## (5) Disaster Risk Reduction and Post-Disaster Reconstruction

Disasters caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, floods, and mudslides which occur frequently in countries around the world, lead to the extensive loss of human life and property, and have a serious impact on economic and social systems overall. In particular,

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Japan utilizes its advanced expertise and technology acquired through past experiences with disasters and proactively provides support in the areas of disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction, as well as emergency assistance. At the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe in 2005, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 was adopted as a basic guideline for disaster risk reduction activities in the international community. Japan promotes its worldwide implementation in cooperation with the United Nations in developing countries that are vulnerable to disasters, where impoverished people are often affected and become disaster refugees, prolonged secondary damages such as the deterioration of sanitary conditions and food shortages are major problems.

and so forth.

At the conference, Japan announced its Initiative for Disaster Reduction through ODA, which represents Japan’s basic policies regarding cooperation for disaster risk reduction through official aid. Japan expressed its intent to continue to actively support the self-help efforts by developing countries toward building a disaster-resilient society through institution building, human resource development, development of economic and social infrastructure, and other measures.

## ☑ Pakistan: Project for Strengthening of Flood Risk Management in Lai Nullah Basin

Flood damage from the overflowing of the Lai Nullah River is growing more severe by the year in the city of Rawalpindi, which is adjacent to Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad. Therefore, Japan clarified the challenges for the entire basin through development project study-style technical cooperation, and set in place a flood forecasting and warning system that was urgently needed through grant aid. In addition, Japan also provided support for improving the accuracy of flood predictions and carried out disaster drills through technical cooperation, thereby striving to improve the capacity of the relevant agencies for the sake of issuing appropriate warnings and reducing flood damage. In order to extend the results of this all around the country in the future, the Government of Pakistan has requested that Japan develop a disaster prevention structure at the national level capable of handling disasters other than floods, and so new cooperation is being deployed.

## Japan Disaster Relief Team

Japan is prepared to swiftly extend emergency relief aid in response to requests from the government of a disaster-affected country or an international organization in case of a large-scale disaster overseas. There are four types of teams: Search and Rescue Teams to search for and rescue disaster victims; Medical Teams to provide medical services for disaster victims; Expert Teams to give advice and instruction on first aid measures, etc.; and SDF units to be dispatched when particularly necessary. As for material aid, Japan has emergency relief goods to be

A Japan Disaster Relief Team supplying emergency relief goods (Photo: Kenshiro Imamura/JICA)