On Dec. 11, the land ministry released a new policy vision for dealing with floods in response to September's typhoon-triggered breach of the Kinugawa River, which inundated residential areas of Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, stranding thousands for hours, and some for days.
The policy vision calls for wide-ranging measures to change the way floods are dealt with both at the national and local levels within the next five years. They include expanding existing embankment projects, training municipal leaders on when to issue evacuation warnings, and improving flood hazard maps.
Here are basic questions and answers on Japan's flood management policy: