How Japan Learnt to Tame Violent Nature	Living Dangerously With Disasters Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. The main islands, running from north to south, are Hokkaido, Honshu (or the mainland), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa, which is about 380 miles southwest of Kyushu. About 3,000 smaller islands are included in the archipelago. In total land area, Japan is slightly smaller than California. About 73% of the country is mountainous, with a chain running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is the world famous Mt. Fuji (12,385 feet). Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the summits. As Japan is situated in a volcanic zone along the Pacific deeps, frequent low intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Japan has a total area of 377,835 sq km and a coastline of 29,751 kms. Disaster Profile Japan is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters because of its climate and topography, and it has experienced countless earthquakes, typhoons, and other types of disasters. A number of factors contribute to the high incidence of natural disasters in Japan. First, the country is subject to extreme climatic variations, such as seasonal rain fronts and typhoons, as well as heavy snowfall on the Sea of Japan side of the archipelago. Second, Japan's topography is rugged and there are many faults and steep inclines. Third, Japan is located in the Pacific earthquake belt and is frequently struck by earthquakes, while its complex coastline is vulnerable to tsunamis. And fourth, Japan is located in the circum-Pacific zone, in which almost all the volcanoes of the world are concentrated, and has 83 active volcanoes (one-tenth of the world total). Although the country covers only 0.25% of the land area on the planet, the number of earthquakes and distribution of active volcanoes is quite high. Between the end of World War II and the late 1950s, when Japan's defenses against disasters were weakened by the war, the country was hit by a series of major typhoons, violent earthquakes, and other calamities, and over 1,000 lives were lost virtually every year. The Ise Bay Typhoon of September 1959 killed more than 5,000 people, the biggest toll in the postwar era. It prompted the establishment of a planned and comprehensive disaster prevention administration system, and in 1961 the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act was enacted. Thereafter measures for prevention, emergency relief, and recovery were linked interactively under a system that ensured a planned and comprehensive approach to countermeasures disaster. The enactment of the Forest Conservation and Flood Control Urgent Measures Law in March 1960 was followed by the planned implementation of flood control measures and other projects designed to enhance Japan's ability to defend itself against disasters. In June 1960 a decision was reached to observe a "Disaster Prevention Day" each year on September 1 as a means of disseminating disaster prevention knowledge and raising public awareness. Japan in the 1960s thus began actively implementing measures to build up both the physical and institutional safeguards against disasters, with particular emphasis being placed on disaster prevention. These efforts have dramatically reduced the number of people who die or become missing as a result of natural disasters. The declining trend is still continuing, and the number has fallen to between 100 and 200 per year in recent years. But in 1995 more than 6,400 lives were lost in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and there is concern that an enormous ocean trench earthquake will occur in the Tokai region. So the menacing threat of major natural disasters still lingers. The History of Disaster Management (Post-World War II) The immense damage caused by the Typhoon Ise-war in 1959 was a turning point for disaster management, giving rise to a movement to plan and prepare a comprehensive disaster management system, and in 1961, the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act was enacted. Thereafter, the disaster management system has been improved and strengthened following the occurrence of large natural disasters and accidents. • Disaster Management Organizations - Designated Administrative Organs: The Cabinet Office and 24 ministries and agencies are designated as "Designated Administrative Organs" which are national organizations for disaster management. - Designated Public Corporations: 60 corporations in the fields of transportation, electric power, gas etc., including the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone and the Nippon Broadcasting Corporation are designated as "Designated Public Corporations" for disaster management. • Central Disaster Management Council The Central Disaster Management Council was established for the purpose of promoting comprehensive countermeasures in which the Prime Minister takes the chair and other Ministers of State are members. Because protecting the lives, persons and property of the people from such disasters is the government's most important task, the Cabinet Office collaborates with relevant ministries and agencies to make Japan a country that can respond strongly to such events. In addition to the establishment of the Special Boards of Inquiry, major issues that the Council has decided or approved are as follows. A hazard map has been created for a possible eruption of Mt.Fuji. Various measures are being devised to ensure the smooth implementation of measures for restoration and reconstruction following the volcanic eruption on Miyake Island. Every year September 1 is Disaster Preparedness Day in Japan. Japan establishes its systems to manage disasters through the comprehensive disaster management and map-based earthquake response training carried out then. Utilizing the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in January 2005, the Cabinet Office is promoting international cooperation through measures such as hosting the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The following is the system for Disaster Management Planning in Japan: The Basic Disaster Management Plan This plan sets forth the basic activities for each type of disaster management plan, which is the foundation of the nation's disaster management measures. In the discipline of disaster management, it is the master plan prepared by the Central Disaster Management Council. The Basic Disaster Management Plan was revised entirely in 1995 based on the experiences incurred at the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The plan clarifies the duties assigned to the Government, public corporations and the local government in implementing measures. For easy reference to countermeasures, the plan also describes the sequence of disaster countermeasures such as preparation, emergency response, recovery and reconstruction according to the type of disaster. Financial Arrangements The budget for disaster management provided by the Government was approximately 3.0 trillion yen in fiscal year 2001, accounting for approximately 5% of the total amount of the budget for general accounts. PRESENT DISASTER MANAGEMENT SITUATION Research and Development The Basic Science and Technology Plan-Second-Term (decided at the Cabinet meeting held on March 30, 2001), which mentions the concept of Japan's science and technology policy, emphasizes research and development related to national and societal interests, including the research and development of science and technologies for earthquake disaster management, communications technologies in times of emergency and disaster management etc. that reduce risks to society. Disaster Preparedness • Improvement of Disaster Prevention Facilities The improvement of the following facilities and equipment are being promoted so that disaster management activities can be conducted quickly and smoothly. In addition, projects such as fireproofing buildings, providing evacuation routes, areas and facilities for disaster preparation bases have been carried out. Especially in urban areas, prevention measures such as creating green space for disaster prevention, spreading a seismic examination and reinforcement of existing buildings, improving and inspecting public facilities and seismic retrofit of lifeline facilities have been taken. • National Land Conservation A large investment extending over a long period of time is required for promoting national land conservation. Because of this, various plans such as the Five-Year Plan for Soil and Water Conservation, the Five-Year Plan for Coastline Projects, the Five-Year Plan for Steep Slope Collapse Countermeasures, the Five-Year Plan for Sewage System Improvements and the Long-Term Plan for Land Improvement have been formulated, and the following national land conservation projects set forward: • Increasing Disaster Management Consciousness and Disseminating Disaster Management Knowledge In promoting disaster management activities, it is important that every citizen is cooperative and conscious of the importance of disaster management. Accordingly, knowledge of disaster management will be disseminated and citizens will be requested to pay attention to disaster management through school education and regional disaster management activities. By designating September 1st as "Disaster Management Day" and the period from August 30th to September 5th as "Disaster Management Week", a variety of events such as the Disaster Management Fair, Disaster Management Seminar and Disaster Management Poster Contest are held. Additionally, various events are held to promote volunteer activities and local disaster management activities based on neighborhood associations on Disaster Management and Volunteer Day (Jan. 17) and during Disaster Management Volunteer Week (Jan. 15-21). • Disaster Management Drill When a disaster occurs or when it is feared that a disaster will occur, the organizations involved in emergency response i.e. those who collect and distribute information about the post-disaster situation and conduct search and rescue operations etc. must work in close cooperation and respond appropriately and in a timely manner. Disaster management drills are conducted in order to confirm and verify that the disaster management system of each organization is capable of smoothly carrying out the required activities should a disaster occur. Furthermore, disaster management drills are a perfect opportunity for citizens to think about disaster management, as residents participate in training activities or watch such activities on television. On September 1st, Disaster Management Day, the government and related disaster management organizations mutually cooperate to hold wide-ranging, large-scale disaster management drills in regions all over Japan. Additionally, in each region, drills based on past disasters are carried out throughout the year. In recent years, practical disaster management drill methods like role-playing exercises have been introduced. In such drills, the participant is not given any disaster information beforehand and must make judgments and respond to the situation which is based upon the information that is provided during the training session. Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction The objective of promoting the recovery and reconstruction of a disaster-stricken area is to aid victims to return to normal life, restore facilities with the intention of preventing disasters in the future and implementing fundamental development plans that focus on safety in the community. In view of the decline in social activities in a community following a disaster, recovery and reconstruction measures are conducted as swiftly and as smoothly as possible. Disaster Recovery Project The recovery of damaged public engineering facilities, educational facilities, welfare facilities and agricultural, forestry and fishery facilities is either conducted directly by the Government or put into practice by the local government with subsidies from the Government. Disaster Relief Loans Persons engaged in agriculture, forestry or fishery, small enterprises and low-income people who incurred damage are eligible for a variety of low interest loans with rather generous conditions as compared to normal ones. Disaster Compensation and Insurance Damaged enterprises or persons engaged in agriculture, forestry or fishery businesses can obtain compensation for economic losses. Also, earthquake insurance is provided by the Government. Tax Reduction or Exemption For the affected persons, measures are taken for the reduction, exemption and postponed collection of income and residential taxes. Tax Allocation to Local Governments and Local Bonds For the affected local governments, measures such as delivery of special tax allocations and permission to issue local bonds are taken. Designation of Extreme-Severity Disaster When a disaster causes extremely severe damage, it is designated a "extreme-severity disaster." Various special measures are to be taken for disaster recovery projects. Assisting the Reconstruction Plan Assistance is provided for the local government reconstruction plans that should be quickly and accurately formulated and executed. Assistance for the Recovery of Victims Livelihood Assistance is provided for victims to restore their self-supporting livelihood. Disaster condolence money, disaster impediment sympathy money, money for support of reconstructing livelihoods of disaster victims and loans such as disaster support funds and livelihood welfare funds are available. Information and Telecommunication System In order to carry out disaster preparation measures, emergency disaster measures and restoration measures smoothly, collecting, processing, analyzing and transmitting information of the disaster quickly and accurately is a prerequisite. In Japan, in addition to collecting and analyzing information about disasters via meteorological disaster management information, river/basin information or road disaster information systems, exclusive disaster management communications networks such as the Central Disaster Management Radio Communications System which connects national organizations, the fire disaster management radio network which connects fire fighting organizations, and the prefectural and municipal government disaster management radio communications networks which connect not only disaster management organizations of the local government but also the local residents have been established. Assuming that public telephone lines would be jammed due to excessive traffic or damage caused by the disaster, the Cabinet Office prepared the Central Disaster Management Radio Communications System for the purpose of securing communications between designated administrative and public organizations. In addition to the preparation of a fixed communications network for telephone and facsimile hotlines, a circuit for transmitting visual data has been prepared so that images from helicopters etc. can be received and teleconferencing meetings can be held. A communications system that utilizes a satellite communications circuit has also been constructed to backup the terrestrial communications network. Mitigating and Responding to Tsunami Hazards. Japan is an island nation surrounded on all sides by the ocean. As such, an immense amount of damage can be caused by a tsunami. In the past, the Sanriku Earthquake Tsunami of 1933 killed 3,064 people, the Nansei Nihonkai-Chubu Earthquake Tsunami of 1983 killed 100 people and the Hokkaido-Nansei-oki Earthquake of 1993 killed 167 people. Therefore to protect coastal areas, measures for avoiding tsunami hazards such as promoting quick announcement and transmitting of tsunami forecast information and construction, improvement of sea walls and sea wall watergates etc. were taken. Earthquake Disaster Management Information System The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake reminded all how important it is to quickly assess the extent of damage, implement appropriate measures first and of the need to share information and coordinate efforts among related agencies and authorities. The Disaster Management Bureau of the Cabinet Office is developing a Disaster Information System (DIS) that will quickly determine the extent of damage, enable related agencies and authorities to share information and provide support to make quick, accurate decisions when implementing emergency measures.