Japan: National Disaster Management Agency Launched on November 2 With More Than 350 Personnel to Coordinate Preparedness, Response and Reconstruction
Japan established a new National Disaster Management Agency on Monday, November 2, 2026, introducing a permanent government organisation intended to strengthen the country's preparedness for major earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi presided over its inauguration as officials warned that Japan needed stronger systems to prepare for potentially catastrophic events.
The organisation, involving more than 350 personnel, will coordinate disaster prevention, emergency responses and reconstruction activities that were previously managed through arrangements involving multiple government ministries. It is headed by Takaichi and managed by Reconstruction Minister Goshi Hosono, who previously played a prominent role in the government's response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Japanese government scenarios suggest that a major earthquake along the Nankai Trough could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and force approximately 6.5 million people to evacuate. The government stresses that these figures are estimates under severe disaster scenarios intended to support preparedness planning, not predictions of an approaching disaster, and that the agency's creation reflects an assessment of long-term natural disaster risks.
Source: 日本内阁府
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：日本佐世保市防灾演练（资料图），美国海军 摄，Wikimedia Commons，公共领域 / Photo: A disaster drill in Sasebo, Japan (file photo), by U.S. Navy, Wikimedia Commons, public domain
