5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

5-3. Project on International Dissemination ofInformation on Japan’s Efforts for Disaster RiskReduction
5-3-1. Background of the Survey
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities relate to a broad range of policies and involve various
ministries, agencies and organizations, which require effective information sharing, coordinationand cooperation among DRR related organizations including national and local government. InJapan, the government issues a whitepaper on disaster management every year. The whitepaper
compiles the information of the efforts by the relevant government organizations for DRR in theyear, which enable the relevant organizations to share their DRR activities with each other and toprovide information to the public and relevant parties.
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) adopted in 2015 underlines
the importance of strengthening disaster risk governance, and stresses the need for building
awareness and knowledge of disaster risk through sharing disaster risk information and data. Also,
the SFDRR underscores the importance of the periodical assessment and public reporting of theprogress of local and national plans for disaster risk reduction.
In this context, the Cabinet Office, Japan initiated a project to widely disseminate information ofJapan’s knowledge and experiences on the efforts for DRR which can serve as a useful reference forstrengthening DRR efforts in other countries, especially in developing countries. The projectfocused in particular on disseminating information of the Japan’s efforts for strengthening disasterrisk governance through the process of the development of whitepaper on disaster management.
ADRC undertook the project.

5-3-2. Outlines of the Project
The outlines of the project were as described below.
(1)

Development of a Japanese-English Terminology on DRR
A Japanese-English terminology for the words and terms frequently used in the “2015 WhitePaper on Disaster Management in Japan” was developed.

Fig. 5-3-1 Japanese-English Terminology on DRR (Source: Cabinet Office, Japan)

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(2)

Translation of “2015 White Paper on Disater Management in Japan”
A summary version and a full version of the “2015 White Paper on Disaster Management inJapan” were translated into English using the terminology developed in the above activity (1) andEnglish reports and brochures of the relevant DRR organizations. The necessary numbers of thetranslated white paper were printed for distributing in the designated workshops and events, andthe versions saved as PDF were prepared for offering download to the DRR related parties aroundthe world. The versions can be downloaded at the following website of the Cabinet Office, Japan.
Summary Version: http://www.bousai.go.jp/kaigirep/hakusho/pdf/WPDM2015_Summary.pdf
Full Version: http://www.bousai.go.jp/kaigirep/hakusho/pdf/WP2015_DM_Full_Version.pdf

Fig. 5-3-2 English Version of the 2015 White Paper on Disaster Management in Japan(Source: Cabinet Office, Japan)(3)Activities for Widely Disseminating Information of Japan’s Efforts on DRR
Using the translated “2015 White Paper on Disaster Management in Japan,” activities forwidely disseminating information of Japan’s efforts on DRR were conducted as follows.
1) Introduction of the White Paper on Disaster Management in the ISDR (International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction) Asia Partnership (IAP) Meeting
In the ISDR Asia Partnership Meeting held in Delhi, India on 17-19 November 2015, Mr.
Yohei Matsumoto, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office, Japan introduced that thegovernment of Japan prepared the first English translation of the White Paper on Disaster
Management in Japan in the fiscal year. Mr. Kaoru Saito, Director International Cooperation
Division, Disaster Management Bureau, Cabinet Office, Japan provided a brief introduction tothe translation project of the white paper on disaster management in Japan. Further, the English
version of the white paper was distributed to each participant during the period of meeting
which was attended by many DRR stakeholders in Asia.

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5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

Fig. 5-3-3 Introduction of White Paper on Disaster Management in Japan in the IAP Meeting (Left: Mr.
Matsumoto, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office, Japan/ Right: Mr. Kaoru Saito, Director
International Cooperation Division, Disaster Management Bureau, Cabinet Office, Japan)2) Special Session on the White Paper in the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction(ACDR) 2016
In the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR) 2016 which was jointly hosted by
the governments of Thailand and Japan, and UNISDR on 25-26 February 2016 in Phuket,Thailand, a special session on the white paper was organized on 26 February 2016, the second
day of the ACDR.
In the special session titled “DRR Policy Reporting for Better Governance,” the participants
had an exchange of their knowledge, experiences, and views on DRR policy reporting andinformation sharing of the DRR activities in their own countries. Also, the summary version ofthe “2015 White Paper on Disaster Management in Japan” was distributed to each participant.

Fig.5-3-4 Special Session on the White Paper in the ACDR2016

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In the session, at first, Mr. Kaoru Saito, Director of Cabinet Office, Japan introduced theJapan’s White Paper on Disaster Management which has been developed every year since1963. Then, it was followed by the presentations of the efforts for DRR information reportingand sharing in the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Mr. Arun Pinta from International
Cooperation Section of Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Thailand
explained the Thailand’s white paper developed through a JICA project in his presentation.
After these presentations, a couple of questions or comments were heard from the floor. Mr.
Julio Serje from UNISDR picked up the initiatives on the global report on disaster risk
reduction developed by UNISDR and pointed out that such a paper firstly focus on introducing
various DRR efforts taken place in the world among various stakeholders. However, he added
another function of the paper, “self-reflection”, that is to review what we have done so far andidentify gaps of these efforts, which he believes the most important function such papers have.
At the end of the session, Mr. Saito of Cabinet Office of Japan mentioned that there arechallenges identified in the session to strengthen disaster risk governance for the promotion ofSFDRR, and also strong needs to further discuss and seek better methodologies for thepromotion of DRR policy reporting systems in Asia.

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