Measures taken from the five viewpoints above are being correlated in a multi-layered manner and together support our daily life. At present, we are required to form infrastructures for people's daily life, eliminate anxiety and frustration in daily life and further enhance the quality of life. We intend to address these issues through our policy measures.

## (1) Ensuring safety and security in daily life

Our daily life is always threatened by possible natural disasters and accidents. Ensuring safety and peace of mind is the most basic necessity in daily life, and we are going to habitually enhance preparedness against various disasters. When disaster strikes, we will promptly provide emergency measures for victims of the disaster, get prepared for speedy rehabilitation and reconstruction, and promptly ascertain the cause of the disaster and other problems so as to be further prepared for another disaster. In this way, the ministry will take measures to protect the foundations of our daily life and enhance safety and peace of mind.

## (a) Preparedness against natural disasters

## (Preventing damage from flood disasters and sediment disasters)

Due to global warming, there are concerns about more frequent heavy rainfalls and localized heavy rains resulting from typhoons. To protect our daily life from flood disasters and sediment disasters that may threaten communities and to minimize damage caused by large-scale disasters, the ministry improves river banks, dams and sewage lines, functionally enhances existing facilities, and improves and installs stormwater storage and water infiltration facilities to control stormwater runoff at parks. In addition, the ministry also improves and develops hazard maps, controls and regulates land use in at-risk areas, makes our lifestyles resilient to disaster through teaching people safer ways of living, and other measures that focus on know-how and expertise to make us more prepared.

The ministry also takes measures for preventing damages from sediment disasters caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

## (Preventing earthquake damages)

In order to prevent, as much as possible, grim casualties following earthquakes, such as people trapped under ruins and rubble or those buried alive, the ministry works to make homes, buildings and housing sites more quake-proof. The ministry has established a system that addresses both seismic upgrades and asbestos abatement in an integrated manner, to ensure the comprehensive safety of existing housing and other buildings.

In order to prevent injuries at transport facilities and to secure transport capacity in an emergency, the ministry makes major railway stations more quake-proof, enhances the quake resistance of airport facilities, improves and expands earthquake-proof berths at port facilities, and makes bridges more quake resistant so as to make transport infrastructures more quake resistant.

In addition, the ministry makes river structures, coastal levees and sewage lines more quakeproof, so as to realize the quake preparedness of social infrastructures and to make our national territory more disaster resistant.

## (Enhancing preparedness against disasters in urban areas)

In order to prevent devastating blazes and other damages caused by failed efforts for evacuation or rescue in the case of earthquakes, the ministry forms safer residential areas in urban districts by improving densely-populated, at-risk urban districts and by promoting the elimination of narrow roads.

The ministry also promotes the improvement of disaster prevention parks and other facilities that will serve as disaster preparedness centers and evaluation spots in times of disaster, and it pushes forward the formulation of extensive disaster prevention networks so as to secure access.

## (Preventing damages from tsunamis and from storm surges)

In coastal areas, in order to prevent damage from tsunamis and storm surges, the ministry improves old levees and other structures yet to be renovated, and also promotes the implementation of measures concerning know-how and expertise, including support for the development of hazard maps.