Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

46 PERSISTENT PROBLEMS, PROMISING SOLUTIONS AND BENEFICENCEdisaster emergency response include providing advice ondirections regarding evacuation, fighting fires, rescuingvictims, securing emergency transportation, emergencyrecovery of public facilities and other activities.In municipalities and prefectures where a disaster hasactually occurred, disaster emergency responses suchas establishing a headquarters for emergency measuresare conducted by the municipal and prefecturalgovernments with the full mobilization of their resources.Furthermore, at the time of a large-scale disaster, thegovernments may establish a Headquarters for MajorDisaster Management (headed by the Minister of Statefor Disaster Management) or Headquarters for UrgentNATIONAL LEVELPrime MinisterCentral DisasterManagement CouncilDesignatedAdministrative OrganDesignated PublicCorporationsFormulation and executionof disaster management plan,comprehensive coordinationFormulation and promotion ofthe execution of the basic disastermanagement planFormulation and execution of thedisaster management operation planPREFECTURAL LEVELGovernorFormulation and executionof disaster management plan,comprehensive coordinationPrefectural DisasterManagement CouncilDesignated LocalAdministrative OrgansDesignated Local PublicCorporationsMUNICIPAL LEVELMayors of Cities,Towns and VillagesMunicipal DisasterManagement CouncilRESIDENTS LEVELFormulation and promotion of theexecution of the regional disastermanagement planFormulation and execution ofdisaster management planFormulation and promotingexecution of the regional disastermanagement planTable 1: Disaster management in Japan (Suzuki, 2006)Disaster Management (headed by the Prime Minister)and promote emergency measures.The director generals of each ministry and agency gatherat the Prime Minister’s official residence immediatelyafter a disaster occurs. Utilizing the informationcollected from pertinent organizations and images ofthe disaster-stricken area provided by a helicopter froma related ministry or agency such as the Defense Agencyor the National Police Agency, the damage is estimatedusing the Early Evaluation System (EES). With thisinformation, it is possible for the members to betterunderstand the damage, which is then analyzed andimmediately reported to the Prime Minister so that abasic policy can be decided promptly. In the case oflarge-scale disasters that exceed the response capabilitiesof the local government, wide-scale support for a disasteremergency response from the National Police Agency,the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and/or theJapan Coast Guard is available and, according to requestsfrom the prefectural governor, Self-Defense Forces canbe dispatched for emergency response activities. Thereare also instances in which the government establishesan On-Site Disaster Management Headquarters at theactual site of the disaster by dispatching a governmentalinvestigation team to the stricken area in order to obtainmore detailed information so that prompt measures aretaken.According to Koji Suzuki, director of the AsianDisaster Reduction Center (ADRC) in Kobe, disastermanagement in Japan before 1959 was relatively poor. 2The turning point in Japanese disaster managementbegan in 1959 when Japan experienced the Ise-WanTyphoon around the Nagoya area. This was an epochmakingturning point since the typhoon triggeredenormous changes in Japan’s disaster management,from a response-oriented approach to a preventiveapproach and from an individual approach to acomprehensive multi-sectoral approach. After thisincident, the government, along with private agencies,started to invest in disaster reduction.In 1961, Japan enacted the Disaster CountermeasuresBasic Act, which introduced some elements asfollows: (i) establishment of a Disaster ManagementCouncil with national, prefectural and municipal levelorganization in a multi-sectoral coordination body;(ii) establishment of a Disaster Management Plan atthe national, prefectural, and municipal levels; (iii)establishment of an ad-hoc headquarters for emergencyresponse as a multi-sectoral body in case of emergency;and (iv) stipulation that the government must issue anAnnual Government Official Report (White Paper)on Disaster Countermeasures, to be submitted to theDiet. The White Paper on Disaster Management is anobligation of the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act(since 1963). It describes countermeasures taken by theGovernment, is edited annually by the Cabinet office,and has about 6,000 copies sold every year.As a follow up to such measures, the governmentAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows