Japan Establishes Disaster Management Agency

The government of Japan established National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) to prevent damages from natural disaster on November 2nd. The agency promotes policies to prepare for coming disasters with authoritative power to urge ministries to take proactive measures. However, it does not have a power to appropriate necessary budget for disaster prevention, limiting its role to save lives of Japanese citizens. 

After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Japanese government established Reconstruction Agency to conduct policies for reconstruction from the devastation. But a number of disasters, including major earthquakes, flood of river water or landslide caused by heavy rain, hit various region with hundreds of victims thereafter. Disaster prevention is an inevitable measure in this country destined for suffering from natural disaster.

 

It was former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba who decided to upgrade disaster management section in Cabinet Office to an independent agency named NDMA. Sanae Takaichi succeeded the policy and the Diet passed an act for establishing NDMA in July 2026. After reshuffling Takaichi Cabinet in September, Minister for Reconstruction, Goshi Hosono, who worked for management nuclear accident as an advisor for the prime minister in 2011, was appointed as the first minister for NDMA. Hosono requested each national to preserve food for at least three days on the day one of NDMA.

 

NDMA has 352 staffs, enlarged from 220 of former organization. It has four sections, which are in charge of general measures, disaster response, disaster prevention planning and local disaster prevention. One of the focal points is how to connect with local communities. The agency holds local staffs, recruiting from local governments, to formulate disaster management plan for each region.

 

NDMA Establishment Act provides that the minister of NDMA can advise other ministers to take necessary measures to prevent natural disaster. If a local municipality needs to build a facility to evacuate from tsunami in coastal area, the NDMA minister can recommend ministries to support it. The minister who received the advice has to respect it. The NDMA minister can submit recommendation to the prime minister, related to the advice.

 

However, it is regarded that the NDMA minister does not have power to request necessary budget. It is predicted that huge tsunami of Nankai Trough Great Earthquake will hit the coastal area of western Japan, causing 300 thousand of deaths. But NDMA does not have an authority to appropriate necessary budget for moving houses to a hilltop or other disaster prevention measures.

 

The fundamental problem in bureaucracy in Japan is that ministries are struggle each other over their authority. Ministry of Finance (MOF) never give its power for formulating budget to other ministries. As long as MOF occupies detailed information on national budget, it can control other ministries that require budget for promoting their projects. Even how the Diet tries to deprive that authority from the MOF, the ministry never abandons that power.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Takaichi Delivers Economic Order

At the starting point of her cabinet, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered her ministers to grapple with the issues that would be necessary for implementing her promises in the presidential election of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) or the coalition agreement with Japan Innovation Party (JIP). The first focus of Takaichi looked to be on economic policies.   On the first day of her cabinet, Takaichi sent out a letter to her ministers on October 22 nd . Takaichi demanded in the letter to strengthen Japanese economy by changing people’s concerns on their life or future into hope. It contained three issues to deal with: achieving a strong economy, defending people’s life in local communities and enhancement of diplomacy and defense.   To achieve strong economy, Takaichi proposed introduction of “investment of crisis management” and “responsible and active fiscal policy.” She  explained  investment of crisis management to be preemptive and strategic investment on various...
Read more

Nakasone Rules Out Emperor Aiko

After the Speakers of both chambers of the Diet submitted “unanimous opinion” on maintaining members of the Imperial Family to Sanae Takaichi government, the conservative lawmakers insist on imperial succession by male members in male line. One of the lawmakers with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) made a speech that Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, cannot succeed to the throne. It is conservative people who are complicating discussion over the Imperial Family. The chairman of LDP headquarters for constitutional amendment, Hirofumi Nakasone,  made  a speech in a meeting at Takaoka city, Toyama, that ruled out Aiko’s succession to the throne, saying that it would be “impossible.” Moreover, Nakasone said that Aiko cannot be married, if she succeeds to the throne. “No one would want to be married with her, if she is the Emperor,” he said.   Nakasone made that comment based on a notion that only male members in the male line should succeed to the throne. He refe...
Read more

Easing Arms Exports

Fumio Kishida administration made a Cabinet decision on Friday for revising the principles on arms transfer, enabling the government to export lethal weapons for the first time. National Security Council loosened the regulations for exporting the weapons produced in Japan with the license from foreign enterprises. While the government took a distance from constitutional pacifism regarding with instability of international relations, it is doubtful that the decisions are endorsed by public support.   Japan has been careful in exporting arms not to encourage international conflicts in the post-war era. Former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato announced  Three Principles on Arms Exports  in 1967, which prohibited exports of arms to 1) communist bloc countries, 2) countries subject to arms exports embargo under U.N. Security Council’s resolutions, and 3) countries involved in or likely to be involved in international conflicts. Japan, as a peace-loving country, also announced in 197...
Read more