreaseof 123 from the previous year), and 2,250 people weretransported by them (a decrease of 68 from the previousyear).

1. Implementation of Ambulance
Services(1) Ambulance Service Dispatch
Ambulance services were dispatched a total of
6,639,767 times in 2019 (an increase of 34,554, or 0.5%,
from the previous year). This has consistently continued
to trend upward since the year 2004, when the numberof cases exceeded 5 million for the first time. Looking at
the daily average, ambulance services were dispatched
an average of approximately 18,191 times per day (anincrease of approximately 95 compared to the previousyear), meaning that ambulance service teams weredispatched at a rate of once every 4.7 seconds or so (4.8
seconds in the previous year).
Furthermore, the number of people transported byambulance has also consistently continued its upward
swing, totaling 5,978,008 people (an increase of 17,713
people, or 0.3%, from the previous year). This meansthat one out of every 21 members of the public has beentransported by an ambulance service team (same as theprevious year). Looking at this by the type of incident thatled people to be transported by an ambulance reveals that
3,926,553 people (65.6%) were transported due to sudden
illness, 926,553 people (15.5%) suffered a general injury,(2) People Transported by the Severity of Their
Injury or Illness
Of the 5,978,008 people transported by ambulances in
2019, approximately half 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.). (Table 2-5-3)(3) People Transported by Ambulance by Age
Group and Type of Incident
Viewing a breakdown of the 5,978,008 people
transported by ambulance in 2019 by age group reveals
that 12,938 of them were newborn infants (0.2%), 280,728
were young children (4.7%), 202,830 were youths (3.4%),
1,892,457 were adults (31.7%), and 3,589,055 were
elderly people (60.0%). As the aging of society advances,
the share accounted for by elderly people will continue
to trend upwards year by year (an increase of 0.6% from

Table 2-5-1 Trends in the number of ambulance services and number ofpeople transported
CategoryYear

No. of ambulance service dispatch
Of which
Total No. of Of which
No. via fire
No. viaambulanceand disasterambulanceserviceprevention
dispatch(Ａ)
helicopter(During each year)

People transported

Difference/rate ofchange(%) fromprevious year

Total No.
of people
transported

Of which
No. via fire
Of whichand disasterNo. viaambulance prevention
helicopter

Difference/rate ofchange (%)
from previous year

Of(A), No. of
dispatch due tosudden illness(B)

Ratio of(B) to (A)
(%)

2004

5,031,464

5,029,108

2,356

198,564(4.1)

4,745,872

4,743,469

2,403

168,469(3.7)

2,953,471

58.7

2005

5,280,428

5,277,936

2,492

248,964(4.9)

4,958,363

4,955,976

2,387

212,491(4.5)

3,167,046

60.0

2006

5,240,478

5,237,716

2,762△39,950(△0.8)

4,895,328

4,892,593

2,735△63,035(△1.3)

3,163,822

60.4

2007

5,293,403

5,290,236

3,167

52,925(1.0)

4,905,585

4,902,753

2,832

10,257(0.2)

3,223,990

60.9

2008

5,100,370

5,097,094

3,276△193,033(△3.6)

4,681,447

4,678,636

2,811△224,138(△4.6)

3,102,423

60.9

2009

5,125,936

5,122,226

3,710

25,566(0.5)

4,686,045

4,682,991

3,054

4,598

(0.1)

3,141,882

61.3

2010

5,467,620

5,463,682

3,938

341,684(6.7)

4,982,512

4,979,537

2,975

296,467(6.3)

3,389,044

62.0

2011

5,711,102

5,707,655

3,447

243,482(4.5)

5,185,313

5,182,729

2,584

202,801(4.1)

3,562,208

62.4

2012

5,805,701

5,802,455

3,246

94,599(1.7)

5,252,827

5,250,302

2,525

67,514(1.3)

3,648,074

62.9

2013

5,918,939

5,915,683

3,256

113,238(2.0)

5,348,623

5,346,087

2,536

95,796(1.8)

3,732,953

63.1

2014

5,988,377

5,984,921

3,456

69,438(1.2)

5,408,635

5,405,917

2,718

60,012(1.1)

3,781,249

63.2

2015

6,058,190

6,054,815

3,375

69,813(1.2)

5,481,252

5,478,370

2,882

72,617(1.3)

3,851,978

63.6

2016

6,213,628

6,209,964

3,664

155,438(2.6)

5,624,034

5,621,218

2,816

142,782(2.6)

3,975,380

64.0

2017

6,345,517

6,342,147

3,370

131,889(2.1)

5,738,664

5,736,086

2,578

114,630(2.0)

4,061,989

64.0

2018

6,608,341

6,605,213

3,128

262,824(4.1)

5,962,613

5,960,295

2,318

223,949(3.9)

4,294,924

65.0

2019

6,642,772

6,639,767

3,005

34,431(0.5)

5,980,258

5,978,008

2,250

17,645(0.3)

4,335,687

65.3(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service” and ”The Survey on the Current Status of Fire and Disaster Prevention andEarthquake Countermeasures”.

41Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-5-2 Trends in the number of ambulance dispatch by type of incident and the number of people
transported(During each year)
During 2018
Type of incident

No. of dispatch(People transported)

During 2019

Composition rate(％)

No. of dispatch(People transported)

Composition rate(％)

Rate of change(%)

Difference

Sudden illness

4,294,924(3,891,040)

65.0(65.3)

4,335,687(3,922,274)

65.3(65.6)

40,763
31,2340.9
0.8

Traffic accident

459,977(441,582)

7.0
(7.4)

432,492(411,528)

6.5
(6.9)

△27,485△30,054△6.0△6.8

General injury

997,804(912,346)

15.1(15.3)

1,013,435(926,553)

15.3(15.5)

15,631
14,207

1.6
1.6

Self-inflicted injury

51,994(35,156)

0.8
(0.6)

52,286(35,545)

0.8
(0.6)

292
389

0.6
1.1

Work-related injury

58,891(57,500)

0.9
(1.0)

57,308(55,924)

0.9
(0.9)

△1,583△1,576△2.7△2.7

Assault

32,709(25,038)

0.5
(0.4)

30,074(22,750)

0.5
(0.4)

△2,635△2,288△8.1△9.1

Sports/athletics

43,785(43,349)

0.7
(0.7)

42,102(41,573)

0.6
(0.7)

△1,683△1,776

△3.8
△4.1

Fire

22,925(5,393)0.3(0.1)

23,485(5,234)

0.4
(0.1)

560
△159

2.4
△2.9

Drowning

5,249(2,318)

0.1
(0.0)

5,071
(2,160)

0.1
(0.0)

△178
△158

△3.4
△6.8

Natural disaster

2,540(1,957)

0.0
(0.0)

1,105
(640)

0.0
(0.0)

△1,435△1,317

△56.5
△67.3

Other

634,415(544,616)

9.6
(9.1)

646,722(553,827)

9.7
(9.3)

12,307
9,211

1.9
1.7

Total

6,605,213(5,960,295)

100
(100)

6,639,767(5,978,008)

100
(100)

34,554
17,7130.5
0.3(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.
2 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.

Table 2-5-3 Number of people transported by ambulance by type of incident and severity of their injury/illness(During 2019)
Category

Type ofincident

Serious(Lengthy
hospitalization)

Death

Moderate(Hospitalization)

Minor(Outpatient care)

Other

Total

Sudden illness

62,227(1.6)

294,196(7.5)

1,685,123(43.0)

1,879,708(47.9)

1,020
(0.0)

3,922,274(100)

Traffic accident

1,806
(0.4)

16,243(3.9)

84,773(20.6)

308,539(75.0)

167(0.0)

411,528(100)

General injury

5,483
(0.6)

56,774(6.1)

322,699(34.8)

541,186(58.4)

411(0.0)

926,553
(100)

Other

7,181
(1.0)

118,951(16.6)

450,950(62.8)

139,594(19.5)

977(0.1)

717,653
(100)

Total

76,697(1.3)

486,164(8.1)

2,543,545(42.5)

2,869,027(48.0)

2,575
(0.0)

5,978,008(100.0)(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.
2 The severity of injuries or illnesses at the time of the initial medical examination are classified as follows.
(1) Death: Persons confirmed to be dead at the time of the initial medical examination(2) Serious (Lengthy hospitalization): Persons whose injury or illness is so severe that they require hospitalization lasting three weeks or longer(3) Moderate (Hospitalization): Persons whose injury or illness are neither severe nor mild(4) Minor (Outpatient care): Persons whose injury or illness does not require hospitalization(5) Other: Persons who have not been diagnosed by a physician, persons for whom the extent of their injury or illness is not clear, or persons
who were transported to another location
  * Since the extent of injuries or illnesses are categorized by using the amount of hospitalization required as the criteria, mild condition
includes persons who required treatment at a hospital in the early stages and persons who required treatment at a hospital on a regularbasis.
3 The numbers in parentheses show the proportion, and their unit is %.
4 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.

42

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities(5) Time Required to Check the Patient into a
Hospital
Looking at a breakdown of the 5,978,008 people
transported by ambulance in 2019 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 3,790,567 people (63.4%).
(Fig. 2-5-3)
In addition, the average time required to check thepatient into a hospital came to approximately 39.5 minutes(approximately 39.5 minutes, the previous year), and 3.4
minutes longer than it was ten years ago (2009). (Fig. 2-54)

the previous year). ( Fig. 2-5-1 , Attachment 2-5-3 ,untranslated)
Furthermore, elderly people accounted for the largest
percentage of the people transported by ambulance forsudden illnesses (2,437,522 people, or 62.1%), while
the largest percentage transported for traffic accidents
consisted of adults (248,330 people, or 60.3%) and thelargest percentage for general injuries consisted of elderly
people (641,017 people, or 69.2%). (Attachment 2-5-3,
untranslated)(4) Time Required to Arrive at the Scene
Looking at a breakdown of the 6,639,767 cases inwhich ambulances were dispatched in 2019 by the timerequired to arrive at the scene (time it took to arrive at thescene after the 119 report was received) reveals that in
the majority of cases it took between five and ten minutes(4,146,519 cases, or 62.4% of the total). (Fig. 2-5-2)
Additionally, the average time required to arrive at thescene came to approximately 8.7 minutes (approximately
8.7 minutes, the previous year), and 0.8 minutes longer
than it was ten years ago (2009). (Fig. 2-5-4)(6) First-aid Treatment Administered by
Ambulance Team Members
Of the 5,978,008 people transported by ambulances in
2018, ambulance team members administered first-aid
treatment to 5,964,950 patients (99.8%). This brings thetotal number of cases in which ambulance crew members
administered first-aid treatment to 23,035,861. ( Table
2-5-4)

Fig. 2-5-1 Trends in the composition rate for people transported by age group(Notes) 1
2
		
		
		
		
		
3

Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.
The age groups are divided up as follows:(1) Newborn infants: People who are less than 28 days old(2) Young children: People between the ages of 28 days and 7 years(3) Adolescents: People between the ages of 7 and 18 years(4) Adults: People between the ages of 18 and 65 years(5) Elderly people: People age 65 or older
Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.

43

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Furthermore, the total number of cases in which first-aid
treatment was administered by ambulance crew members
since their expansion in 1991 (items with * symbol inTable 2-5-4) came to 16,618,225 (a 3.8% increase year-onyear (YoY)). Of these, the number of cases in which EMTs
administered first-aid treatment in order to resuscitatea patient (defibrillation*1 (including cases administeredby non-EMT ambulance crews), tracheal intubation,*2
ensuring respiratory tracts using laryngeal masks, etc.,*3
ensuring intravenous channels, *4 drug administration,*5
measuring blood sugar,*6 administration of grape sugar,*7
and use of self-injectable adrenaline preparations*8) cameFig. 2-5-2 No. of dispatch by time required forthe ambulance to arrive at the scene

Fig. 2-5-3 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.

Fig. 2-5-4 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.
*1
*2
*3
*4
*5
*6
*7
*8

Defibrillation: This refers to the application of electrical shock to lethal arrhythmia (ventricular fibrillation) whereby minor tremors in the heart, such asheart spasms, make it impossible for blood to flow, as a means of dispelling said tremors.
Tracheal intubation: A process of securing the airway via the larynx with endotracheal tube.
Laryngeal mask: This is a type of ventilation tube used to ensure the openness of the respiratory tract. It is fastened in place so as to cover the larynx
to ensure open breathing channels.
Ensuring intravenous channels: A process of securing transfusion channels by inserting needles or tubes intravenously. Ensuring intravenous channels
makes it possible to administer medications intravenously right away when they are needed.
Drug administration: This refers to administering adrenaline (also called epinephrine; simply called “adrenaline” hereinafter) under the specificinstructions of a doctor.
Measuring blood sugar: The measurement of blood sugar levels in sick or injured patients with impaired consciousness.
Administration of grape sugar: This refers to the act of administering grape sugar under the specific instructions of a doctor.
Use of self-injectable adrenaline preparations: In cases where sick or injured patients whose lives are at risk from anaphylactic shock have beenprescribed self-injectable adrenaline formulations in advance, EMTs will administer said adrenaline via self-injectable adrenaline preparations.

44

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-5-4 First-aid Treatment Administered by Ambulance Team Members
Type of incident

Sudden illness

No. of people transported who were given first-aid treatment

Traffic accident(During 2019)

Ordinary injury

Other

Total

3,918,211

410,180923,754712,805

5,964,950

Stanching bleeding

20,240(0.1)

19,367(1.2)

78,408(2.3)

16,239(0.6)

134,254(0.6)

Covering

18,727(0.1)

71,961(4.5)

193,255(5.7)

34,423(1.3)

318,366(1.4)

Immobilization

31,536(0.2)

164,217(10.3)

154,787(4.6)

42,440(1.6)

392,980(1.7)

Keeping warm

1,060,858(6.9)

74,853(4.7)

222,627(6.6)

171,969(6.4)

1,530,307(6.6)

Oxygen inhalation

768,913(5.0)

28,207(1.8)

51,679(1.5)

188,302(7.0)

1,037,101(4.5)

Artificial respiration

32,467
(0.2)

748
(0.0)

3,230
(0.1)

4,715
(0.2)

41,160(0.2)

Pressure on sternum

9,796
(0.1)

289
(0.0)

1,081
(0.0)

1,107
(0.0)

12,273(0.1)*Cases involving automatic chest compression device
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Items for which first-aid treatment were administered*Cases involving automatic chest compression device

3,246

56

384

280

3,966

97,734
(0.6)

2,501
(0.2)

10,444(0.3)

10,481(0.4)

121,160(0.5)

15,426

278

1,649

1,358

18,71140,822
(0.3)

279
(0.0)

3,696
(0.1)

3,889
(0.1)

48,686
(0.2)

39
(0.0)

6
(0.0)

7
(0.0)

4
(0.0)

56
(0.0)

*Measuring blood pressure

3,699,632(24.1)

398,147(25.0)

872,464(25.7)

668,946(24.9)

5,639,189(24.5)*Listening for heartbeat/sounds of breathing

1,230,335(8.0)

124,765(7.8)

173,889(5.1)

153,225(5.7)

1,682,214(7.3)*Measuring blood oxygenation levels

3,811,586(24.8)

403,667(25.4)

903,330(26.6)

695,374(25.8)

5,813,957(25.2)*ECG measurements

2,380,567(15.5)

117,729(7.4)

299,815(8.8)

353,791(13.2)

3,151,902(13.7)

160,371
(1.0)

4,123
(0.3)

15,900(0.5)

18,085(0.7)

198,479(0.9)*Continuation of home medical treatment*Medical Anti-shock trousers

Ensuring respiratory tracts*Cases involving nasal airways

7,069

87

637

894

8,687

*Cases involving laryngoscope, forceps, etc.

5,680

103

2,939

460

9,182

*Cases involving laryngeal mask, etc.

34,947

656

2,794

2,370

40,767*Cases involving tracheal intubation

6,626

108

2,213

775

9,722

*Defibrillation

10,895
(0.1)

155
(0.0)

398
(0.0)

716
(0.0)

12,164(0.1)*Ensuring intravenous lines

62,117
(0.4)

2,000
(0.1)

6,039
(0.2)

4,622
(0.2)

74,778(0.3)*Cases before CPA

22,442

1,207

1,445

1,279

26,373*Cases after CPA

39,677

793

4,595

3,344

48,409*Drug administration

26,779
(0.2)

630
(0.0)

3,144
(0.1)

2,346
(0.1)

32,899(0.1)*Measuring blood sugar

58,961
(0.4)

498
(0.0)

1,570
(0.0)

1,044
(0.0)

62,073(0.3)*Administration of grape sugar

8,887
(0.1)

19
(0.0)

30
(0.0)

52
(0.0)

8,988
(0.0)

*Self-injectable adrenaline preparation

217
(0.0)

10
(0.0)

34
(0.0)

23
(0.0)

284
(0.0)

1,826,948(11.9)

176,381(11.1)

400,826(11.8)

318,436(11.8)

2,722,591(11.8)

Total

15,358,427(100)

1,590,552(100)

3,396,653(100)

2,690,229(100)

23,035,861(100)

Expanded first-aid treatments, etc.

11,403,831

1,049,193

2,275,032

1,890,169

16,618,225

Other treatments(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.
2 Since there are cases in which several types of first-aid treatment were administered to one person, the totals for the number of people
transported who received first-aid treatment and the items on first-aid treatment by type of incident do not align.
3 The numbers in parentheses show the proportion, and their unit is %.
4 Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.
5 The * symbol indicates first-aid treatment items that were expanded in 1991.
6 Shows the first-aid treatments administered to sick and injured patients transported by ambulance.

Table 2-5-5 Trends in the number of municipalities offering ambulance services
Category(As of April 1 of each year)

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

No. of municipalities

2,352

1,784

1,769

1,753

1,742

1,692

1,689

1,685

1,685

1,686

1,689

1,690

1,690

1,690

1,690

1,690

Municipal implementation
rate (%)

98.2

98.0

98.0

98.0

98.0

97.9

97.9

98.0

98.0

98.0

98.3

98.3

98.3

98.3

98.3

98.3

Population coverage rate
(%)

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

99.9

Group

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

45Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-5-5 Breakdown of the configurations bywhich ambulance services are offered

to 241,675 (an increase of 5,926 from the previous year),which is a roughly 2.5% 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, 2020 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. (Table 2-5-5)
When viewed by the configuration through which said
ambulance services were offered, 437 municipalities
offered them independently, 143 did so by outsourcing
them, and 1,110 did so through special district authorities
and extended associations. (Fig. 2-5-5, Attachment 2-5-3,
untranslated)(Note)

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.

ambulance services (the former Ambulance I Course).
As of April 1, 2020, the number of firefighters who
fulfilled this eligibility requirement came to 127,693(an increase of 71 YoY). Of these, 64,531 were engaged
in ambulance services as ambulance team members(including not only full-time ambulance team members,
but also ambulance team members who have been
appointed as such and who concurrently serve on
firefighting vehicles such as pump vehicles by riding
along with them). (Fig. 2-5-7)
Furthermore, of the firefighters who fulfilled the(2) Number of Ambulance Teams, Ambulance
Team Members and Associate Ambulance Team
Members
As of April 1, 2020, 5,270 ambulance teams (anincrease of 55 YoY) had been established. (Fig. 2-5-6)
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

Fig. 2-5-6 Trends in the number of ambulance teams(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.

46Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-5-7 Trends in the number of ambulance team members(Note) Prepared based on “The Annual Report on Ambulance Service”.

eligibility 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 84,771 people (a decrease of 666
YoY) nationwide as of April 1, 2020. Of these, 34,164

are engaged in ambulance services as ambulance teammembers.
As of April 1, 2020, 13 associate ambulance teammember are engaged in ambulance services nationwide.
In December 2018, the FDMA promulgated an ordinanceto partially revise the Order for Enforcement of theFire Services Act, and from April 1, 2017, when aFig. 2-5-8 Trends in the number of ambulance teams with EMTs

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

47Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig. 2-5-9 Trends in the number of EMTs

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

municipality establishes a plan (implementation plan)that describes the matters specified in an ordinance ofthe Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications asmeasures to ensure appropriate ambulance services indepopulated areas and remote islands, it will be possible
to form an ambulance team with two ambulance teammembers and one associate ambulance team member.
An associate ambulance team member is defined asa full-time firefighter, etc. who has completed a basic
training course (92 hours) on ambulance services. For
example, a government employee who has completed
the aforementioned course and also serves as a full time
firefighter qualifies as an associate ambulance teammember. In addition, it also stipulates that those who havethe same or higher level of knowledge and experience as
those who have completed the above-mentioned courses
may be designated as associate ambulance team members.
They are doctors, public health nurses, nurses, associatenurses, EMTs, and those who have completed the
Ambulance class.

people YoY). Of these, 28,115 had been put to use as
EMTs (an increase of 728 people YoY), with this number
steadily increasing year by year. (Fig. 2-5-8, Fig. 2-5-9)(4) Number of Ambulances
The number of ambulances owned by fire departments
throughout Japan as of April 1, 2020 totaled 6,443 (anincrease of 79 YoY), including those for emergency use.
Of these, the number of high-standard ambulances was
6,279 (an increase of 100 YoY), which corresponds to
97.5% of the total.
(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, 2020, ambulance services along nationaland other expressway were provided by municipal
firefighting agencies over every section of the 9,188km 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.

(3) Trends in the Number of EMTs and AmbulanceTeams with EMTs
As a result of the increasing sophistication of
ambulance services, the FDMA is promoting the trainingof EMTs and the development of an operational system
where the objective is to have at least one EMT stationed
with every ambulance team.
As of April 1, 2020, 725 fire departments out of 726
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 5,241(an increase of 63 YoY), which corresponds to 99.4% of
the 5,270 ambulance teams throughout Japan (an increaseof 0.1% from the previous year), with this rising year by
year. Furthermore, there were 40,043 fire departments
personnel with EMT qualifications (an increase of 1,655

48

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
seriously injured, transporting injured children, andtransporting patients to emergency medical care centers
increased.
The proportion of cases with four or more inquiries
increased for cases involving transporting patients toemergency medical care centers and remained the samefor all other cases. For cases in which the ambulance
stayed at the scene for 30 minutes or more, the proportionof cases involving transporting women with pregnancy
related and perinatal conditions and transporting injured
children decreased, while the proportion of those involving
transporting the seriously injured and transporting patients
to emergency medical care centers increased. (Table 2-56, Table 2-5-7)

3. Promoting Coordination between
Firefighting and Medical Care
(1) Acceptance of People Using Ambulance
Transport at Medical Institutions
Reports were received on cases in which problems
arose in choosing medical institutions to receive patientsduring ambulance transport in regions all over Japan.
Based on these, in October 2007 the FDMA performed thefirst survey on the actual state of acceptance for pregnant
or perinatal patients transported from 2004 to 2006.
Moreover, for the survey on the actual acceptance status
regarding ambulance transport in 2007, the survey was
carried out not only on pregnant and perinatal patients, butalso focused on patients with severe conditions or worse,young patients, and patients transported to emergency
medical care centers.
The results of the “Survey of Medical Institution
Acceptance of Ambulance Transports in 2019” werecompared with the results of the same survey from 2018,
regarding cases with four or more inquiries or in which
the ambulance stayed at the scene for 30 minutes or more,
the number of cases involving transporting women withpregnancy related and perinatal conditions decreased,
while the number of those involving transporting the(2) Standards on Patient Transport and Their
AcceptanceIn light of the occurrence of cases in which it wasdifficult to select a medical institution that would accept
the patient during ambulance transport, in 2009 the FDMA
worked together with the Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare to enact the Standards on Patient Transport
and Their Acceptance (hereinafter referred to as the“acceptance standards”) for the prefectures. The revised

Table 2-5-6 Trends in the number of cases in which four or more acceptance inquiries were made to
medical institutions
2015
No.
Cases in which patients withsevere conditions or worse
were transported

2016

Percentage

No.

2017

Percentage

No.

2018

Percentage

No.

2019

Percentage

No.

Percentage

11,754

2.7%

10,039

2.3%

9,834

2.2%

10,861

2.4%

11,067

2.4%

Cases in which pregnant
or perinatal patients weretransported

549

3.7%

540

3.5%

475

3.3%

545

3.6%

532

3.6%

Cases in which young
patients(under 15) weretransported

8,570

2.4%

7,527

2.0%

6,442

1.7%

6,368

1.7%

6,702

1.7%

Cases in which patients weretransported to emergency
medical care centers

25,411

3.3%

20,248

2.6%

20,262

2.5%

23,116

2.6%

24,7862.8%(Notes) 12
34

Prepared based on “The Survey on the Actual Acceptance Status at Medical Institutions for Emergency Transport in 2019”.
There is some overlap.
The percentage is the percentage versus the total number of people transported from each respective category.
Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.

Table 2-5-7 Trends in the number of cases where the time spent at the scene was 30 minutes or longer
2015
No.

2016

Percentage

No.

2017

Percentage

No.

2018

Percentage

No.

2019

Percentage

No.

Percentage

Cases in which patients withsevere conditions or worse
were transported

22,3795.2%

22,104

5.0%

22,6205.0%

23,643

5.1%

23,790

5.2%

Cases in which pregnant
or perinatal patients weretransported

1,194

7.9%

1,161

7.5%

1,112

7.8%

1,257

8.2%

1,107

7.4%

Cases in which young
patients(under 15) weretransported

12,0393.4%

12,237

3.2%

11,515

3.1%

11,494

3.1%

11,532

3.0%

Cases in which patients weretransported to emergency
medical care centers

47,030

6.1%

40,213

5.1%

42,491

5.2%

47,455

5.3%

47,598

5.4%(Notes) 12
34

Prepared based on “The Survey on the Actual Acceptance Status at Medical Institutions for Emergency Transport in 2019”.
There is some overlap.
The percentage is the percentage versus the total number of people transported from each respective category.
Digits in the second decimal place were rounded off, so in some cases the totals may not be consistent.

49

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fire Service Act, enacted on October 30, 2009, includes
content mandating the establishment of committees
concerning the acceptance standards (hereinafter referred
to as “legally-mandated committees”). At present,
committees have been established in every prefecture, andacceptance standards have been formulated as well. 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.
Fire departments and medical institutions (including
institutions without emergency services) in eachprefecture and region are to cooperate with one another,and furthermore, it is important that in accordancewith the region’s local circumstances, the public healthcenters, welfare services, and police are to assemble andthoroughly discuss the actual state of the acceptance oftransported patients and share awareness of any issues
while simultaneously building “face-to-face relationships”
on a daily basis and making concrete and effective
rules regarding the smooth acceptance of transported
patients (revisions to acceptance standards, etc.), andeach organization is required to promote further efforts
in those areas. For its part, the FDMA has resolved tocontinue carrying out the necessary surveys and providing
information to contribute to improving the application of
the acceptance standards at the prefectural committees andto discuss revisions to them.
In light of the revisions to the Fire Service Act and thefact that emergency transport is carried out based upon
the acceptance standards, local governmental financial
measures are being taken through special tax grants withrespect to the costs entailed by the assistance rendered to
private secondary ambulance institutions*9 by local publicbodies in an effort to enhance ambulance medical carestructures in local regions.

and acute poisoning, of which 43 locations have been set
in place (as of April 1, 2020).
The approval of emergency hospitals and emergency
clinics under the emergency notification system, and thedevelopment of initial, secondary, and tertiary medicalcare systems are implemented in a centralized fashion
under the medical care plan approved by the prefectural
governor.
Under these emergency care systems and throughthe acceptance standards enacted by the prefectures inaccordance with the provisions of the Fire Service Act,a list of medical institutions that can provide medicalcare according to patients’ conditions has been compiled.
Firefighting agencies use this list when carrying out
ambulance transport operations.

4. Promotion of More SophisticatedAmbulance Services(1) Promotion of Education for Ambulance
Service Personnel
On August 15, 1991, in order to enhance pre-hospitalcare (first aid treatment at the scene of an emergency andduring transportation to a hospital or clinic) and improve
the lifesaving rate in Japan, 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 directionof 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, in order for
EMTs to engage in ambulance services, they are required
to take at least 160 hours of hospital training according
to the hospital training guidelines. It is recommended
that after that, they subsequently take at least 128 hoursof further training every two years (of which, hospitaltraining should be at least 48 hours).
Based on expanding their first aid content, the FDMA
has been promoting various measures to smoothly
implement first aid courses and provide steady training to
EMTs. As the education and training in order to acquire
EMT qualifications (1) includes advanced and specialized
contents, (2) requires securing an instructor related toambulance medical care, and (3) requires consideration be
given to the efficiency of the education and training, etc.,
the enactment of the Emergency Medical Technicians Act
lead to the establishment of the Foundation for Ambulance
Service Development was established in 1991 with theinvestment of 47 prefectures nationwide for the purposeof training EMTs for fire departments. It has since been
engaged in the training of EMTs.
In FY2019, 789 EMTs at the EMT Training Center of
the Foundation for Ambulance Service Development and395 EMTs at the EMT training centers in the designatedcities completed the training course and took the national
examination.

(3) 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, 2020 there were 4,146 such locations throughout
Japan. (Attachment 2-5-5, untranslated)
There are 568 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. 2,756
hospitals make up the rotating hospital group and joint-use
hospitals that comprise the secondary medical care system(as of April 1, 2020), and 294 emergency medical carecenters (as of April 1, 2020) 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,*9

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

50

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
acts of (1) blood glucose measurement and administrationof glucose solution for cases of hypoglycemic attacks, (2)use of an inhaled beta-adrenoceptor stimulant for patientswith severe asthma, and (3) intravenous catheterizationand infusion for cardiopulmonary arrests were conducted
at 129 fire departments nationwide.
−As a result of analysis and consideration of this empirical
study, it was concluded that (1) and (3) of the three actsin the report, “Examination Meeting on the Work of
EMTs” published by the Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare in August 2013, should be added to the scopeof treatment of EMTs. In response to this, from April 1,
2014, intravenous catheterization and infusion for patients
suffering from a severe cardiopulmonary arrest and blood
glucose measurement and administration of glucose
solution for cases of hypoglycemic attacks were added tothe scope of EMT treatment.

In the context of almost 30 years having passed since
the enactment of the Emergency Medical Technician
Act and the promotion of educating personnel to guideother EMTs, because it is thought that having EMTs witha wealth of experience who can instruct others on field
exercises at emergency scenes, an environment different
from the inside of a hospital, will improve the quality ofemergency services and secure the trust of the public, as
well as lessen the educational burden on fire departments
and medical institutions, the role of EMTs in leadership
positions (hereinafter referred to as “supervisory EMTs”)
is increasing.
As the requirements for supervisory EMTs and theeducational curriculum necessary for their training wereexpressed at the “Investigative Committee on the Stateof Emergency Services” held by the FDMA in 2013, theEmergency Lifesaving Kyushu Training Center opened
its doors in May 2014 and in September the same year,
the Emergency Department of the Fire and Disaster
Management College Emergency started the educationnecessary to receive certification as an EMT. Additionally,some fire academy schools conduct their own training of
EMTs.
Furthermore, in November 2015, the FDMA createdthe “EMT Training Textbook” as a nationwide standard
that expanded the curriculum to more specific educational
content in order to facilitate further training of EMTs.
Against the backdrop of increasing social interest in
cardiovascular diseases in response to the promulgationand 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 treatmentof cardiovascular disease and stroke among ambulanceteams, and an examination of this proposal was conductedfrom the perspective of ambulance services at the “FY2019
Investigative Committee on the State of Emergency
Services”. The FDMA issued a notice regarding items
deemed appropriate by the Investigative Committee
titled “Observation and Treatment in Ambulance Teams”(Fire and Rescue Notice No.83 from the Manager of the
Ambulance Service Planning Division at the FDMA, dated
March 27, 2020), with the aim of providing information inorder to improve the knowledge and skills of ambulanceservices nationwide based on the latest scientific findings.
In addition, the promotion of national exchanges among
ambulance team members and the improvement of skills
relating to emergency efforts are being done throughtraining and research opportunities such as the National
Ambulance-Crew Symposium and the Japanese Society
for Emergency Medicine.

[Increase in treatment scope over time][1] Defibrillation
Since April 2003, defibrillation, which has been carriedout by EMTs under the specific instructions of physicianssince the Emergency Medical Technicians Act was
enforced in 1991, can be carried out by an EMT under
the comprehensive instructions of a physician, on thecondition that a medical control system is established preand post defibrillation, and the establishment of a posttreatment verification system in accordance with protocol,
the implementation of a necessary short course in line withthe course curriculum, and the creation and disseminationof said protocols.
[2] Tracheal intubation
From July 2004, on the condition that the medical
control system is established before and after tracheal
intubation, tracheal intubation can be performed byan EMT who has been recognized as completing thespecific course and hospital training. As of April 1, 2020,of ambulance team members who are qualified EMTs,
15,597 of them can perform tracheal intubation.
When operating tracheal intubation, because using avideo laryngoscope will increase the safety and certainty
of securing the airway, from August 2011, EMTs who
have completed the specified training and hospitaltraining and have been certified are allowed to use avideo laryngoscope, and therefore it is expected thatthe regional medical control councils will continue toconsider its operation. As of April 1, 2020, of ambulanceteam members who are qualified EMTs, 6,359 of them canperform treatment with a video laryngoscope.
[3] Drug administration (adrenaline)
From April 2006, on the condition that the medical
control system is established before and after drug
administration, drug administration can be performedby an EMT who has been recognized as completing thespecific course and hospital training. As of April 1, 2019,of ambulance team members who are qualified EMTs,
26,230 of them can administer drugs (adrenaline).
Furthermore, from March 2009, If the patient’s life
is at risk due to anaphylactic shock, and they have been
administered an epipen in advance, the EMT may use theepipen to administer the adrenaline.

(2) Increase in the Treatment Scope of EMTs
The treatment scope of EMTs has, on the premise of
establishing the medical control system described in (3),gradually increased as shown in [Increase in treatment
scope over time] [1] to [4] below.
The most recent example of increasing the treatment
scope of EMTs is [4], and its backstory is as follows.
−From 2011, in the “Research on the treatment scopeof EMTs”, in order to improve the lifesaving rate of the
injured and sick and reduce prognostic symptoms, tests ofthe clinical efficacy, safety, and effectiveness of the three51

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities[4] Intravenous catheterization and infusion for patients
suffering from severe cardiopulmonary arrest, and blood
glucose measurement and administration of glucose
solution for cases of hypoglycemic attacks
From April 2014, on the condition that the medical
control system is established before and after drug
administration, drug intravenous catheterizationand infusion for patients suffering from a severe
cardiopulmonary arrest and blood glucose measurement
and administration of glucose solution for cases ofhypoglycemic attacks can be performed by an EMT who
has been recognized as completing the specific courseand hospital training. As of April 1, 2020, among theambulance team members who are qualified as EMTs,
25,218 of them can perform intravenous catheterizationand infusion for patients suffering from a severe
cardiopulmonary arrest, and 25,251 of them can takeblood glucose measurements and administer a glucose
solution for cases of hypoglycemic attacks.

example, as the number of elderly people requesting
emergency services is increasing, there are cases
in which emergency services are requested by thefamilies of patients to stop performing cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR). Based on this background, the“Investigative Committee on the Implementation of CPR
at the Scene of an Emergency in Line with the Wishesof the Sick or Injured Person” was held in the “2018Investigative Committee on the State of Emergency
Services” to conduct a fact-finding survey of the statusof efforts by fire departments, etc. and organize andexamine issues. At the investigative committee, experts
indicated a basic awareness that ‘the person’s choices’
should be respected’ in cases where the patient’s family
communicates at the scene of an emergency that thepatient does not want CPR treatment. At scenes of
emergencies, which consist of all kinds of scenarios
and are urgent situations and in many cases there isno physician present, usually, the ambulance crew hastime and information-related restrictions such as thewishes of the injured or sick person are not shared withthem beforehand. Therefore, the committee concluded
that it is necessary to clarify the actual situation of thecases and through verification in each place, to increaseknowledge about the response of the ambulance crew
by accumulating all cases. The Investigative Committee
introduced the example of a region that has a policyof using the Medical Control Council to discontinue
CPR after sufficient discussion, contacting one’s
doctor, and receiving a notice to discontinue CPR, once
again recognizing the importance of Medical Control
Councils.
Based on the results of these surveys, the FDMA
issued a notice titled “Report of the Investigative
Committee on the Implementation of CPR at the Sceneof an Emergency in Line with the Wishes of the Sick or
Injured Person at the FY2018 Investigative Committee
on the State of Emergency Services” (Fire and Rescue
Notice No. 205 from the Manager of the Ambulance
Service Planning Division at the FDMA, 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*10 and
ACP (Advance Care Planning, also known as Jinsei
Kaigi)*11 together with those involved in home medical
and nursing care, and proactively exchange opinions,etc., (2) make efforts to, when considering the responseof ambulance teams and in addition to (1) above, seek
participation from those involved in home medical andnursing care in medical control committees, etc., and holdsufficient discussions while taking into account the statusof end-of-life medical care and care initiatives at thecommunity level, as well as the status of home medicalcare and elderly care facilities, and (3) consider making
this subject to subsequent verification at medical control
councils. In order to properly grasp the actual situation,(3) Enhancement of Medical Control System
The medical control system in pre-hospital care is asystem that ensures the quality of first aid, etc. performedby ambulance team members, including EMTs, from a
medical point of view. Specifically, it is a system that,in collaboration with fire departments and medical
institutions, (1) creates various protocols according to thecharacteristics of the region based on medical grounds,(2) enables emergency personnel to promptly request
instruction, guidance, or advice from physicians at any
time from a scene of an emergency, (3) has physicians
conduct a medical and objective post-verification of
emergency efforts, and feeds back the results of said postverification, as well as (4) conducting further education,etc. The Medical Control Council, which is a forum
for discussions between fire departments and medical
institutions, is established in each prefecture and eachregion. As of August 1, 2019, the number of Medical
Control Councils across all regions is 251. The Medical
Control Council is actively working to improve thequality of emergency services through post-verification,etc. In order to improve the quality of first aid, etc.
performed by ambulance team members, including
EMTs, and make emergency services more sophisticated,such as by increasing the scope of EMT treatment, it isnecessary to further enhance and strengthen the medical
control system.
The FDMA regularly holds the “National Medical
Control Council Liaison Meeting”, which was establishedin May 2007, together with the Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare with the purpose of enhancing andstrengthening the National Medical Control Council andsharing information among related parties nationwide.
In addition, the Medical Control Council can also be
used for legal counsel on implementation standards basedon the Fire Service Act which was revised in 2009.
Furthermore, recently, the roles required of theMedical Control Council have diversified. For*10 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.
*11 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.

52

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
the notice also requested that each fire department tallythe number of calls concerning sick or injured people
who do not want CPR. In addition, fire departments
were asked to provide information to the FDMA on theprocedures they have established for dealing with cases
where the patient’s family communicates at the sceneof an emergency that the patient does not want CPR
treatment.

system for collecting and analyzing the results of researchdone via the Utstein Style, and has accumulated 15 years’
worth of data from 2005 to 2019. On an application basis,the data is provided to related academic societies so thatthe accumulation of this data can be used appropriately
and effectively. The data is also used for constructing
measures and systems for improving the lifesaving rate.
In the past, the Utstein Style was published as “Utstein
statistics” and “Status of lifesaving rate of patients
suffering from cardiopulmonary dysfunction”, but thename has been changed to “Emergency Resuscitation
Statistics” since 2009 in order to make it easier tounderstand that the statistics are for patients sufferingfrom cardiopulmonary dysfunction who were transported
to a hospital by an ambulance.

(4) Use of Emergency Resuscitation Statistics(Utstein data)
In Japan, the Utstein Style *12 has been introduced
across all fire departments nationwide since January
2005. This unified introduction across the entire country
is a first of its kind anywhere in the world and is aninnovative initiative. The FDMA also operates an online-omitted-*12 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.

53

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities

6 Rescue System

Section☞ Japanese Original P.216

The main reason for this decrease was the decreasein the number of rescue activities (down 1,101 cases, or
7.7%, YoY) and the number of people rescued (down1,499, or 8.0%, YoY) in “traffic accidents.”

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 2019, 61,340 rescue activities
were carried out (a decrease of 167, or 0.3%, YoY) and
63,670 people were rescued (this refers to the number ofpeople rescued through rescue activities; a decrease of
166, or 0.3%, YoY). (Table 2-6-1, Attachment 2-6-1,
untranslated)(2) Implementation Status of Rescue Activities byType of Incident
Looking at the status of rescue activities by type ofincident reveals that the numbers for accidents caused bybuildings and traffic accidents remain high in terms ofboth the number of rescue activities and the number ofpeople rescued.
The number of rescue workers dispatched (which refers
to the total number of people dispatched in order to carryout rescue activities) came to 1,459,779 in total. Of these,
the number of firefighters dispatched was 1,396,315 intotal, of which 32.6% were dispatched for “Accidents due
to buildings”, while 22.1% were dispatched due to “Traffic
accidents”. At the same time, the number of volunteer
firefighters dispatched totaled 63,464, of which 68.9%
were dispatched on account of fires.

Table 2-6-1 Trends in the number of rescue activities and number of people rescued
Category

No. of rescue activities
No.

Year

No. of people rescued

Change YoY (%)

During 2015

55,966

During 2016
During 2017

No.

Change YoY (%)△1.3

59,1902.4

57,1482.1

57,955△2.1

56,315△1.5

57,664△0.5

During 2018

61,507

9.2

63,836

10.7

During 2019

61,340△0.3

63,670△0.3(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey on the Implementation Status of Rescue Activities”.

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

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

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

54Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-6-2 Number of dispatches and status of activities by type of incident
Category

Fires

Year

Traffic
accidents

Water
accidents

Storms,floods, andother(During 2019)

Accidents
due tomachines

Accidents
due tobuildings

Gas/lackof oxygenaccidents

Ruptureaccidents

Other

Total

No. of rescue activities

4,074
(6.6)

13,160(21.5)

2,703
(4.4)

939
(1.5)

1,034
(1.7)

26,981(44.0)

380
(0.6)

4
(0.0)

12,065(19.7)

61,340(100.0)No. of people rescued

1,678
(2.6)

17,314(27.2)

2,776
(4.4)

5,260
(8.3)

1,164
(1.8)

24,450(38.4)

328
(0.5)

3
(0.0)

10,697(16.8)

63,670(100.0)No. of rescue workers
dispatched

135,481(9.7)

308,865(22.1)

76,440(5.5)

14,139(1.0)

22,885(1.6)

455,098(32.6)

11,676
(0.8)

201
(0.0)

371,530(26.6)

1,396,315(100.0)No. of people who engaged
in rescue activities

60,080(10.5)

130,208(22.9)

37,357
(6.6)

8,347
(1.5)

10,408(1.8)

213,769(37.5)

4,350
(0.8)

73
(0.0)

105,088(18.4)

569,680(100.0)No. of rescue workers
dispatched

43,724(68.9)

1,177
(1.9)

2,877
(4.5)

729
(1.1)

177
(0.3)

1,872
(2.9)

121
(0.2)

24
(0.0)

12,763(20.1)

63,464(100.0)No. of people who engaged
in rescue activities

6,853(62.2)

79
(0.7)

1,521
(13.8)

568
(5.2)

78
(0.7)

13
(0.1)

4
(0.0)

0
(0.0)

1,894
(17.2)

11,010(100.0)

16.4

9.9

14.4

9.5

10.1

7.9

11.5

18.3

8.9

9.5

Firefighters

Volunteer
firefighters

No. of people who engaged in rescue
activities per incident(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on the Implementation Status of Rescue Activities”.
2 The numbers in parenthesis show the proportion (%). Less than whole units were rounded up, so in some cases the totals may not be
consistent.
3 “No. of rescue workers dispatched” refers to the total number of people dispatched in order to carry out rescue activities.
4 “No. of people who engaged in rescue activities” refers to the number of people who actually engaged in rescue activities out of the number
dispatched.
5 “Accidents due to buildings” refer to accidents caused by the collapse of buildings, gates, fences, walls, and other facilities ancillary tobuildings or equivalent structures; accidents in which people were trapped within buildings; and accidents from people being caught between
buildings.
6 “Other” refers to accidents other than the types listed above that necessitated rescue by firefighting agencies.

Next, 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 580,690. This means that 9.5 people
on average took part in each individual rescue activity.
Furthermore, in terms of the number of people engaged
in each individual rescue activity by type of incident,
rupture accidents had the greatest number at 18.3 people
on average, followed by fires at 16.4 people. (Fig. 2-6-1,
Fig. 2-6-2, Table 2-6-2)

each fire departments, with an average of 17.2 rescue crew
members in each crew. The number of fire departments
have been dropping as they spread out to cover broader
areas, but the number of rescue crews have been trending
upward.
(2) Possession 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.
Advanced, specialized equipment has been deemednecessary for them to guard against the large-scale
earthquake disasters and NBC disasters *2 that could
potentially occur. As such, the FDMA makes efforts topromote the establishment and maintenance of rescue
work vehicles and rescue equipment by taking advantage
of grants for equipping National Fire-Service Teams, aswell as tax measures allocated to local governments andmore. (Table 2-6-3)

2. Implementation Structure for Rescue
Activities(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 (Ministerial
Ordinance No. 22 of the Ministry of Home Affairs from
1986; hereinafter referred to as the “Rescue Ordinance”).
They consist of members who have received specialized
education related to lifesaving (140 hours’ worth), as
well as rescue and relief supplies and the rescue vehicles
equipped with these 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 2020, 1,438 crews had been establishedat 709 fire departments, and the number of rescue crew
members came to 24,670 people. This means that on
average, roughly 2.0 rescue crews have been established at*1*2

3. Holding 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

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

55

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-6-3 Possession status of rescue equipment for rescue activities and board vehicles for carrying
rescue crews(As of April 1, 2020)

Major rescue equipment

Ministerial
ordinanceannex 1

Ministerial
ordinanceannex 2
Ministerial
ordinanceannex 3

Boarding vehicles

Three Part
ladders
7,955
Mat air jacks
2,746
Image searchequipment

Lifeline throwing
guns
1,777

Hydraulicspreader2,130

Large hydraulic Large hydraulicspreaderscutters
2,254

Hydraulic cutters Portable winches Engine cutters
2,100
Rock drills

4,416
Air saws

2,246

1,740

1,901

Underground Thermal imaging
noise detectors
devices

Night visionequipment

Earthquake
alarms

364

236

611

335

1,781

Rescue work
vehiclesLadder-equipped
vehiclesFolding ladderequipped
vehicles

1,243

386

115

Fire pumpvehicles240

Chainsaws

Gas cutters

Inflammablegas measuring
instruments

1,277

6,127

6,657

7,059

Rope climbing
machines

Hammers/drills

3,358

1,703

2,328

Electromagnetic Carbon dioxidewave detectors
detectors

UnderwaterprobesFire cisternequipped
vehicles124
Chemicalvehicles405

Ventilators

65
Special disastervehicles108

28

Breathingapparatus
50,545

Simple image
search machines
945

Oxygen masks
3,323

88
Other

Total
495

3,020

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

who can serve as examples to others through competitionand learning.
The National Firefighting and Rescue Skills Meet isdivided up into a land division and a water division. For
each division, there is “Basic training” where individualcrew members practice basic skills, “Coordinatedtraining” where crew members practice their individual
skills together by cooperating with other crew members,
and “Skills training” where participating crew members

demonstrate everything from training assumptions to
rescue methods using creativity and ingenuity without
stipulations as to the equipment or training skills that will
be used.
The 49th meet was scheduled to be held on October 24,
2020 in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, but due tothe effects of the new coronavirus infection, the meeting
was postponed until October 2021, also in Kitakyushu
City Fukuoka Prefecture.

-omitted-

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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.229

enhanced 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 order to efficiently implement the useof 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 theprocedures for requesting 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(Table 2-8-1). In response to a series of large-scale forest
fires, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency notified
each fire department of the “Strengthening of Vigilanceagainst Forest Fires and the Active Use of Aerial FireFighting” (Notice No. 104 from the Manager of the Special
Disaster Management Office at the FDMA and Notice No.
157 from the Manager of the Mutual Aid Management
Office at the FDMA, dated May 10, 2017). It clarified
the request scheme to establish a system to prevent the
spread of damage at an early stage through the deploymentof a large number of helicopters. In the event that the

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 (Article 39, Paragraph 1 of the Fire Organization
Act), 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 both

Table 2-8-1 Actual track record regarding dispatches of wide-area aerial medical support teams basedon the Implementation Guidelines for Wide-area Aerial Firefighting Support Teams during Large-scale
and Special Disasters (past 20 years)(As of October 1, 2020; Unit: Case)By type of dispatch
Year

Dispatch trackrecord

2001

32

31

2002

38

38

2003

24

18

2004

27

21

Fires in forestsand fields

2005

20

18

2006

8

6

2007

13

12

2008

10

10

Fires inlocations otherthan forests andfields

Storms andfloodsExplosion
disaster

2

1

2

5

1

18

2

12

2

2011

28

23

5

2012

7

5

2

2013

20

17

2

2014

36

19

2015

10

10

2016

5

3

1

2017

6

4

1

2018

13

12

2019

9

9
4
290

1

1

21

4

1

1

16

347

Accidents
Other disasters
involving aircraft

2

2009

2020

Volcano disaster

1

2010

Total

Earthquake
disaster

1
1

1

1
17
1
1
1

4

22

0

57

6

0

4

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Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
firefighting helicopters within the jurisdiction of theprefectures are unable to respond to the disaster, support
from firefighting helicopters from other prefectures will be
requested quickly, and Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF)
helicopters will also be requested as soon as possible.
In 2020, there were 4 forest fires that led to requests
for wide-area aerial firefighting support by the end of
September, but early requests for support and cooperation
with JSDF helicopters helped minimize the damage.
To continue to utilize fire and disaster prevention
helicopters effectively across a wide area, it is necessary tofurther enhance and strengthen the nationwide Integrated
Support System for Fire Service in the event of a largescale disaster by setting up an aviation operation andcoordination team at each prefecture’s disaster response
headquarters, promoting the development of a helicopter
system and helicopter video transmission system forprompt information-gathering activities, and utilizing ahelicopter dynamic management system for ascertaining
the positional information of fire and disaster prevention
helicopters and performing efficient adjustments tooperations.

and 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.
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 Tokyoin Land Earthquake are imminent, and the dangers of NBC
terrorism disasters. As such, scenarios can be envisioned
where it would be difficult to respond to such disasters
promptly and precisely solely through the firefighting
capabilities of the municipalities in the afflicted region
or those found in the afflicted prefecture. Therefore, theCommissioner of the FDMA has been vested with thenecessary authority to work to enhance and strengthen
emergency response structures from a national perspective.
In conjunction with this, the Act for the Partial Revision of
the Fire Organization Act was drafted in 2003 and enteredinto 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) 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 National Fire-Service Teams, and the financial
measures of the national government.

A. Creation of National Fire-Service Teams
National Fire-Service Teams were created in June
1995 through the cooperation of fire departments fromthroughout Japan in order to create an assistance structure
through the mutual cooperation of firefighting agencies
from around the country. This was based on the lessons
from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January
17, 1995, and designed to make it possible to carry out
lifesaving rescue activities when large-scale disasters
such as earthquakes occur within Japan in a faster, more
effective manner.
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 2011, 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 complicated(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. Later, it
was also implemented in the July 2018 torrential rains,2019 East Japan Typhoon (Typhoon No.19), and July
2020 torrential rain.
(c) Enactment of the Basic Plan Pertaining to National
Fire-Service Teams
Under Fire Service Organization Act, it has been
mandated that the Minister for Internal Affairs andCommunications is to enact the Basic Plan.

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Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-8-2 Enshrining National Fire-Service Teams into law through the 2003 revisions to the Fire
Defense Organization Act
Prior to the revisions
Position of the National Fire-Service Teams

Guidelines for National Fire-Service Teams

After the revisions
Fire Defense Organization Act

Standards for organization and equipment, basic dispatch
Guidelines for National Fire-Service Teams
plans

Basic Plan established by the Minister for Internal
Affairs and Communications

Involvement of the Commissioner of the FDMA

Requests for measures(1)Requests for measures(2)Orders(Tokai Earthquake and other large-scale earthquakes,
NBC disasters)

Special tax grants, etc.

Treasury expenses(The national government will bear any increased
expenses and new expenses as a result of activities
when said activities were ordered)Financialmeasures,etc.

Activity expenses
Facilities and equipment

Encouragement subsidies(general subsidy rate of 1/3) Mandatory subsidies (subsidy rate of 1/2)

Use of government-owned assets and goods

Paid loans, etc.

Permission to use free of charge

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.

mobility 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.

(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. (Table 2-8-2)(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.

(e) Free Use of Equipment for National Fire-Service Teams
Regarding the equipment and materials deemednecessary for the activities of the National FireService Team, it would be difficult to expect progressin the maintenance of vehicles and equipment, evenwith government subsidies, if the maintenance andpossessions of such equipment is not efficient in terms of
cost-effectiveness. There is some equipment that needs
to be provided quickly in order to fulfill the national
government’s responsibilities when it comes to largescale and specialized disasters. As such, it was stipulated
that this equipment is to be set in place by the national
government, but provided for use free of charge to theprefectures or municipalities to which the personnel
who are active as National Fire-Service Team members
belong.

(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

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 the59

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
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)

instructions shall be given to take necessary measureswhile taking into consideration the situation surrounding
the disaster, the establishment of 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(d) Revisions to the Requirements for the Commissionerof the FDMA to Order the Dispatch of National FireService Teams
The dangers of earthquakes causing enormous damage
in a localized manner as a result of active faults have been
pointed out. It was stipulated that the Commissioner of the
FDMA can order the governors of prefectures aside fromthe prefecture 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
this was previously limited to cases where the disasterwas regarded as a large-scale disaster spanning two or
more prefectures, now it can be done when it has been
acknowledged that there is a special need to respond to thedisaster in question, even when it is a large-scale disasterthat has occurred solely within a single prefecture.
In addition, in March 2019, the Basic Plan wasrevised to include new decision-making factors in therequirements for the Commissioner of the FDMA toorder the dispatch of National Fire Service Teams. It
was stipulated that, in the event of a large-scale disaster,

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.
Coordination headquarter for firefighting support activities
Headquarters director: Prefectural governor
National Fire Service Teams
Personnel from the afflicted municipality
Prefectural staff, Fire department staff in
the prefecture

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

Prefectural battalion

Command support
battalion

Prefectural battalion chief
Commandsupport unit
Integrated
Commandsupport unit
Command support
battalion chief(Command activities at the scene of the disaster;
Representative personnel from firefighting agencies)

Oversees the prefectural squad and manages its activities.

Prefectural battalion command Unit

Command support
unit chief

Firefighting company

Firefighting unit

Firefighting unit

(Command support or
the fire departments inthe afflicted municipality)

Carries out firefighting activities like preventing fires fromspreading when large-scale fires break out.

Rescue company

Rescue unit

Rescue unit

Prepares advanced rescue equipment and supplies, searches forpeople who need rescuing, and carries out rescue activities.

First-aid company

First-aid unit

First-aid unit

Prepares advanced first-aid equipment and supplies andcarries out first-aid activities.

Logistical support company

Logistical support
unit

Logistical support
unit

Communications
support company

Communications
support unit

Communications
support unit

Water company

Water unit

Water unit

Special disaster company

Special disaster
unit

Special disaster
unit

Carries out firefighting activities to respond to special disasters,such as disasters involving toxins or large-scale disaster involving
hazardous substances.

Special equipment company

Specialequipment unit

Specialequipment unit

Carries out firefighting activities through the use of special
equipment via shipwreck rescue teams, long-distance watersupply teams, and more.

Command support battalion
Promptly heads to the scene in ahelicopter or the like to determine theextent of the damage, communicatesand coordinates with the FDMA, andprovides command support for local
firefighting agencies.

Commandsupport unit

Prefectural battalion

Air Command
support unit

Air battalion

Air Command
support unit chief(Commands Air battalion
at helicopter base)Carries out the necessary transport and supply activities forvehicles outfitted with water supply equipment and so forth inorder to support the activities of each of the teams.
Carries out support activities related to ensuring communication
through vehicles equipped with equipment that makes thispossible.
Uses firefighting boats to carry out firefighting activities.

Air unit

Uses fire and disaster prevention helicopters
to carry out firefighting activities.

Air Logistical support unit

Carries out the necessary transport and supply
activities at helicopter base.

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Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-8-3 Tasks and organizations of special battalions
Name

Integrated Mobile Unit

MissionComprising unit

After a request or instruction by the Director-General to mobilize, toComprehensive Mobile Command Unit, some 3 Firefighting Units,mobilize promptly, to conduct firefighting activities urgently in thedisaster area, and to collect and provide information that contributes some 3 Rescue Units, some 3 First-aid Units, Logistical Support
to the smooth activities of the prefectural battalion in the case that Unit, and Communication Support Unit
the prefectural battalion follows.

To conduct advanced and specialized firefighting activities quickly
National Fire-Service Team for and accurately in response to special disasters in areas where
Energy/Industrial Disasterenergy and industrial infrastructure such as petroleum complexes
and chemical plants are located.

NBC Disaster Battalion

Mobile Support Battalion forLandslide, Storm and flood

Command Unit of National Fire-Service Team for Energy/Industrial
Disaster, Special Disaster Company（equipped with large elevatedwater truck, hose extension vehicle with a large water cannon,
chemical fire truck, large elevated water truck, and foam solution
transport vehicle), Firefighting Company (equipped with chemicalfire truck)
In addition to the above Special Equipment Unit, Logistical Support
Unit, Communications Support Unit, and Water Unit are added
depending on local conditions.

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. are added
depending on local conditions.

In response to landslides or wind and flood 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 andheavy machinery transport vehicle, amphibian motor vehicle andamphibian motor vehicle transport vehicle), Logistical Support Unit
In addition to the above, necessary units are added depending on
local conditions.

(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.

(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 2-8-3)
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.”

A. Organization of National Fire-Service Teams(A) Command Support Battalion
The Command Support Battalion is tasked with theduty of urgently heading to afflicted regions via helicopteror the like when large-scale disasters or special disasters
occur to gather information related to the disaster andconvey this to the Commissioner of the FDMA, thegovernors of the relevant prefectures, and others. In
addition, it has also been tasked with the duty of carryingout support activities to ensure that commands pertaining
to National Fire-Service Teams are carried out smoothly
within the afflicted region. The Command Support
Battalion is comprised of Integrated 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
prefectural governors and municipal mayors from aroundthe country prepare Requests for the Dispatch of National
Fire-Service Teams pursuant to Article 44 of the Fire
Defense Organization Act in advance. The Implementation
Guidelines on Rapid Dispatch of National Fire-Service
Teams for Large-scale Earthquakes, enacted in July 2008,(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.

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Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Fig 2-8-3 Basic dispatch and action plans for National Fire-Service Teams
Application standards(1) The Nankai TroughEarthquake(2) Tokyo in Land
Earthquake(3) NBC disaster- Earthquakes
other than those in(1) through (3)- Other natural
disasters

Responses based on the respective action plans

Disaster Strikes[(1) The Nankai Trough Earthquake]

1. When the epicenter of the earthquake corresponds to one of the names of places that overlap with the
hypothetical epicentral fault zone of the Nankai Trough Earthquake, and one of the following conditions is fulfilled(1) When a seismic intensity of 6-upper or greater is detected in the Chubu, Kinki, Shikoku, or Kyushu regions, orwhen a major tsunami warning is issued(2) When an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or greater occurs (when there is a possibility that the Nankai TroughEarthquake Temporary Information (Mega Earthquake Warning) will be issued)
2. Aside from when an earthquake that fulfills the requirements in 1 above occurs, when damage to an equivalentdegree to that from The Nankai Trough Earthquake is expected, or when the Commissioner of the FDMA deems
that it is possible to mount a prompt and precise response by using the National Fire Service Teams based on theaction plan[(2) Tokyo in Land Earthquake]

1. Cases where an earthquake with a seismic intensity of six-upper or greater is detected within the limits of the 23
wards of Tokyo
2. Aside from cases where an earthquake that fulfills the conditions for 1. above occurs, cases where the damage is
expected to be commensurate with that from Tokyo in Land Earthquake or where the Commissioner of the FDMA
has determined that a prompt and appropriate response is possible by utilizing the National Fire Service Teams
based on the action plan[(3) NBC disaster]
When an NBC disaster or a disaster suspected to be an NBC disaster occurs, a large number of injured people are
expected, and the Commissioner of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency deems it necessary to mobilize an
NBC disaster response team from the viewpoint of NBC disaster response capability and speed.

Basic dispatch plan[Command support units]

1. Designate 1 Integrated Command Support Unit, 5 Command Support Units for each prefecture envisioned to suffer the damage.
2. Request the dispatch of the necessary command support units out of consideration for the region where the disaster occurred, the extent of the damage, etc.

[First response prefectural battalions][First response air units][Reserve response prefectural battalions][Reserve response air units]

1. Designate the four neighboring prefectures to send first response battalions to the
1. Designate the 10 air units to send first response squads to the prefecture envisioned toprefecture envisioned to suffer the damage.
suffer the damage.
2. Request the dispatch of the necessary prefectural squads out of consideration for the region 2. Request the dispatch of the necessary air units out of consideration for the region
where the disaster occurred, the extent of the damage, etc.
where the disaster occurred, the operable aircraft, etc.

1. Designate 12 neighboring prefectures for the prefecture envisioned to suffer the damage.
(except for the abovementioned 4 prefectures)
2. Request the dispatch of the reserve squads as necessary when the first response prefecturalcontained content on matters like dispatching teams theinstant a large-scale earthquake occurs. Then, in March
2015, these implementation guidelines were provided in
the Guidelines on Requests for Assistance from National
Fire-Service Teams.

1. Designate 12 air units for the prefecture envisioned to suffer the damage.(except for
the abovementioned 10 air units)
2. Request the dispatch of the reserve units as necessary when the first response air units

to which every National Fire-Service Team capableof providing assistance would be simultaneously andpromptly deployed. Following the revision of the Dispatch
Plan for the Nankai Trough Earthquake in May 2020, theNational Fire-Service Team Action Plan for the Nankai
Trough Earthquake was revised in July 2020. In addition
to the previously envisioned magnitude 9 earthquake, amagnitude 8 earthquake was also included to allow for
the flexible operation of National Fire Service Teams, andnew provisions were added regarding the response to a
subsequent earthquake.
Furthermore, the action plan for Tokyo in Land
Earthquake, enacted in March 2017, decides on assistanceproviders from the 43 prefectures (excluding 4 prefecturesdesignated as the prefectures receiving support), and statesthat every National Fire-Service Teams that can provide
support is to promptly devote personnel to this all at once.
Regarding the Tokai Earthquake, the aforementioned
revisions to the National Fire-Service Team Action Planfor the Nankai Trough Earthquake stipulate not only the
response to a magnitude 9 earthquake in which the entire
source fault area is destroyed, but also the response to amagnitude 8 earthquake in which surface ruptures occur
in some areas. As a result, the operation of the (provisional)
National Fire-Service Team Action Plan for the Tokai
Earthquake has been temporarily suspended.

(C) Dispatch Plans for the Nankai Trough Earthquake andOther Potential Earthquakes
It is envisioned that the Nankai Trough Earthquake,
Tokyo in Land Earthquake, or a Tokai Earthquake would
produce considerable damage that would extend overmultiple prefectures. The thinking is that the firefighting
capabilities of just the first response prefectural battalions
and reserve response prefectural battalions alone would
be insufficient for this. Therefore, it has been decided that
National Fire-Service Teams would be dispatched at anational scale for these.
Therefore, the FDMA has formulated guidelines andaction plans for using National Fire-Service Teams foreach of these disasters should they occur. This was doneby envisioning the Nankai Trough Earthquake, Tokyo inLand Earthquake, and is based on the response guidelines,
estimates of the damage from such disasters, and otherdata from the Central Disaster Management Council. (Fig.
2-8-3)For example, there is a National Fire-Service Teamaction plan for the Nankai Trough Earthquake that wasformulated in March 2016. This plan determines sites toreceive assistance in 37 other prefectures aside from the
10 prefectures designated to receive priority assistance,(D) Operational Plan for NBC Disaster
When a large number of people are injured due to an
NBC disaster, the firefighting capability of the firefighting

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Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
organization with jurisdiction over the disaster area andthe firefighting organization in the prefecture to which thedisaster area belongs alone is considered to be insufficient,and it is necessary to implement advanced and specialized
firefighting activities quickly and accurately. For thisreason, a special operation plan has been established and
NBC disaster response units will be dispatched promptly.

Activities and the Air Operations Coordination Team, as
well as how to utilize advance bases, camping sites, andfuel supply bases.
And the fire departments must likewise formulate plans
for receiving assistance while striving for consistency
with the contents of the plans for receiving assistanceformulated by the prefectures and the prefecture’s local
disaster management plans for the sake of receiving
National Fire-Service Teams in their region.

(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.

(3) Number of National Fire-Service Teams
Registered and Their Equipment
A. Number of Teams Registered
The stipulations of Paragraph 4, Article 45 of the Fire
Defense Organization Act states that the Commissionerof the FDMA must register National Fire-Service Teams
based on applications to do so from the prefectural
governors or municipal mayors.
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, 2020, 6,441 teams havebeen registered from 723 fire departments nationwide(roughly 99% of the fire departments nationwide). This isalmost 5 times more than its launch. (Attachment 2-8-1,
untranslated, Fig. 2-8-4)

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 throughconsultations with the firefighting agencies within theprefecture over necessary matters regarding the acceptanceof National Fire-Service Teams, such as how to manage
the Coordination Headquarters for Firefighting Support

Fig 2-8-4 Trends in registration number of National Fire-Service Teams

63

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
Table 2-8-4 Main allocation of vehicles and other equipment via the system for using equipment free ofcharge stipulated in Article 50 of the Fire Defense Organization Act
FY of
allocation
2005
2006
2007
2008

2009

2010

2011

Allocated vehicle, etc.

2 vehicles

System for firefighting capable of handling disasters atenergy and industrial infrastructure

2 systems

Drone for firefighting activities

2 systems

1 helicopter
5 vehicles

Vehicle equipped with water cutter

5 vehicles

Vehicle equipped with large decontamination system

5 vehicles

Special elevated work vehicle

5 vehicles

Heavy machinery and heavy machinery transport vehicle

3 pairs

Fuel supply vehicle

6 vehicles

Vehicle equipped with large decontamination system

1 vehicle

Helicopter movement management system

8 systems

Helicopter movement management system

6 systems

Special disaster response vehicle

10 vehicles

Operation Base Vehicle

2 vehicles

Special elevated work vehicle

9 vehicles

Vehicle equipped with large decontamination system

8 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Countermeasure
Vehicle3 vehicles

Fuel supply vehicle

2 vehicles

Water system for firefighting capable of handlingdisasters at energy and industrial infrastructure

2 systems

Firefighting system that uses ocean water

2 systems

Vehicle equipped with large decontamination systems

1 vehicle

Helicopter movement management system

2 systems

Helicopter movement management system

5 systems

Infrared camera

1 system

Operation Base Vehicle

2 vehicles

Type 1 support vehicle

47 vehicles

Firefighting system that uses ocean water

3 systems

Water system for firefighting capable of handlingdisasters at energy and industrial infrastructure

2 systems

Helicopter

2 helicopters

Radio relay vehicle

3 vehicles

Personnel transport vehicle

47 vehicles

Vehicle equipped with large decontamination systems

1 vehicle

Equipment transport vehicle

46 vehicles

Fuel supply vehicle

9 vehicles

Helicopter video transmission receiver

23 systems

Operation Base Vehicle

6 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Countermeasure
Vehicle6 vehicles

Water system for firefighting capable of handlingdisasters at energy and industrial infrastructure

4 systems

Elevated rescue vehicle for large-scale earthquake
disasters
Heavy machinery and heavy machinery transport vehicle

2014

2 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Countermeasure
VehicleVehicle equipped with large blower

Radio relay vehicle

2013

Operation Base Vehicle

Helicopter

All-terrain response vehicle

2012

No. allocated

2015

2016

2017

1 pair21 vehicles
3 pairs2018

19 pairs

Prefectural command team vehicle

45 vehicles

Fuel supply vehicle

30 vehicles

Type 1 support vehicle

17 vehicles

Firefighting system that uses ocean water

1 systemSpecial disaster response vehicle

1 vehicle

Special disaster work vehicle

2 vehicles

Vehicle equipped with large decontamination system

4 vehicles

Helicopter movement management system

11 systems

Heli-Sat system

1 system

Operation Base Vehicle

6 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Countermeasure
Vehicle15 vehicles

Mobile communication vehicle

33 vehicles

Helicopter

2 helicopters

Helicopter movement management system

4 systems

Heli-Sat system

4 systems

Heli-Sat camera

3 systems

2019

2020*

Information gathering drone

18 sets

Chemical agent remote sensing equipment

3 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Counter measure
Vehicle6 vehicles

Amphibian motor vehicle and amphibian motor vehicletransport vehicle

5 pairs

Operation Base Vehicle

1 vehicle

Heavy machinery and heavy machinery transport
vehicles

16 pairs

High-performance lifeboats

36 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Counter measure
Vehicle13 vehicles

Amphibian motor vehicle and amphibian motor vehicletransport vehicle

1 pairLarge Amphibian motor vehicle and amphibian motor
vehicle transport vehicle

1 pairOperation Base Vehicle

1 vehicle

Information gathering drone

15 sets
12 pairs

Operation Base Vehicle

4 vehicles

Tsunami/Large-Scale Water Disaster Countermeasure
VehicleHeavy machinery and heavy machinery transport
vehicles2 vehicles

High-performance lifeboats

Water system for firefighting capable of handlingdisasters at energy and industrial infrastructure

2 systems

Helicopter movement management system

4 systems(Note)

29 vehicles

Watercraft

6 vehicles

Helicopters

1 helicopter* indicates equipment scheduled to be allocatedB. 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-upof equipment. 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 them

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.

64

Chapter 2 Fire and Disaster Prevention Organizations and Activities
with 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.
Furthermore, the stipulations in Article 50 of the Fire
Defense Organization Act provide for a system for using
equipment free of charge. Under this system, some of theequipment needed by National Fire-Service Teams fortheir team activities and logistical activities is allocatedto fire departments and other sites throughout Japan.
Such equipment includes systems for water sources for
firefighting capable of handling disasters at energy andindustrial infrastructure, response vehicles for handlingtsunamis and large-scale storm and flood damage, vehicles
that can function as mobile bases, and more. (Table 2-8-4)
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 forvehicles for the functional enhancement of National FireService Teams” and “Facilities to serve as bases for rescue
and other activities for National Fire-Service Teams.”
In FY2014, base facilities for rescue activities and thelike were added to the list of facilities eligible for aid
via subsidies for the costs of outfitting fire and disasterprevention equipment. Such facilities consist of helicopter
landing pads, facilities for storing equipment and supplies,
and private refueling facilities. Through this, progress has
been made with setting in place base facilities that willallow National Fire-Service Teams to carry out rescue andother activities in a self-reliant manner.
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-

65

Attachment☞ Japanese Original P.320
Attachment 1-1-2 Extent of fire damage by prefecture
Classification(During 2019)

No. of fires

585

107

447

568

198

34

118

26

118

78

28

141

165

32

159

150

362

106

508

781

111

101

589

2,503

166

42

189

221

17

59

92

7

67

1,128

33

272

6

0

lwate

443

214

59

46

0

0

Akita

356

1

0

Fukushima

657

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

3

0

76

0

52

0

148

0

222

0

646

0

114

0

408

1,888

235

0

149

279

68

0

77

0

202

0

213

0

129

Miyagi

654

Yamagata

332

Ibaraki

1,249

Gunma

805

356
198
175
337
576
330

Tochigi

760

Saitama

1,867

1,068

Tokyo

4,120

2,920

Niigata528

354

Ishikawa

223

Yamanashi

359

Chiba

1,863

Kanagawa

1,920

Toyama

190

Fukui

170

Nagano905

Shizuoka

1,010

Gifu

624

380
955

1,187
126
132
103
144
402
318
530

Aichi

2,009

1,102

Shiga

383

216

Osaka

2,007

1,406

Nara

385

190

Tottori

219

Okayama

662

Yamaguchi

513

Kagawa

331

Mie

660

Kyoto

501

Hyogo

1,507

Wakayama

346

Shimane267

Hiroshima

841

Tokushima

277

Ehime

395

Fukuoka

1,348

Nagasaki

425

Oita

427

Kagoshima

645

Kochi

256

Saga

305

Kumamoto

631

Miyazaki

384

Okinawa

426

335
318
827
176
115
124
343
432
231
126
155
233
156

51
31
32
22
63
66
56
27
20
77
5

15
29
3

10
4

23
45
24
26
40
22
6
9

40
79
31
33
75

135
85
89

162
142
206
167
66
23
27
34
44
71
60

135
220
69
46
55

7

183

7

39

58
12
6

34
61
63
32
11
13
14
8

148
21
19
13
56
77
35
31
32
29
24

741

47

120

206

29

36

135
300
207
194
309
206

23
43
45
22
31
27

27
62
48
37
78
58

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

2

0

2

0

549

0

0

38

0

29

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

21,003

1,391

3,585

69

Sendai City

249

154

0

31

0

Chiba City

258

285

Sapporo city

407

Saitama City

252

Special wards

3,052

2,231

Kawasaki City

328

219

Niigata City

147

107

Hamamatsu City

178

100

Kyoto City

215

162

Sakai City

178

Okayama City

185

Kitakyushu City

230

Yokohama City

685

Sagamihara City

141

Shizuoka City

154

Nagoya City

528

Osaka City

745

Kobe City

373

Hiroshima City

255

Fukuoka City

307

21 city total

9,028

Kumamoto City

161

167
154
428
89
88

340
569
134
237
109
156
124
217
107

6,177

1
0
4

53
15
24

0

138

0

28

1
3
0
5
5
2
3
0
0
4

10
3
3
3
2

49

55
13
25
16
21
62
18
56
12
37
16
22
20
25
13

700

0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0

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

66

94

102
182
470
289
309
617
687
988

318

0

231

0

117

0

473

0

135

0

96

1,707
510
426
584
401
301

171
181
179
95

553

219

549

208

994
678

1,757
1,431
3,304
1,517
618
205
208
153
226

377
217
355
167
50
40
34
71

550

192

400

131

10

0

76

661
192
267

189

220

300

108

469
310
465
249

0

81

243

0

14

0

52

0

62

0

2,096

0

81
39

64

126

2,484

74

112

360

682

0

99

988

294

0

50

63

116

70

0

157

386

0

95

84

9

42

68
81

44

90

178

0

59

12

214

50

64

32

12

116

174

68

0

941

45

71

0

32

342

13

245

0

119

67

674

575

7,404

0

325

267

193

30,653

124

77

65

1,100

11,634

0

238

111

88

1

45

179

18

432

78

223

0

44

179

318

0

36

312

147

108

123

0

249

29

463

240

0

200

56

320

1,453

151

0

92

198

0

134

96

41

436

131

18

76

174

143

0

0

230

733

496

118

222

140

151

0

0

33

201

109

120

153

38

0

0

146

235

264

67

40

625

0

0

6

188

0

0

1

124

387

0

0

224

0

0

4

37,683Prefectural total

453

4

Total

Minor fire

1,892

287

Other

Partially
destroyed

Vehicles

606

AircraftHalf
destroyed

Forests

Aomori

Ships

Totally
destroyed

Buildings

Prefecture
Hokkaido

Total

No. of buildings burned

332
254
219
527
131
197
119
155
388
205
664
159
271
181
214
192
246
173

7,532

144
116
198
30
26

24

111

218

77

419

717

15

85

140

111

485

1,057

21

90

100

13

47

64

29

149

180

215

68

38

183

283

13

58

58

17

108

145

51

264

484

14

93

127

72

108

94

152

1,631

7,853

13,765

9

30

129

17
13
14
22

115
76
78
78

10

122

15

80

12
21
12
18

60

137
79
90
56

193
99

147

101

187

70

135

38

11

46

68

455

1,915

11

3

42

187

60

92

35
49
16

8

18
6

32

13

52

8

16

4

44

132

128

332

31

78

26

73

51

44

22

15

108

243

19

25

201

419

13

52

184

48

129

63

158

1,733

4,911

20
8

22
55
24
38
19
38

596

11
14
12
13
14
6
3

292

62

112

24

113

40
55
42

74
85
90

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

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

566

1,597

25,998

2,176

881

25

72

182

68

9

105

463

22,44926,977

15,41928,14656,90837,34728,096

51,68747,66918,824

38,66529,715

7,799

8,667

1,088

1,585

1,371

1,820

2,013

4,828

2,261

2,623

20,55837,939

8,650

Kyoto

14,529Hyogo

28,965

Shimane

Okayama

Hiroshima

Yamaguchi

Tokushima

Kumamoto
Oita

MiyazakiKagoshima
Okinawa

Prefectural total
Sapporo city
Sendai City

Saitama City

959

874

1,515

14,627749

Fukuoka City

Kumamoto City
21 city total

12

262

14,889

1,442

3,143

37,163

3,011

1,291

11,616

614

1,810

737

15,725

1,085

13,181

1,639

25,411

1,984

17,455

14,506

9,382

925

490

71

789

6,734

1,975

982

623

463

145

202

86

4,428

604

25

201

32

21

20

45

11

12

7

39

10

56

15

876

151

148

26

59

39

871

72

89

59

66

19

233

31

288

62

17

13

17

780

2,662

97

170

673

168

1,928

2,512

796

290

292

197

229

789

613

932

663

1,961

109

341

143

214

501

562

66

183

51

11

121

417

694

148

76

28

105

136

413

284

24

40

41

13

109

13

40

52

94

36

43

2

6

97

52

56

1,495

307

201

247

231

96

8

127

493

151

47

8

96

347

222

165

22

11

511

180

48

40

40

46

20

23

44

137

84

103

51

11

83

676

1,129

868

1,972

96

270

65

226

172

415

219

30

279

206

104

25

14

256

356

8

15

261

95

29

381

3,151

27

11

13

198

549

1,155

66

11

161

82

108

27

1,795

18

15

638

240

108

20

115

46

122

1,503

21

153

122

122

193

629

481

32

8

748

92

31

20
7

301
65

635

877

213

63

15

144

581

118

28

435

1,348

231

81

11

139

542

6

95

159

104

229

152

166

54

30

72

51

66

249

111

141

27

8

11

3

8

97

63

154

92

8

130

14

100

497

336

280

575

315

374

514

271

1,102,687

111,123

83,651

1,486

5,865

18,364

4,173

1,206

12,98539,983

1,622

165

0

8

39

114

19

3

92

220

177

32

10,866

1,901

3,478

Kitakyushu City

224

12

8,617

6,387

Hiroshima City

1,355

53

32

1,068

Okayama City

667

72

115

9

160

19

215

1,086

21

85

902

239

125

85

103

80

62

82

359

115

49

4,035

6,092

Kobe City

569

369

49

303

12

2,333

22,946

Niigata City

Sakai City

259

19,324457

Osaka City

16

10

17,601

Kyoto City

82

284

65

386

Kawasaki City

Nagoya City

19

647

33

19

864

6,449

Hamamatsu City

149

41

706

11,971

Shizuoka City

33

861

1,147

2,538

Special wards

Sagamihara City

133

392

506

323

40

999

294

107

45

12

143

2,350

31

9

226

706

356

17

287

1,189

5,162

1,301

5,405

71

263

338

10

554

1,066

Yokohama City

254

88

30

11,79911,019

54

84

1,266

10,359

117

839

569

76

34

43

41

148

31

993

1,054

100

54

3,384

78

52

53

108

3,741

85

16

782

1,377

97

18

8,027

5,216

93

28

1,019

5,295

Chiba City

931

875

12,716

Nagasaki

2,180

13,079

Kochi
Saga

1,216

8,304

12,855

Fukuoka

8,682

32,032

Kagawa
Ehime

1,655

37

7,061

1,765

7,136

2,860

1,510

24,045

Tottori

No. of people
affected

80

2,617

Wakayama

Minor
destruction

153

41,265Nara

Halfdestroyed

799

Shizuoka

Osaka

Totally
destroyed

259

3,345

Shiga

Total

91

33,967

Mie

Injured

24,364

2,526

NaganoAichi

Fatalities

7,884

32,215

11,009Gifu

Forests (a)(During 2019)
No. of households affected

69,342

Fukui

Yamanashi

No. of casualties

4,005

6,672

2,120

4,206

4,087

4,160

4,685

120,841

0

5

68

173

1

8

446

71

718

285

27

22

407

81

99

87

93

22

110

266

0

25

187

627

62

11

57

56

9

0

41

112

10

353

11

4

3

907

85

3

813

22,531

19

189

2

134

491

27

6

497

946

117

5

407

16

20

22

1,089

435

6,907

1,769

13

3,633

3,139

539

9

0

2,766

4,723

79

2

72

228

0

1,505

300

63

14

30

217

11

0

564

6,204

2,988

0

34

8

28

39

47

9

45

37

322

1,682

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

67

153

104

219

115

163

126

156

92

5,438

8

46

21

199

407

8

135

138

133

1,498

3,211

13

3

157

418

39

16

25

17

30

11

14

0

6

8

7

134

354

65

68

62

56

397

336

948

299

243

182

209

24

24

218

63

44

520

1,107

21

167

422

14

127

9

127

368

4,431

15

11

31

23

22

27

20

20

639

10

11

13

8

0

128

82

79

91

72

532

283

233

222

342

245

317

227

10,800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
5,055,106
1,285,299
939,361
1,305,271
1,127,585
773,875
2,080,009
6,002,784
4,962,989
1,714,220
5,369,618
3,855,441
7,757,184
3,673,198
1,458,575
618,466
540,233
1,040,114
559,6222,042,718
1,136,823
5,543,844
4,292,689
1,793,061
975,716
1,590,203
3,456,434
2,511,689
1,637,926
650,549
691,975
557,773
1,122,670
1,747,284
714,421509,151
679,998
670,910599,519
1,948,745
690,800
735,306
1,054,403
1,139,953
702,675
1,105,432
378,575
90,800,192
1,606,994
161,481515,690363,247
5,716,938
703,928
1,251,838
230,514338,686
686,828
520,135
333,044430,837
756,280
437,107416,212402,552
315,792
344,409
204,654361,739
16,098,905

Subtotal
4,427,760
1,213,453
888,535
1,239,954
1,098,989
648,995
1,861,197
4,675,605
4,815,693
1,610,635
5,153,759
3,539,927
7,574,920
3,414,936
1,392,091
481,560
474,555
1,008,998
471,886
1,882,020
1,067,121
5,374,677
4,042,286
1,598,399
867,037
1,520,975
3,231,195
2,303,998
1,621,317
613,754684,068
547,800
1,051,581
1,678,537
627,419
469,035
650,718
591,638
588,046
1,844,179
647,839
604,305
1,010,926
1,067,939
589,002
1,057,414
359,316
84,185,989
1,564,983
150,718
504,405
265,890
5,573,035
657,1031,150,237
209,106
319,588623,740
488,169
317,486
426,313735,222371,635
382,324
385,101
306,831
325,261
200,269
351,738
15,309,154

Building

Buildings
3,236,371
817,396
745,886
984,560
762,892
504,769
1,563,830
3,061,327
2,313,791
1,306,617
3,499,482
2,472,800
3,518,381
2,359,285
1,040,130
315,271401,420
501,710
378,981
1,355,994
731,7422,514,714
2,319,818
1,079,277
569,620
913,676
2,082,845
1,755,627
866,332
487,478
378,966
432,992
827,126
813,565
501,104
277,955
507,893457,344
350,635
1,243,429
481,133
463,115
773,412470,283
501,764
662,036
225,363
53,830,137
1,299,402
110,170
382,162
179,749
2,706,414
521,375
656,344
133,904
202,439
261,308
362,450
240,416
341,081507,083
186,977
267,040
288,403
151,437
216,759
157,024
269,415
9,441,352(During 2019) (Unit: 1,000 yen)Amount of damages
Contents
1,191,389
396,057
142,649
255,394
336,097
144,226
297,367
1,614,278
2,501,902
304,018
1,654,277
1,067,127
4,056,539
1,055,651
351,961
166,289
73,135507,288
92,905526,026
335,379
2,859,963
1,722,468
519,122
297,417607,299
1,148,350
548,371754,985
126,276
305,102
114,808
224,455864,972
126,315
191,080
142,825
134,294
237,411
600,750
166,706
141,190
237,514597,656
87,238395,378
133,953
30,355,852
265,581
40,548122,243
86,1412,866,621
135,728
493,893
75,202
117,149
362,432
125,719
77,07085,232
228,139
184,658
115,284
96,698155,394
108,50243,24582,323
5,867,802

Forests
14,03328,9885,326
12,874
4,398
1,124
61,582
1,295
16,498
2,118
1,677
5,975
1,938
101
547
0
152
310
5
52,228261
11,054
5,333
245
453
12
300
271
2,003
6,904
270
329
760
4,905
1,912
38
0
4,381
1,401
1,369
1,916
145
2,396
1,226
8,062
1,480
110
268,705
7
0
0
360
0
101
0
0
0
0
9,614
0
12
0
0
0
1
40
906
6
0
11,047(Note) The “21 city total” is found within the prefectural total.

-omitted-

68

VehiclesShips

225,056
20,02030,00333,053
12,784
22,63731,03391,58741,59149,131
98,81789,57784,653
131,579
36,887
13,607
12,00722,56776,50051,822
55,52086,384
161,430
98,63545,995
24,796
59,769133,901
11,466
3,395
3,751
8,096
57,06931,18030,746
10,993
11,645
11,245
5,427
61,34915,25341,047
21,894
31,647
20,212
27,46913,983
2,259,208
8,515
10,196
6,783
9,185
59,63037,716
7,788
20,597
5,136
13,795
12,045
11,671
3,570
13,986
4,283
31,674
14,872
6,566
3,434
3,610
4,357
289,40927,472
7,491
0
0
87
0
50
2
0
0
0
1,032
13,147
8,007
13,310051,850
0
0
0
0
181
1,550
312
256
0
4,548
0
0
22,050
3,500
0
0
2,321
1,981
0
251
2,742
225
4,349
0
84,359
1,028
1,985
0
388
0
254,474000013,147
7
0
0
8,956
0
0
0
0
4,272
0
0
0
2
205
0
0
26,589Aircraft
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3,000
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
3,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Other
358,243
15,345
15,333
19,390
11,246
5,543
125,576
1,086,934
77,28852,296
113,876
218,849
79,832
115,844
15,429123,166
1,669
6,066
11,23155,591
13,921
70,19979,02086,3985,995
3,928
54,41072,313
3,062
4,446
386
1,548
13,26030,341
24,35627,992
7,442
60,904
3,772
31,27525,7925,450
18,14023,16985,39918,681
5,164
3,285,510
32,831567
4,502
87,812
68,636
6,365
93,813727
4,765
49,293
10,307
3,484
937
2,800
1,169
2,214
2,578
2,353
14,596626
5,644
396,019

Explosions
2,542
2
164
0
81
95,576571
144,361
11,919
40
1,489
81
2,694
2,731
311
133
0
2,173
0
1,057
0
1,349
3,070
9,072
55,98040,492
106,212
1,206
78
0
0
0
0
0
28,007
1,093
9,942
0
648
6,224
0
0
19
13,987002
543,306
658
0
0
0
2,490
2,636
0
84
241
0
0
403
5
0
60,020
0
0
0
7
143
0
66,687

Attachment☞ Japanese Original P.356
Attachment 1-2-1 Trends in the number of facilities for hazardous material

Year

Types ofmanufacturing
facilities,etc.

(As of March 31 of each year)

Storage facilities
Net total

Manufacturing
facilities

Subtotal

Indoorstoragefacilities

Outdoortankstoragefacilities

Handling facilities
Simpletankstoragefacilities

Indoor tank Undergroundstoragestoragefacilities
facilities

Mobiletankstoragefacilities

Outdoorstoragefacilities

Subtotal

Fuel
supplydepotsClass 1sales
handling
facilities

Class 2sales
handling
facilities

Transfer
handling
facilities

Generaloutlets

1959

95,2072,523

63,30323,566

19,090

2,048

5,484

7,237

3,527

2,351

29,381

19,937

1,702

7,742

1967

213,526

3,008

140,842

34,163

48,975

8,863

23,891

4,648

15,1905,112

69,67642,347

2,059

25,2701968

246,767

3,164

157,456

36,52353,938

9,993

28,243

4,731

17,856

6,172

86,14749,041

2,478

34,628

1969

279,012

3,309

175,150

38,88059,504

11,17233,142

4,793

20,556

7,103

100,553

54,0602,907

43,586

1970

308,784

3,459

192,155

40,70964,693

12,33438,852

4,767

22,645

8,155

113,170

58,0963,274

51,8001971

346,1133,684

213,883

43,254

71,32013,61145,8804,849

25,396

9,573

128,546

62,749

3,553

1972

377,123

3,789

231,972

44,872

76,09014,66752,132

4,805

28,484

10,922

141,362

66,638

3,722

91

70,911

1973

410,158

3,929

251,372

46,76981,38815,57558,913

4,748

32,13911,840154,857

71,0493,697

163

79,948

1974

461,500

4,037

288,771

50,25391,596

16,84068,4234,774

36,04920,836

168,692

74,697

3,763

258

1975

495,161

3,961

312,00953,23997,846

17,53475,642

4,578

39,36423,806

179,191

76,879

3,727

319

1,148

97,118

1976

512,675

4,035

323,827

55,14099,401

17,93680,906

4,540

41,90923,995

184,81378,508

3,717

374

1,225

100,9891977

527,118

4,104

333,440

56,772

99,626

18,23685,874

4,496

44,26624,170189,574

79,998

3,675

464

1,229

104,208

1978

539,532

4,124

341,341

57,81999,456

18,632

90,734

4,286

46,33324,081

194,067

81,288

3,626

513

1,251

107,3891979

552,597

4,184

349,777

58,52898,98418,92995,823

4,194

49,42723,892

198,636

82,900

3,538

541

1,316

110,341

1980

575,376

4,272

366,356

60,165 100,373

19,451

104,193

4,187

52,35025,637204,748

84,588

3,462

604

1,357

114,737

1981

587,052

4,346

373,465

61,55497,50919,923

109,755

4,076

54,986

25,662

209,241

86,056

3,416

647

1,366

117,756

1982

596,575

4,393

379,752

62,78997,00720,013

113,398

3,953

57,12625,466

212,430

86,962

3,351

667

1,382

120,068

1983

601,905

4,435

382,91463,44096,341

19,955

115,724

3,871

58,662

24,921

214,556

87,678

3,284

705

1,380

121,5091984

607,040

4,477

386,406

63,59896,057

19,878

117,715

3,742

61,01924,397

216,157

88,143

3,221

729

1,391

122,6731985

613,364

4,560

390,825

63,87895,685

19,831

119,749

3,638

64,39323,651217,979

88,582

3,124

744

1,400

124,129

1986

617,540

4,598

393,41964,081

94,998

19,621

121,2543,531

66,99822,936

219,523

88,882

3,040

739

1,402

125,460

1987

620,783

4,657

395,877

63,98094,334

19,465

122,509

3,435

69,97622,178220,249

88,890

2,939

758

1,397

126,265

1988

574,720

4,677

397,687

63,69393,497

19,354

123,402

3,361

72,957

21,423

172,356

89,088

2,845

766

1,381

78,276

1989

578,881

4,722

400,597

63,562

93,105

19,150124,374

3,288

76,451

20,667

173,562

89,506

2,768

765

1,372

79,151

1990

582,911

4,775

403,577

63,426

92,77818,955

125,630

3,199

79,30820,281

174,559

89,814

2,696

776

1,360

79,913

1991

561,184

4,774

385,975

61,35087,95017,999125,874

2,354

71,596

18,852

170,435

89,388

2,630

657

1,373

76,387

1992

562,980

4,917

387,019

61,52287,55017,710126,599

2,266

73,111

18,261

171,044

89,616

2,554

640

1,369

76,865

1993

562,250

4,975

386,022

61,28587,03817,459126,706

2,212

73,69917,623

171,253

89,996

2,464

652

1,377

76,764

1994

560,790

5,013

383,979

60,862

86,272

17,168

126,543

2,169

73,704

17,261

171,798

90,647

2,395

647

1,380

76,7291995

561,295

5,046

383,683

60,30485,764

16,880126,533

2,089

75,307

16,806

172,566

91,418

2,321

647

1,382

76,798

1996

561,094

5,071

382,941

59,824

85,114

16,598

126,552

2,040

76,575

16,238173,082

92,037

2,256

660

1,378

76,751

1997

560,108

5,126

382,40959,221

84,553

16,315

126,617

1,965

77,881

15,857

172,573

91,583

2,196

652

1,365

76,777

1998

556,647

5,159

380,337

58,697

83,902

16,133

126,218

1,906

78,184

15,297

171,151

90,226

2,146

641

1,359

76,7791999

551,371

5,156

377,229

58,07382,877

15,848125,4811,828

78,404

14,718

168,986

88,382

2,075

645

1,350

76,534

2000

546,043

5,145

374,034

57,246

81,646

15,497

124,558

1,768

79,027

14,292

166,864

86,616

2,017

638

1,343

76,250

2001

542,068

5,160

371,351

56,72280,26015,311

123,964

1,703

79,802

13,589165,557

85,182

1,963

631

1,331

76,450

2002

537,8255,183

368,561

56,01079,26415,022

123,096

1,646

80,356

13,167

164,081

83,869

1,876

625

1,322

76,3892003

530,484

5,085

363,829

55,17877,631

14,709

121,795

1,586

80,194

12,736

161,570

82,371

1,807

618

1,288

75,486

2004

523,341

5,076

358,786

54,577

76,147

14,368

119,988

1,514

79,804

12,388

159,479

80,814

1,737

611

1,262

75,055

2005

514,990

5,050

352,872

54,33774,724

14,086

117,491

1,446

78,683

12,105

157,068

79,104

1,681

600

1,250

74,433

2006

506,245

5,058

346,532

53,77073,42813,803

114,564

1,384

77,63011,953

154,655

77,642

1,632

591

1,241

73,5492007

496,789

5,107

339,728

53,72072,213

13,363111,204

1,307

76,262

11,659151,954

76,310

1,584

583

1,226

72,251

2008

486,8125,121

332,859

53,47370,898

12,965108,292

1,247

74,513

11,471

148,832

74,388

1,523

567

1,215

71,1392009

475,989

5,154

325,590

53,18269,756

12,574105,206

1,204

72,387

11,281

145,245

72,121

1,480

554

1,208

69,882

2010

465,685

5,164

318,562

52,63768,606

12,287

102,417

1,170

70,232

11,213141,959

70,005

1,428

551

1,190

68,785

2011

455,8295,152

311,996

52,21967,47011,92399,383

1,141

68,746

11,114

138,681

67,990

1,381

542

1,179

67,5892012

447,277

5,150

305,975

51,516

66,294

11,67996,1201,114

68,29910,953

136,152

66,470

1,333

537

1,153

66,6592013

436,918

5,160

299,142

51,24565,33011,502

91,255

1,101

67,916

10,793

132,616

64,593

1,293

538

1,151

65,041

2014

428,541

5,154

293,544

50,88864,206

11,296

87,831

1,060

67,665

10,598129,843

63,222

1,245

529

1,142

63,705

2015

422,0295,106

289,034

50,55363,093

11,02185,4991,019

67,49810,351

127,889

62,269

1,209

518

1,127

62,766

2016

416,234

5,088

284,849

50,201

62,12010,802

83,341

1,002

67,17010,213

126,297

61,401

1,178

510

1,111

62,097

2017

410,651

5,096

280,863

50,023

61,124

10,586

81,417986

66,733

9,994

124,692

60,585

1,138

499

1,098

61,372

2018405,238

5,093

276,879

49,81160,36010,386

79,723961

65,806

9,832

123,266

59,715

1,107

493

1,084

60,867

2019

400,639

5,098

273,641

49,717

59,69910,17077,988940

65,425

9,702

121,900

58,865

1,078

482

1,077

60,3982020

396,457

5,077

270,722

49,61359,035

9,988

76,425933

65,124

9,604

120,658

58,124

1,050

474

1,062

59,94862,244

89,974(Notes) 1 Prepared based on “The Survey on Regulation Work of Hazardous Materials”.
2 1959 is as of September 30.
3 With regard to the numbers in 2011 and 2012, because of the influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the numbers for the
Rikuzentakata City Fire Department in Iwate Prefecture and the Futaba Fire Department in Fukushima Prefecture were calculated based on thenumbers at the time of last fiscal year’s survey (as of March 31, 2010).

-omitted-

69

Attachment☞ Japanese Original P.369
Attachment 2-1-2 Trends in the number of firefighting agencies and volunteer firefighter (As of April 1 of each year)
Category

FY

Fire departments

Volunteer fire corps

Fire
departments

Unions among
theseFire stations

Branch offices

1956

383

6

465

713

31,864

5,332−

Standing
volunteerfire corps
101

1957

406

6

488

735

32,745

4,484

−

107

1,737,319

1958

429

6

507

778

33,729

4,304

−

104

1,677,555

1959

438

6

533

831

35,168

4,153

−

93

1,633,792

1960

445

3

562

833

36,627

4,016

−

102

1,591,053

1961

461

3

578

889

38,4893,957

35,46396

1,542,406

1962

484

3

597

919

40,9483,909

35,377100

1,488,495

1963

511

3

617

961

43,1693,852

34,323116

1,445,508

1964

544

4

641

996

45,357

3,835

33,825

117

1,413,285

1965

620

4

735

1,024

48,075

3,826

31,653123

1,330,995

1966

640

4

755

1,072

50,806

3,818

30,940125

1,301,702

1967

671

5

817

1,110

53,957

3,764

29,926107

1,283,003

1968

700

9

851

1,155

56,681

3,748

29,45194

1,258,277

1969

734

26

892

1,242

60,486

3,743

28,99889

1,234,696

1970

756

58

937

1,308

64,2303,699

28,48271

1,210,839

1971

782

129

986

1,470

70,077

3,682

27,73261

1,189,675

1972

805

221

1,094

1,769

79,092

3,659

27,63823

1,166,625

1973

829

304

1,155

2,120

88,754

3,696

27,39225

1,148,567

1974

848

359

1,230

2,407

98,3293,682

27,08122

1,131,723

1975

859

378

1,258

2,590

105,005

3,668

26,80522

1,118,036

1976

869

387

1,286

2,665

107,632

3,673

26,65022

1,105,299

1977

878

398

1,321

2,742

110,618

3,669

26,46317

1,094,367

1978

887

408

1,336

2,771

114,249

3,669

26,32418

1,087,269

1979

895

419

1,366

2,840

117,657

3,666

26,28112

1,078,536

1980

906

427

1,425

2,883

120,460

3,641

26,08411

1,069,140

1981

914

435

1,462

2,930

123,204

3,645

25,99511

1,063,761

1982

923

441

1,470

3,001

125,335

3,656

26,1159

1,057,404

1983

927

445

1,476

3,063

126,959

3,653

26,0028

1,050,271

1984

932

451

1,483

3,111

128,087

3,658

25,8588

1,042,463

1985

933

454

1,496

3,132

128,914

3,641

25,7987

1,033,376

1986

933

454

1,501

3,151

129,6103,650

25,7017

1,026,224

1987

931

455

1,514

3,152

130,463

3,648

25,66771,017,807

1988

930

456

1,526

3,170

131,407

3,649

25,606

6

1,008,998

1989

931

458

1,535

3,160

132,437

3,649

25,6206

1,002,371

1990

933

464

1,554

3,166

133,610

3,654

25,6396

996,743

1991

935

468

1,589

3,175

135,157

3,648

25,5592

991,566

1992

935

467

1,602

3,181

137,388

3,642

25,574

1

986,996

1993

932

466

1,618

3,200

141,403

3,642

25,575

1

983,014

1994

931

465

1,615

3,207

144,885

3,641

25,561

1

979,737

1995

931

467

1,631

3,207

147,016

3,637

25,506−

975,512

1996

925

470

1,636

3,219

148,989

3,636

25,480−972,078

1997

923

471

1,654

3,224

150,626

3,641

25,455−

968,081

1998

920

473

1,662

3,232

151,703

3,643

25,393−

962,625

1999

911

473

1,670

3,239

152,4643,641

25,351−

957,047

2000

907

472

1,682

3,230

153,439

3,639

25,322−

951,069

2001

904

475

1,687

3,225

153,952

3,636

25,268−944,134

2002

900

475

1,690

3,226

154,487

3,627

25,238−937,169

2003

894

472

1,696

3,207

155,016

3,598

25,064−928,432

2004

886

459

1,699

3,207

155,5243,524

24,852−

919,105

2005

848

385

1,704

3,225

156,082

2,963

24,384−

908,043

2006

811

329

1,706

3,221

156,758

2,584

23,946−900,007

2007

807

320

1,705

3,230

157,396

2,474

23,605−892,893

2008

807

316

1,706

3,218

157,860

2,380

23,180−888,900

2009

803

312

1,710

3,197

158,327

2,336

22,997−885,394

2010

802

305

1,716

3,180

158,8092,275

22,926−883,698

2011

798

303

1,711

3,186

159,354

2,263

22,839−879,978

2012

791

305

1,706

3,184

159,730

2,234

22,753−874,193

2013

770

304

1,700

3,162

160,392

2,224

22,578−868,872

2014

752

296

1,703

3,153

161,244

2,221

22,560−864,347

2015

750

295

1,709

3,145

162,124

2,208

22,549−859,995

2016

733

291

1,714

3,130

163,043

2,211

22,484−856,278

2017

732

290

1,718

3,111

163,8142,209

22,458−850,331

2018

728

289

1,719

3,117

164,873

2,209

22,422−

843,667

2019

726

289

1,719

3,113

165,438

2,198

22,388−

831,982

2020

726

289

1,719

3,106

166,628

2,199

22,309−818,478

Firefighters

Volunteer fire
corps

Divisions

Volunteer
firefighters
1,830,222(Note) Prepared based on “The Survey of the Current Status of Fire Prevention and Earthquake Countermeasures” and “The Report on Personnel
Changes concerning Fire Defense Headquarters and Volunteer Fire Corps”.

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