Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday Japan will offer $4 billion in aid for global efforts to improve disaster management over the four years through 2018, including support for building infrastructure in developing countries.
In a speech to the U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, still recovering from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Abe also announced Tokyo's plans to help train 40,000 experts across the globe in disaster prevention and recovery.
"Disaster prevention is the highest-priority issue both in developed and developing countries," Abe said. "In developing economies, from which 90 percent of disaster victims are from, it is also a significant task in terms of ensuring sustainable growth and adapting to climate change."