In addition, the Examination Committee to Disaster headed by Chiefs of Prefectural Police Headquarters and other leading members have been established in all prefectural police and other organizations. They are currently conducting comprehensive and focused reviews.

## (2) Disaster Management Operation Plan Revision

Based on the December 2011 revision of the government’s Basic Disaster Management Plan, the National Public Safety Commission and the NPA revised the “National Public Safety Commission/NPA Disaster Prevention Business Operation Plan”. With this revision, tsunami disaster countermeasures, which were previously a part of the earthquake disaster countermeasures, are now handled separately. Items that should be specially noted as tsunami disaster countermeasures, such as danger spots in regions likely to be flooded by tsunamis, establishing an understanding of the status of persons requiring assistance during disasters, evacuation guidance that takes issues such as estimated tsunami landfall times as well as other matters into consideration were provided. As a result, the measures that police should take regarding advance countermeasures in preparation for disasters and measures when disasters occur are specifically provided in order to promote the disaster countermeasures of the police.

## 2 Expansion of Wide-Area Unit Operation

## (1) Newly Established Police Disaster Dispatch Units

Traditionally, the police have organized and operated units under the assumption that they would be needed for disaster emergency measures such as search and rescue. However, this earthquake required prolonged dispatch of large-scale units in order to respond to tsunami, nuclear disasters and other disasters. Based on this experience, readiness units that are immediately dispatched from across Japan to the affected areas when a large-scale disaster occurs have been expanded as well as regular units that can be dispatched for prolonged disaster response have been newly established in order to construct a wide-ranging response structure regardless of the type or scale of the disaster, and Police Disaster Dispatch Units comprised of these two units have been newly established.

(2) Organization/Operation of Police Disaster Dispatch Units

## 1 ) Readiness Units

In addition to increasing the number of officers for the IERU (Autopsy and Identification Units) whose system showed a need for enhancement from the earthquake, Emergency Disaster Security Units that would engage in a wide-range of tasks responding to requests by affected prefectural police in order to secure the ability to respond flexibly to each individual situation, will be newly established. To this end, a Readiness Unit comprised of a maximum of 10,000 officers will be organized. Readiness units will be dispatched over an approximate two week period commencing immediately after a disaster occurs, and will undertake search and rescue of victims, secure emergency traffic routes, conduct autopsies and body identification among other tasks over a short activity period from three days up to one week. In principle, readiness units will undertake activities such as the arrangement of accommodation and the procurement of supplies without the assistance of the police in the affected areas.

Organized from regional riot police officers not engaged as IERU officers. Undertakes tasks such as search and rescue, searching for missing persons, guard/patrol activities, etc. according to the needs of the affected prefecture(s).