At the turn of the New Year, there were 1 million government and private business officials on hand nationwide to deal with Y2K-related emergencies. The Japanese Bankers Association says they have already checked the 29th for likely errors and have also confirmed that banks' online connections are leap-year proof. The Fuji Bank Ltd., which had 2,800 personnel on hand at midnight last year to deal with the Y2K crisis, says it isn't leaving anything to chance. We've confirmed no obstacles thus far to our business operations. The Tokyo Electric Power Co., which experienced several minor problems with its nuclear plants, says it has upgraded the systems and will continue to inspect the reactors.
Local governments are also ready for the worst-case scenario, they say.
In Saitama Prefecture, along with the usual disaster prevention measures, the local government will have two officials on duty from the evening of Feb. 28 to the morning of Feb. 29 to receive any information in case of a disaster. Hyogo Prefectural officials will be on 24-hour alert, just as they were during the Y2K crisis, they said. And the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Health Bureau says it has instructed about 22,000 hospitals and clinics in the capital to immediately report any problems that may occur due to the leap year.