Tag - disaster-preparedness

 
Menu
Search
 
September 24, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (front second from right) and other participants announce the "Hyogo Declaration" during the creative reconstruction summit on Saturday in the city of Kobe.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2025
'Creative Reconstruction Summit' held in Kobe 30 years after major quake
The meeting introduced reconstruction efforts in areas damaged by large-scale disasters throughout Japan.
Princess Aiko (center) attends the 10th national conference on disaster management held in the city of Niigata on Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2025
In imperial family first, Princess Aiko attends disaster-related conference
Princess Aiko joined two sessions, both of which were related to the January 2024 major earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula.
A portable gas stove in flames after using an old gas canister
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2025
Be careful with gas canisters and portable generators, safety watchdog warns
While they are useful especially in times of disasters, their misuse or mishandling have led to many accidents, some even causing deaths, between 2020 and 2024.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a disaster drill at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2025
Government holds disaster drill for Nankai Trough megaquake
In the drill, an emergency disaster response headquarters headed by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was established.
According to a survey by the Japanese Red Cross Society, over 25% of respondents in Japan saw or heard false news or information during natural disasters.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2025
Over 25% in Japan encountered false information during disasters
Nearly half of all respondents, 47.4%, were aware of Disaster Prevention Day. But 74.3% said they had never participated in local disaster response drills.
Emergency kit product for pets developed by Irish Ohyama
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2025
Japan boosting disaster preparedness for pets
A ministry official said there is no law making it mandatory to accept pets into shelters.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a ministerial meeting on nuclear power policy held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
Japan to give aid to more municipalities near nuclear plants
The move will make around 150 municipalities in 22 prefectures eligible for the aid.
A building that collapsed after the Noto Peninsula earthquakes in January 2024. The government plans to support residents of areas at high risk of fire who buy earthquake-sensitive breakers to prevent blazes caused by short circuits, sources say.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2025
Japan to fund purchase of quake-sensitive breakers
The financial support is in view of a large-scale fire in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, after a massive quake hit the region's Noto Peninsula in January 2024.
Under an envisaged agreement, Tokyo and Canberra will vow to share information during an emergency and coordinate their evacuation plans during peacetime.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025
Japan and Australia to agree on evacuations from a third country
In the event of an evacuation, Japan and Australia are expected to accept each other's citizens to fill vacant seats on their respective chartered aircraft and buses.
Shinjiro Koizumi, flanked by Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, greets rice farmers during a discussion in the city of Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2025
Farm minister promises 'necessary measures' to counter extreme weather events
Shinjiro Koizumi underlines the government's plan for creating agricultural infrastructure that is more resistant to disasters and climate change.
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2025
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
With Mount Fuji 100 kilometers away, the video from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government aims to inform Tokyoites about how an eruption could still seriously impact their lives.
Evacuated people rest at a green house converted into an evacuation center in the aftermath of an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2, 2024.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2025
Japan corrects number of potential megaquake evacuees
The overall number was updated to about 516,000, from an initial estimate of more than 520,000, after figures for Oita Prefecture were corrected.
Evacuees at a shelter in Saitama Prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. With a tsunami expected to reach some areas within minutes after a Nankai Trough megaquake, the government is asking municipalities to designate areas where advance evacuation is necessary.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025
Megaquake alert would urge 520,000 people to evacuate
The figure exceeds the total number of evacuees after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, which came to about 470,000.
Damaged buildings on the burnt-down Asaichi-dori street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, after the Jan. 1, 2024, earthquake
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2025
Japan eyeing measure to speed up disaster damage recognition
The new system is designed to dispatch personnel with damage assessment experience to affected areas promptly once a disaster occurs.
A notice board at a station in Tokyo announces suspended shinkansen services due to a tsunami warning after a strong quake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday. 
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2025
A troubling reminder of Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters
There is considerable work to be done. Multiple studies and surveys of municipalities show that they are not prepared for a big incident.
The government has approves expanded disaster relief to better support the elderly and people with disabilities during emergencies, including armed attacks.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Japan expands aid for the elderly and people with disabilities in emergencies
There have been concerns about some evacuees dying due to their health deteriorating after evacuation, and the need to strengthen protections in the event of armed attacks.
A "no swimming" sign and flag are displayed on the beach at Shonan Bellmare Hiratsuka Beach Park in the city of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Aug. 10 last year, following the issuance of emergency information on the increased risk of a huge Nankai Trough earthquake.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2025
Japan holds first meeting on Nankai quake information guidelines review
Japan issued its first Nankai Trough emergency information in August last year following a major quake off Miyazaki Prefecture.
A municipal library in Fujikawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, that opened in July 2023, has become a community hub.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2025
Work to consolidate public facilities gains traction across Japan
Municipal facilities such as libraries are increasingly being constructed within government office complexes in a bid to streamline public services.
48.0% of respondents living in the earthquake-hit Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture said there was a gap between those who could access information after the January 2024 quake and those who could not, a survey has shown.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2025
Nearly half in quake-hit Noto area felt digital divide
A survey found that some people described a gap between those who could access information and those who could not after the January 2024 disaster.
Emperor Naruhito delivers a keynote speech via video at the Seventh Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters held at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2025
Emperor gives video speech at U.N. event on water and disasters
He urged people "to take new action" to tackle water-related issues around the world.
South Korea’s baby bust threatens its demographic future
Marriage is rapidly declining in South Korea as rising education and career aspirations collide with traditional gender norms.
German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
The Japanese face and body patches that have had the world wondering
Japan's Mebuki Suzuki in action with Uganda's Oscar Chelimo in the men's 10,000 meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sept. 14
Abuse of 'zombie cigarettes' among Okinawa youths raises alarm
A street in Naha in August. In entertainment districts in southern Okinawa, a drug known as "laughing gas vape" is being abused at nightclubs and bar. Now, some establishments have put up warning notices.
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
Who’s who in the LDP presidential race?
(Clockwise from top left) Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi; former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi; and former minister of state for economic security Sanae Takaichi
Aichi Triennale’s message from the world: Free Palestine
“Between Currents and Bloom,” an eye-popping crocheted seascape by Indonesian artist Mulyana, dazzles with Instagram-ready cuteness while recalling a vibrant ocean now threatened by warming seas.
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
YouTuber Gigguk shifts from talking anime to making anime
The process of making “Baan” was personal and enlightening for Maneetapho, who spent years talking about anime on his YouTube channel and podcast before making the jump to becoming an anime creator himself.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan
By Christoph Sponsel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality
Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER