Diet Approves Establishing Disaster Management Agency

The Diet enacted a bill for establishing Disaster Management Agency (DMA) with support of most parties across the aisle on July 13th. The agency is going to make plans to prevent major damages from natural disasters, including earthquake, tsunami, eruption of volcano or storm. It will also work as the headquarters for management and reconstruction in the time of major disaster in Japan. The agency is expected to start its work in November. 

Japan is a country frequently suffering from natural disaster. Surrounded by the seas, the country is relatively safe from foreign invasion. Instead, it is vulnerable to natural disaster. Located at periphery of some tectonic plates, Japan has suffered from great earthquakes and tsunamis caused many times. It has active volcanoes, including Mt. Fuji, all over the land. Japanese government calls itself “world’s major power on natural disaster.

 

Former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba hoped to have Japanese version of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) of the United States, which has a strong authority for preventing disaster or management of actual emergency. He paved a way for establishing DMA in fiscal year 2026 and incumbent premier Sanae Takaichi succeeded the policy in the context of her promotion of “crisis management investment.”

 

The DMA will be built by reorganizing a section for disaster prevention in the Cabinet Office. Staffs of the organization will be increased from 220 to 352. The organization will be under direct control of the prime minister and led by a cabinet minister, state minister and parliamentary vice-minister and have two local offices. To educate expert on disaster management, the agency will have its own college.

 

To exercise strong leadership, the DMA will have an authority of giving recommendation to other ministries. When the DMA finds some insufficiency in policies for disaster prevention, it can recommend the ministry in charge to improve them. However, it is regarded that the DMA will not have the authority in appropriating budget which is controlled by Ministry of Finance.

 

The agency more focuses on disaster prevention than management of actual disaster. It is indispensable for local governments to have evacuation plan for possible disasters. They need to build up infrastructure for the people escaping from tsunami or volcanic eruption. The DMA is expected to give advice to local community and appropriate necessary budget for disaster prevention.

 

It is calculated that Nankai Trough Great Earthquake will cause 298 thousand of deaths. The national government is making effort to reduce assumed 18 thousand of victims in possible major earthquake under the capital of Japan by half. Mandate to the DMA is to minimize damage of natural disaster as less as possible. Having experienced great earthquakes in Tohoku, including Fukushima with nuclear power plants, Kumamoto and Noto, Japan is tested whether it achieved lessons for preventing tragic damages.

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