Japan launches new national agency to deal with disasters

TOKYO, Nov 2, (AP): Japan on Monday launched a new national agency focused on disaster management with the goal of making the country better prepared if there's a megaquake along the Pacific coast or in Tokyo, or an eruption of Mount Fuji. More than 350 workers at the National Disaster Management Agency will oversee preparedness, emergency response and reconstruction efforts.

The agency is not being created in anticipation of any specific calamity, but rather is meant to fill a gap amid worries about whether the nation is prepared for a crisis along the lines of the 2011 quake and tsunami in northern Japan, which killed nearly 20,000 people, and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster. Japan, which is part of the "Pacific ring of fire,” is one of the most disaster-prone places on earth, but it has never had an agency dedicated to dealing with disasters.

"As the command center of disaster response, we will do everything to strengthen our preparedness to protect people's lives and properties ... and aim to become the world's most prepared,” Reconstruction Minister Goshi Hosono said. Hosono will manage the agency headed by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Hosono on Monday issued "emergency requests” for both municipalities and Japanese citizens to check the quake resistance of their homes, make sure their furniture is safely anchored, evaluate their evacuation procedures and stock up on water and portable toilets for at least three days.

"Please think about it for yourself and take action,” he said. Hosono, who was the minister in charge of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, said he wants to use his expertise from the 2011 disaster to strengthen the agency. But there are worries that the nation is unprepared for future disasters. A reconstruction agency was established to help northern Japan's recovery from the 2011 disaster, including the Fukushima nuclear plant's decontamination and decommissioning effort, something that required long-term support, but there was no centralized disaster agency.

Less than half of municipal officials in Japan have received disaster management training in the past five years. Only 15% of Japanese municipalities have evacuation contingency plans for elderly and handicapped residents requiring assistance, Hosono said. Japan used to have reactive disaster response units, with officials from different ministries and departments gathering and working as a temporary team, without a cross-departmental command center. Experts have cautioned about the possibility of major quakes in the coming decades and, although specific timing and locations cannot be predicted, officials want people to be prepared.