Japan Cabinet Approves Plan to Launch New Disaster Management Agency as Central Command for Major Earthquakes

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:40 JST, December 26, 2025

The government on Friday approved a basic policy framework for the establishment of the envisaged disaster management agency, a new government body intended to serve as a command center for disaster response. The key points include positioning it as a new organization directly under the Cabinet, with the prime minister at its helm, and granting the minister in charge of the agency’s day-to-day operations the authority to issue recommendations to other ministries and agencies.

Citing the threat of “national crisis level” disasters such as a possible Nankai Trough earthquake, the framework states that the agency is to make Japan into “a ‘disaster-prevention nation’ that places the highest priority on human life and human rights.”

The government is considering launching the agency in November 2026 and aims to enact the relevant legislation during the ordinary session of the Diet expected to convene in January.

Under the basic policy, the disaster management agency will be positioned as a Cabinet-level organization, similar to the Digital Agency and the Reconstruction Agency.

Its main roles are listed as drafting basic disaster-prevention policies and a national disaster-prevention strategy; implementing thorough pre-disaster measures; and serving as a central command post from the time a disaster begins through recovery and reconstruction. Under the minister in charge, the agency will be organized into four divisions: general policy, disaster response, disaster prevention planning and regional disaster prevention.

The new agency is to be created by reorganizing and expanding the Cabinet Office’s current disaster-prevention unit, which has roughly 220 staff members. The framework also stipulates that relevant ministers will “bear an obligation to respect” recommendations issued by the minister in charge.

That minister will also be given the authority to submit opinions to the prime minister based on the results of those recommendations. The framework emphasizes that the new structure will “eliminate siloed bureaucratic divisions among ministries and agencies and demonstrate strong leadership.”

The government has also called for accelerating preparations for two scenarios considered especially likely: a Nankai Trough earthquake or an earthquake in the subduction zone around the Japan Trench and the Chishima Trench.

The policy outlines plan to establish regional bases as well. One base is to be set up in each of the projected impact areas for the two earthquake scenarios. These outposts are expected to begin operations starting in fiscal 2027.

The agency will be staffed by recruiting dedicated career personnel as well as hiring from related public- and private-sector institutions. The policy also takes into consideration the establishment of a specialized education and training body tentatively titled the Disaster Prevention Academy, as part of efforts to strengthen professional development and improve working conditions for skilled personnel.

The government also plans to expand the use of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, and to advance development of disaster-rescue robots.