JAPANI. Natural hazards in Japan
1. Natural hazards likely to affect the country
Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanic Eruptions, Typhoons, Torrential Rains, Floods,
Landslides and Snow Avalanches, etc.
20000

Great East Japan Earthquake
18000
16000
14000

persons

12000
10000
8000

MikawaEarthquake

6000

Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
Ise-Bay
Typhoon

4000
2000

2011

2008

2005

2002

1999

1996

1993

1990

1987

1984

1981

1978

1975

1972

1969

1966

1963

1960

1957

1954

1951

1948

1945

0

II. Disaster management system
1. Administrative system
Japan has three (3) administrative levels of governance; national, prefectural andmunicipal. Each level of governments has its own disaster management organizations,policy frameworks and budgets. When disasters occur, municipalities respond first. In
case disasters are large in scale beyond their capacity, national and prefectural
governments provide every possible support.

2. Legal system, legal framework
The cornerstone of legislation on disaster risk
Countermeasures Basic Act enacted in 1961.

reduction is theDisaster

Main Features of the Act• Responsibilities of national and local governments as well as the private sectorand people• Organization of multi-sectoral coordination bodies for disaster management at
the national and local levels• Disaster management planning system• Basic actions to be taken in each phase of the disaster management cycle:
prevention/preparedness, emergency response, and recovery/rehabilitation• Annual Government Official Report on Disaster Countermeasures

A number of laws are enacted to address all the phases of disaster reduction. For
example, Large-scale Earthquake Countermeasures Special Act and Earthquake
Disaster Management Special Measures Act for building nation and communities
resilient to disasters. Disaster Relief Act and Act Regarding Special Measures to Weighthe Preservation of Rights and Profits of the Victims of Specified Disasters for
immediate support to the affected populations and local authorities. Act Concerning
Support for Reconstructing Livelihoods of Disaster Victims and Act Concerning Special
Financial Support to Deal with Designated Disasters of Extreme Severity for betterrecovery to safer communities.

3. Structure of disaster management(Cabinet Office and the Minister of State for Disaster Management)
All the line ministries and agencies have responsibility to take actions related todisaster reduction within their own mandate. The Cabinet Office is responsible forformulating basic policies, strategies and guidelines for disaster reduction and for
securing coordination of government disaster reduction activities.
A post of Minister of State for Disaster Management was newly established in
the Cabinet in 2001 who takes lead in the responsibilities for disaster reduction in theNatural Government.

(Central Disaster Management Council)
Under the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act, the Central Disaster Management
Council was formed to ensure multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral involvement indisaster reduction in a coordinated manner.
The Prime Minister is its Chair and the Minister of State for Disaster
Management supports the Chair. Not only all the Ministers but also Heads of relevantpublic corporations such as the Bank of Japan, the Japanese Red Cross Society, NHK(public broadcasting corporation) and NTT (telecommunication company) , and someacademic experts are the member of the Council.
The Council formulates the Disaster Management Basic Plan and other basic
policies, strategies and guidelines.

4. Priority on disaster risk management
Reducing damage caused by disasters, especially sudden on-set earthquakes andtsunamis, through wider involvement of all the stakeholders in disaster reduction
activities is continuously required. Among others the prioritized issues are as follows:(1) Decrease the number of casualties by earthquakes• Retrofit/rebuild old existing houses and buildings• Affix furniture and adhere protective films on old windows• Encourage companies to make Business Continuity Plan (BCP)(2) Decrease the number of casualties by tsunamis• Distribute tsunami hazard maps
• Disseminate tsunami warnings effectively• Ensure that people are evacuated to safe places(3) Further decrease the number casualties by typhoons and floods• Provide early evacuation alerts for the elderly and disabled• Distribute flood hazard maps

III. Disaster management plan
Based on the Disaster Management Basic Act, the Central Disaster ManagementCouncil formulates and reviews the Basic Disaster Management Plan (latestamendments in December 2011). In accordance with the Basic Plan, all the government
ministries and agencies as well as designated major public corporations formulate theirown Disaster Management Operation Plan. All the local authorities also formulate
their own Local Disaster Management Plan.
Disaster reduction perspectives are incorporated into relevant development
plans such as National Spatial Plan, Social Infrastructure Development Priority Plan,
National Land Use Plan and urban / rural planning.

IV. Budget size on national level
Disaster risk reduction is covered in the budget of national and local governments. At
the national level, the annual budget for disaster risk reduction is approximately $ 11billion, which is about 1% of the total general-account budget expenditure (FY2010).

V. Progress and situations of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)
Among others the recent prioritized efforts for the implementation of the HFA in Japanare as follows:
1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong
institutional basis for implementation(a) Initiated nation-wide movement for disaster reduction
A committee on the promotion of nation-wide movement for disaster reduction wasestablished under the Central Disaster Management Council in July 2005 withmembers from various stakeholders to formulate basic plan of action for thenation-wide movement.
(b) Formulated Earthquake Disaster Reduction Strategy
The Central Disaster Management Council formulated Earthquake Disaster
Reduction Strategy in March 2005, which set an overarching goal to halve
estimated damage caused by possible large-scale earthquakes and tsunamis in thenext decade.
2. Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning(c) Promoting hazard mapping for various disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis,volcanic eruptions and floods at community level(d) Enhancing early warning capabilities for all the possible disasters including
thorough R&D for emergency earthquake alerts by using the arrival time differenceof P and S waves of earthquakes
3. Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilienceat all levels.
(e) Promoting disaster reduction education for school children including thoroughparticipation-oriented events to involve children in practical disaster exercises
4. Reduce the underlying risk factors(f) Promoting rebuilding and retrofitting of old houses and buildings vulnerable toearthquakes To accomplish a strategic goal to decrease the ratio of old housed from
25% to 10% in ten years, the Government is increasing the budget for subsidies anddeveloping a new tax reduction policy for building safer houses.
(g) Promoting efforts of the private sector to make Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels(h) Formulating emergency contingency planning in response to possible large-scale
earthquakes such as Tonanka and Nankai Earthquake

VI.

Projects on disaster reduction headed by your Ministry

Same as above

VII.

ADRC Counterpart
Director General for Disaster Management,
Cabinet Office, Government of JAPAN
1-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8969