Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged members of his Cabinet Friday to accelerate preparations for submitting a bill to establish a disaster management agency to next year's ordinary session of the Diet, the country's parliament.
At a meeting of a ministerial council on disaster management held at the prime minister's office, Ishiba also called for the promotion of talks on setting up regional offices of the agency to enhance support for developing antidisaster measures tailored to the specific circumstances of each region.
The government aims to launch the disaster management agency within fiscal 2026.
On Wednesday, a government panel of experts compiled a report proposing that the agency be placed under the direct supervision of the cabinet, have a dedicated minister and be given the right to issue recommendations to other government agencies.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.