Basic Act on Disaster Management

• Where a disaster has occurred or threatens and it is especially necessary to protect people's lives or bodies or to stop the disaster spreading, the municipal mayor may instruct residents and others in the area to evacuate (避難のための立退き), and may name where to go, such as a designated emergency evacuation site. Where a disaster has occurred or is imminent, leaving would itself put lives at risk and the situation is urgent, the mayor may instruct urgent measures to ensure safety (緊急安全確保措置): moving to a higher place, taking refuge in a nearby sturdy building, or staying indoors away from openings that face outside. Police officers or coast guard officers may give these instructions where the mayor cannot, or when the mayor asks; and where a disaster leaves the municipality unable to do all or most of its work, the prefectural governor must give them in the mayor's place.(Art. 60(1), Art. 60(2), Art. 60(3), Art. 60(6), Art. 61(1), Art. 33-2(1)(i)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a disaster has occurred or is imminent and it is especially necessary to prevent danger to people's lives or bodies, the municipal mayor may set a restricted area (警戒区域) and restrict or prohibit entry to it by anyone not engaged in disaster response, or order them to leave it. A police officer or coast guard officer may do the same where neither the mayor nor an official exercising the mayor's power is at the scene, or when they ask; Self-Defense Forces personnel dispatched for disaster relief may do so only where no one who can exercise the mayor's power is there. Where a disaster leaves the municipality unable to do all or most of its work, the prefectural governor must take over this power, together with the mayor's powers under Articles 64 and 65 to use property and to make people work.(Art. 63(1), Art. 63(2), Art. 63(3), Art. 73(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a disaster has occurred or is imminent in its prefecture or one adjoining or near it, a prefectural public safety commission may, if urgently necessary for disaster response, ban or restrict traffic on road sections — and, at and around the disaster site, in whole zones — for every vehicle except emergency vehicles (緊急通行車両). Drivers on a banned road section must promptly move their vehicle off that section, and drivers in a banned zone off the road; where that cannot be done promptly, they must park as close to the left edge as possible or otherwise so as not to obstruct emergency vehicles, and they must follow a police officer's instructions.(Art. 76(1), Art. 76-2(1), Art. 76-2(2), Art. 76-2(4)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Each municipal mayor must keep a list of residents in need of assistance in evacuation (避難行動要支援者名簿): older people, disabled people, infants and others needing special care who live in the municipality and would have difficulty evacuating on their own, with their name, date of birth, sex, address or residence, contact details and why they need support. Before a disaster, the mayor gives the list, to the extent needed for evacuation support, to fire services, the prefectural police, welfare commissioners, the municipal social welfare council, voluntary disaster management organizations and others who support evacuation — but not without the person's consent, unless a municipal ordinance (条例) provides otherwise. When a disaster has occurred or threatens and it is especially necessary to protect them, the mayor may give the list, to the extent needed, to those supporters and others without consent.(Art. 8(2)(xvii), Art. 49-10(1), Art. 49-10(2), Art. 49-11(2), Art. 49-11(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a disaster has hit the municipality, its mayor must, when a disaster victim applies, investigate without delay the damage to their house and other damage of kinds the mayor sets, and issue a disaster victim certificate (罹災証明書) certifying the degree of damage.(Art. 90-2(1)) (the provisions it rests on)

• 2 November 2026

  The text on this site

  Act on the Arrangement, etc. of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act for Establishment of the Disaster Management Agency

  防災庁設置法の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律

  Act No. 62 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 16 September 2026

  Act Partially Amending the Act on Waste Management and Public Cleaning, etc.

  廃棄物の処理及び清掃に関する法律等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 43 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 17 July 2026

  Act on the Arrangement, etc. of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act for Establishment of the Disaster Management Agency

  防災庁設置法の施行に伴う関係法律の整備等に関する法律

  Act No. 62 of 2026The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 July 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Basic Act on Disaster Management, etc.

  災害対策基本法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 51 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 4 June 2025

  Act Partially Amending the Basic Act on Disaster Management, etc.

  災害対策基本法等の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 51 of 2025The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 June 2025

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.

  刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律

  Act No. 68 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 April 2024

  Act Partially Amending the Fishing Port and Fishing Ground Development Act and the Fishery Industry Cooperative Act

  漁港漁場整備法及び水産業協同組合法の一部を改正する法律

  Act No. 34 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 16 June 2023

  Act on the Development of Related Acts for the Promotion of Reform to Enhance Regional Autonomy and Independence

  地域の自主性及び自立性を高めるための改革の推進を図るための関係法律の整備に関する法律

  Act No. 58 of 2023The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 17 June 2022

  Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts upon the Enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Penal Code, etc.

  刑法等の一部を改正する法律の施行に伴う関係法律の整理等に関する法律

  Act No. 68 of 2022The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

• 1 September 2021

  Act for Establishment of the Digital Agency

  デジタル庁設置法

  Act No. 36 of 2021The text after this amendment, on e-Gov

All 15 amendments already in force

• Where another Act makes special provision for disaster management work, that provision applies instead of this Act.(Art. 10(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a Cabinet Order designates a remarkably abnormal and severe extraordinary disaster in which shelters and emergency temporary housing are severely short and housing must be provided to victims quickly, Article 17 of the Fire Service Act (消防法), a separate Act, does not apply to the shelters and housing that heads of local governments set up in the areas and periods a Cabinet Order sets, and those heads must set fire safety standards modelled on that Act instead. Where one is designated in which temporary medical facilities are severely short and medical care must be provided quickly, Chapter 4 of the Medical Care Act (医療法) does not apply to the temporary medical facilities heads of local governments open, and Article 17 of the Fire Service Act is disapplied for them in the same way. When a state of emergency disaster is declared, these designations are treated as made.(Art. 86-2(1), Art. 86-2(2), Art. 86-2(3), Art. 86-3(1), Art. 86-3(2), Art. 86-3(3), Art. 108-4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a Cabinet Order designates a remarkably abnormal and severe extraordinary disaster to prevent the living environment from deteriorating, the Minister of the Environment may designate special waste-processing areas for a limited period; there, businesses commissioned by a local government to collect, transport or dispose of the waste may do so without the licences that the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act (廃棄物の処理及び清掃に関する法律), a separate Act, otherwise requires, under special standards the Minister sets.(Art. 86-5(1), Art. 86-5(4), Art. 86-5(5), Art. 86-5(6)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A driver parking under Article 76-2 to clear the way for emergency vehicles is not bound by Chapter 3, Section 9 and Article 75-8 of the Road Traffic Act (道路交通法), a separate Act, and the traffic ban itself does not apply to moving or parking a vehicle as that Article requires. Moving a vehicle as a police officer, Self-Defense Forces personnel or a fire officer orders under Article 76-3, and the steps they take themselves, are likewise exempt from the traffic ban and from the drivers' duties under Article 76-2.(Art. 76-2(3), Art. 76-2(5), Art. 76-3(5)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a Cabinet Order designates a remarkably abnormal and severe extraordinary disaster that makes burials and cremations hard to carry out, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may, for a period the Minister sets, set special procedures in place of Articles 5 and 14 of the Act on Cemetery and Burial Services (墓地、埋葬等に関する法律), a separate Act; a declared state of emergency disaster counts as that designation.(Art. 86-4(1), Art. 86-4(2), Art. 108-4(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• When a state of emergency disaster is declared, the disaster is treated as designated a specified extraordinary disaster (特定非常災害) under the Act Regarding Special Measures to Weigh the Preservation of Rights and Profits of the Victims of Specified Extraordinary Disasters (Act No. 85 of 1996), a separate Act, and the measures in Articles 3 to 6 of that Act (except Article 4(1)) apply to it — unless a Cabinet Order had already designated it before the declaration.(Art. 108-5(1), Art. 108-5(2)) (the provisions it rests on)

• When a disaster threatens, the municipal mayor may instruct the occupier, owner or manager of equipment or things that would make the disaster worse if it struck to remove or secure them, or take other necessary steps, as far as needed to stop the disaster spreading; when the mayor asks, a police station chief, or the head of a coast guard office a Cabinet Order names, may give the same instruction.(Art. 59(1), Art. 59(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Disobeying a restricted-area prohibition, restriction or order to leave — given by a mayor, a governor acting for a mayor, a police officer, a coast guard officer or Self-Defense Forces personnel — is punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 yen or penal detention (拘留). So is using the disaster management signals a Disaster Management Agency Order (防災庁令) sets without good reason, or using a signal resembling them.(Art. 52(1), Art. 52(2), Art. 116(1)(i), Art. 116(1)(ii)) (the provisions it rests on)
• A driver who does not comply with a prefectural public safety commission's ban or restriction of traffic under Article 76(1) is punishable by imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to three months or a fine of up to 200,000 yen.(Art. 76(1), Art. 114(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a disaster has occurred and it is especially necessary for emergency measures such as schooling for affected children, emergency repair of facilities, waste disposal and disease prevention, keeping order or emergency transport, a prefectural governor (or a mayor handling part of that power under a Cabinet Order) may, on the model of Articles 7 to 10 of the Disaster Relief Act (災害救助法), a separate Act, order people to work, to cooperate or to keep goods in custody, take over, use or expropriate facilities, land, houses or goods, have officials enter and inspect places, and require reports from those made to keep goods; the heads of designated administrative organs and of designated local administrative organs may likewise, as their disaster management operation plan provides, order businesses that produce, collect, sell, distribute, store or transport the goods needed to keep them in custody, or expropriate the goods needed. These orders are given by a written requisition order (公用令書) stating the legal basis and what is to be done, where and for how long, and officials who enter must give the manager notice beforehand and carry identification, showing it on request. Disobeying a work, cooperation or custody order is punishable by imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to six months or a fine of up to 300,000 yen, and refusing, obstructing or evading an inspection, or failing to report or reporting falsely, by a fine of up to 200,000 yen; a business is fined as well when its staff commit these offences in its business.(Art. 50(1), Art. 71(1), Art. 71(2), Art. 78(1), Art. 78(2), Art. 78(3), Art. 81(1), Art. 81(2), Art. 83(1), Art. 83(2), Art. 113(1), Art. 115(1), Art. 117(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a disaster has occurred or is imminent in the municipality and it is urgently necessary for emergency measures, the mayor may temporarily use other people's land, buildings and other structures there, use or expropriate soil, stone, bamboo, timber and other things, and remove damaged structures or things at the scene that are in the way; police officers and coast guard officers may do the same where the mayor is not at the scene or asks, and Self-Defense Forces personnel dispatched for disaster relief where no one who can exercise the mayor's power is there. What is removed is kept by the mayor, or by the police station chief or unit commander it is handed to, who must give public notice and may sell it if it would perish or cost too much to keep; if it cannot be returned within six months of that notice it becomes the property of the municipality, the prefecture or the State, and the costs of keeping it fall on the person who should get it back. The State or local government must compensate the loss ordinarily caused by the use or expropriation, as it must for the governor's and designated administrative organs' orders and takings under Articles 71 and 78.(Art. 64(1), Art. 64(2), Art. 64(3), Art. 64(4), Art. 64(5), Art. 64(6), Art. 64(7), Art. 64(8), Art. 64(9), Art. 64(10), Art. 63(2), Art. 82(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where a disaster has occurred or is imminent in the municipality and it is urgently necessary for emergency measures, the mayor may make residents of the municipality, or people at the scene, work on those measures; police officers and coast guard officers may do so where the mayor is not at the scene or asks, and Self-Defense Forces personnel dispatched for disaster relief where no one who can exercise the mayor's power is there. If someone made to work in this way, or under a governor's work order, dies, is injured, falls ill or is left disabled as a result, the municipality or the prefecture must compensate them, or their bereaved family or dependants, under standards a Cabinet Order sets and as a local ordinance (条例) provides. The prefecture also pays the actual expenses of the people it orders to work.(Art. 65(1), Art. 65(2), Art. 65(3), Art. 63(2), Art. 84(1), Art. 84(2), Art. 82(3)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where traffic is banned under Article 76 and a vehicle or other object in the banned zone or road section obstructs emergency vehicles so that disaster response risks being seriously hindered, a police officer may order its owner or the person in charge of it to move it off the road or take other necessary steps; if they do not, or are not there to be ordered, the officer may do it, damaging the vehicle or object as far as unavoidable. Self-Defense Forces personnel on disaster relief and fire officers have the same power for their own emergency vehicles where no police officer is present; and where a disaster has hit the prefecture or one adjoining or near it, traffic on a road has stopped or is badly congested, obstructing vehicles risk seriously hindering disaster response and there is an urgent need to let emergency vehicles through, the road's administrator may designate a road section and give the same orders, act itself — even without an order where it judges the person cannot be made to — and temporarily use other people's land or dispose of bamboo, trees and other obstacles as far as necessary. The State or a local government — or the Japan Expressway Holding and Debt Repayment Agency (日本高速道路保有・債務返済機構) or a local road public corporation (地方道路公社), where it exercises the power in the road administrator's place — must compensate the loss ordinarily caused by such damage and use.(Art. 76-3(1), Art. 76-3(2), Art. 76-3(3), Art. 76-3(4), Art. 76-6(1), Art. 76-6(3), Art. 76-6(4), Art. 76-6(5), Art. 76-6(8), Art. 82(1), Art. 82(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Organizations that help the State and local governments support disaster victims — running shelters, supplying food and water, repairing damaged houses, advising victims, coordinating volunteers and similar work — may register with the Prime Minister if they meet the Act's requirements, and the Prime Minister may order a registered organization that does not work by the set standards to improve how it works and may revoke its registration, for example where it was obtained by fraud. Claiming, or seeming to claim, to be registered while doing the work without being so is punishable by a non-penal fine (過料) of up to 100,000 yen, and an officer or staff member, past or present, leaking without good reason a secret learned in the work by one of up to 200,000 yen. An officer or staff member, past or present, of a registered organization who without good reason leaks a secret about information from a disaster victim register (被災者台帳) that the mayor gave it to protect victims' lives commits a crime punishable by imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to one year or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.(Art. 33-2(1), Art. 33-2(4), Art. 33-4(1), Art. 33-5(1), Art. 33-6(1), Art. 33-8(1), Art. 33-9(1), Art. 90-4(1)(iv), Art. 90-6(1), Art. 112-2(1), Art. 118(1), Art. 119(1)) (the provisions it rests on)
• Where an extraordinary disaster is so abnormal and severe that it will seriously affect the national economy and public welfare, and there is a special need to deal with it, the Prime Minister may, after a Cabinet meeting, declare a state of emergency disaster (災害緊急事態) for all or part of the affected area, and must seek the Diet's approval within 20 days — or promptly in the next Diet convened, if the Diet is not sitting or the House of Representatives is dissolved. Once it is declared, the Prime Minister may ask the public not to buy, without need, goods closely tied to daily life or important to the economy, and to cooperate in other necessary ways, and people are to try to comply.(Art. 105(1), Art. 106(1), Art. 108-3(1), Art. 108-3(2)) (the provisions it rests on)
• During a state of emergency disaster, where there is an urgent need to maintain the economic order and public welfare, the Diet is not sitting or the House of Representatives is dissolved, and there is no time to convene an extraordinary session or ask for an emergency session of the House of Councillors, the Cabinet may make Cabinet Orders that ration daily necessities in especially short supply or restrict or ban their transfer, set maximum prices for goods needed for disaster response, recovery or stabilizing people's lives and for services, defer the payment of money debts — but not wages, accident compensation payments or other money owed under a labour relationship, nor bank withdrawals to pay them — and extend periods for preserving rights. Such an Order may carry penalties of up to two years' imprisonment (拘禁刑), a fine of up to 100,000 yen, penal detention (拘留), a petty fine (科料) or confiscation, alone or combined, may fine the business too, and still punishes acts done while it was in force after it lapses. The Cabinet must at once convene the Diet or ask for an emergency session and seek an Act to replace the Order or approval of it; unless an Act replaces it, the Order lapses no later than 20 days after an extraordinary session opens, or 10 days after an emergency session opens.(Art. 109(1), Art. 109(1)(i), Art. 109(1)(ii), Art. 109(1)(iii), Art. 109(2), Art. 109(4), Art. 109(5), Art. 109(6), Art. 109(8)) (the provisions it rests on)