extension of the applicable period for the taxation scheme of seismic reinforcement for residential housing.

## 2 ) Promotion of seismic reinforcement in residential areas

In order to reduce the damage caused by slips or collapses in land development, the skill standard for newly developed residential areas is being strengthened according to the revised “Act on Regulation of Residential Land Development”. In addition, the necessary examination and the preventive construction for existing residential areas for designating disaster prevention districts for developed residential area are being implemented through projects on the promotion of the seismic reinforcement in residential areas.

For residential housing/buildings, in order to prevent secondary disasters such as building collapses caused by aftershocks, system development is being worked out with the cooperation of prefectures through business manual formulation and national communication training for the purpose of performing swift emergency risk level judgment after disasters. In order to prevent secondary disasters and assure the safety of residents in the residential area, system development is underway with the cooperation of the “Disaster Residential Area Risk Level Judgment Communication Council” formed by prefectures and ordinance-designated cities, such as by developing a business manual for enabling the implementation of speedy and precise risk level judgment after disasters.

## 4 ) Urgent development of dense urban districts

The immediate enhancement of dense urban districts is a critical issue in terms of disaster prevention and living environment. According to the $ 3^{rd} $ Decision of the Urban Resuscitation Project and the Basic Plan for Housing, the risky dense urban districts (the major dense urban districts are around 2,000ha in Tokyo and Osaka; 8,000ha throughout the country), especially those highly susceptible to conflagration, are developed intensively and the minimum safety level is to be assured by FY 2011. In order to achieve targets, MLIT is pushing forward (A) the development of urban structural disaster prevention centers (disaster prevention centers) with unitary functionality of stopping the fire from spreading and creating evacuation paths through the construction of non-flammable buildings along expressways; (B) the improvement of disaster prevention level of dense urban districts and the enhancement of living environment through reconstructing decrepit buildings into the fire-resistant buildings by carrying out disaster prevention block development projects and comprehensive development projects for residential urban area.

## 5 ) Ensuring open spaces

In order to work out the development of a safe and secure city through disaster prevention functionality enhancement, various developments are being pushed forward for building recovery strongholds during disasters, such as disaster prevention centers as the temporary base for supplying basic necessities and disaster prevention parks as evacuation spots.

for accommodating the people from the surrounding areas who need shelter and have difficulty going home, and for protecting human lives from the fires in urban districts. Moreover, disaster prevention park and block development projects are being implemented in 9 districts such as the Gaigodai Former Site Park (Tokyo Metropolis) for unitarily carrying out the facility enhancement of disaster prevention parks and the surrounding urban districts.

6) Promotion of the development of disaster prevention government offices that ensure comprehensive earthquake-resistance safety levels

From the viewpoint of ensuring comprehensive earthquake-resistance safety levels, in FY 2009, the current earthquake-resistance level and the future earthquake-resistance targets of the necessary government facilities and the general government facilities for disaster emergency-planning activities were released. At the same time, the earthquake resistance measures of Central Government Building No. 1 (Kasumigaseki) etc, are being pushed forward.

## 7 ) Improvement of earthquake-resistance levels in public facilities

For the river business, in order to further improve the earthquake-resistance functionality of river structure buildings, regular examinations and measures for earthquake resistance on the basis of the so-called level-2 earth tremors (tremors of the same magnitude as the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 and the Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake in 1995).

For the coast business, according to urgent projects on coastal earthquake-resistance measures, coastal earthquake-resistance measures are being urgently implemented in areas below sea level at which regional central functional districts are located.