The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is ramping up efforts to make water distribution pipes in the capital resistant to earthquakes, after almost finishing the installation of aseismic joints in pipes that connect public facilities, hospitals and schools.
As of the end of March 2022, only 48% of all water pipes in Tokyo were quake-proof. The metropolitan government plans to expedite work mainly in areas at high risk of suffering cutoffs in water supply.
The Tokyo government began full-scale development of the municipal water supply system during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). In line with the expansion of urban and residential areas, the water supply coverage expanded from what are currently the 23 wards of central Tokyo to the Tama area in the western parts of the capital. During the rapid economic growth period from the 1950s to the 1970s, the development of the water supply system gathered further speed. At present, a total of about 27,000 kilometers of water distribution pipes are in place.