The government will try to ensure it can maintain key functions for three days following a powerful quake striking the Tokyo metropolitan area and ask each household to store enough food and beverages to last at least that long.
The proposal is contained in a draft disaster management outline obtained by Kyodo News on Saturday.
The outline prepared by a panel under the Central Disaster Management Council, chaired by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, proposes evacuating schools from the metropolitan area to other cities to secure children's safety.