Vision for Disaster Prevention Agency: What Role The New Organization Will Play Is Not Yet Clear

Editorial

14:29 JST, April 30, 2025

Both a Nankai Trough earthquake and an earthquake directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area are said to have a high probability of occurring within 30 years.

The government has set up a panel of experts to promote discussions on establishing a “disaster prevention agency” in order to strengthen preparations for such a major disaster. However, no concrete role or vision for the new organization is in sight.

The first priority should be to identify issues related to disaster response and consider how to make improvements.

The vision of a disaster prevention agency is based on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s policy of “aiming to make Japan the world’s most disaster-resilient nation.” The agency likely will be in charge of cultivating professional human resources and mapping out measures based on lessons learned from past disasters.

Ishiba intends to present an outline of the organization in June for its establishment by the end of fiscal 2026. He appears to be aiming to reflect this in the campaign pledges for the House of Councillors election this summer.

Disaster response needs to be considered in three stages: first, “advance disaster prevention” in which the central and local governments formulate respective disaster prevention plans and stockpile supplies; second, “initial response,” which includes undertaking lifesaving measures immediately after a disaster occurs; and third, “recovery and reconstruction.”

Currently, the Cabinet Office promotes advance disaster prevention in consultation with local governments. For an initial response, the deputy chief cabinet secretary for crisis management at the Cabinet Secretariat handles overall coordination within the government, while the Self-Defense Forces and fire department personnel, among others, are responsible for activities in the affected areas.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry takes the lead in recovery and reconstruction efforts, including the construction of temporary housing and road repairs.

Among these efforts, dispatching SDF personnel to affected areas is a decision made by the defense minister at the request of prefectural governors, so there does not seem to be room for the disaster prevention agency to get involved in that role. It is unlikely that the agency, which would not have the expertise, would be able to handle recovery and reconstruction projects as well.

Considering these points, the agency would be responsible for advance disaster prevention, such as formulating measures against disasters, which the Cabinet Office has been doing. However, what is the point of deliberately establishing a new “agency” with a limited role?

In recent years, the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga created the Digital Agency and the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida created the Children and Families Agency. If a new organization is created every time there is a change of cabinets, it will just result in bloated government organizations.

The government must urgently improve the poor conditions at evacuation centers, a situation that has been pointed out every time a disaster occurs.

With the help of the private sector, it is important to review the living conditions at evacuation centers, through such means as securing large vehicles for sleeping in and food trucks to serve hot meals.

Another issue is how to dispose of the large volumes of waste generated by a disaster. It is also essential to establish a system to deal with this waste over a wide area, in preparation for a situation in which the disposal sites in affected areas cannot keep up with the processing of waste on their own.

This is not the time to spend energy on building an organization.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 30, 2025)