Basic Act on Disaster Management

The National Disaster Management Council must formulate a basic disaster management plan, which must be reviewed each year in the light of the findings of scientific research pertaining to disasters and disaster management, conditions of disasters that have occurred, and the effect of emergency disaster control measures taken against the disasters, and must revise it when found necessary.

When the National Disaster Management Council has formulated or revised a basic disaster management plan pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it must promptly report it to the Prime Minister, notify the heads of designated administrative organs, prefectural governors, and designated public corporations, and release to the public an outline of the plan or revision.

A basic disaster management plan is to provide for the matters set forth in each of the following items:

a long-term comprehensive plan for disaster management;

matters to be stressed in disaster management operation plans and area disaster management plans;

beyond what is set forth in each of the preceding items, other matters which the National Disaster Management Council may find necessary as standards in formulating disaster management operation plans or area disaster management plans.

Data related to the following matters must be attached to the basic disaster management plan:

the general conditions of the national land and the meteorological situation;

the general condition of maintenance of facilities and equipment necessary for disaster management;

status of personnel engaged in disaster management operations;

status of supply and demand of goods necessary for disaster management;

status of transportation and communication necessary for disaster management;

beyond what is provided for in each of the preceding items, other matters which the National Disaster Management Council may find necessary for disaster management.

The head of a designated administrative organ must formulate a disaster management operation plan pertaining to the function under their jurisdiction, review it every year, and revise it when found necessary, in accordance with the basic disaster management plan.

When the head of a designated administrative organ has formulated or revised a disaster management operation plan pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, that head must promptly report it to the Prime Minister, notify the prefectural governor and relevant designated public corporation and release to the public an outline of the plan or revision.

The provisions of Article 21 apply mutatis mutandis to the formulation or revision of a disaster management operation plan by the head of a designated administrative organ pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1).

A disaster management operation plan is to provide for the following matters:

measures to be undertaken for disaster management pertaining to the function under the jurisdiction;

beyond what is set forth in the preceding item, matters which will serve as standards in formulating an area disaster management plan pertaining to the function under the jurisdiction.

In formulating and implementing a disaster management operation plan, the head of a designated administrative organ must coordinate it with disaster management operation plans formulated by the heads of other designated administrative organs, and endeavor to have all disaster management operation plans formulated and implemented in an integrated and organic manner.

The section concerning disaster management in any plan related to disaster management, listed below, which is formulated by the head of a designated administrative organ as provided for under other laws and regulations, may not be inconsistent with or in conflict with the basic disaster management plan or any disaster management operation plan:

a national development plan prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the National Spatial Planning Act (Act No. 205 of 1950);

a national forestry plan prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (1) of the Forest Act (Act No. 249 of 1951) and forest development and conservation project plan prescribed in paragraph (5) of the same Article;

the project plan for disaster management prescribed in Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act on Temporary Measures concerning Disaster Management and Development in Special Soil Areas (Act No. 96 of 1952);

the plan for development of forest reserves prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act on Temporary Measures for Development of Forest Reserves (Act No. 84 of 1954);

the development plan for the capital region prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the National Capital Region Development Act (Act No. 83 of 1956);

the basic plan for the construction of multipurpose dams prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (1) of the Act on Specified Multipurpose Dams (Act No. 35 of 1957);

a five-year disaster prevention project plan prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Special Measures concerning Disaster Prevention in Areas Frequently Struck by Typhoons (Act No. 72 of 1958);

a basic plan for areas of heavy snow prescribed in Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act on Special Measures concerning Countermeasures for Areas of Heavy Snow (Act No. 73 of 1962);

a Kinki region development plan prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Kinki Region Development Act (Act No. 129 of 1963);

a Chubu region development plan prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Chubu Region Development Act (Act No. 102 of 1966);

a plan for the removal of discharged oil, etc. prescribed in Article 43-5, paragraph (1) of the Act on Prevention of Maritime Pollution and Maritime Disaster (Act No. 136 of 1970);

a priority plan for social infrastructure development prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Act on Priority Plan for Social Infrastructure Development (Act No. 20 of 2003);

beyond what is set forth in each of the preceding items, any other plan provided for by Cabinet Order.

With respect to its operations, a designated public corporation must formulate a disaster management operation plan, review it every year, and revise it when found necessary, in accordance with the basic disaster management plan.

When a designated public corporation has formulated or revised a disaster management operation plan pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the corporation must promptly report it to the Prime Minister through the competent Minister having jurisdiction over the relevant designated public corporation, notify the governors of relevant prefectures, and release to the public an outline of the plan or revision.

The provisions of Article 21 apply mutatis mutandis to the formulation or revision of a disaster management operation plan by a designated public corporation pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1).

The prefectural disaster management council must formulate a prefectural area disaster management plan concerning an area of the relevant prefecture, review it every year, and revise it when found necessary, in accordance with the basic disaster management plan. In this case, the relevant prefectural area disaster management plan must not conflict with the disaster management operation plan.

A prefectural area disaster management plan is to provide for the following matters in general:

general outline of affairs or operations relating to disaster management concerning an area of the relevant prefecture to be handled by a designated local administrative organ having jurisdiction over the area of the prefecture in whole or in part, the relevant prefecture, the municipalities within the area of the relevant prefecture, designated public corporations, designated local public corporations, and public organizations and other administrators of facilities important for disaster management within the area of the relevant prefecture (referred to as "jurisdictional designated local administrative organ, etc." in paragraph (4));

plans by category of operations concerning an area of the relevant prefecture: creation or improvement of disaster management facilities, investigation and research for disaster management, education, drills, and other disaster prevention, gathering and transmission of information, issuance and transmission of forecasts and alarms related to disaster, evacuation, fire-fighting, flood prevention, rescue, aid, sanitation, and other emergency disaster control measures, and recovery and reconstruction.

plans for development, stockpiling, procurement, distribution, transportation, and communication with reference to labor, facilities, equipment, goods, funds, etc., required for measures set forth in the preceding item, relating to disasters involving an area of the relevant prefecture.

A prefectural area disaster management plan may, in addition to what is set forth in each item of the preceding paragraph, provide for the basic direction of cooperation with public organizations or private groups that is necessary for the smooth implementation of emergency disaster control measures or recovery and reconstruction.

In deciding the prefectural area disaster management plan, the prefectural disaster management council gives due consideration to the need for the jurisdictional designated local administrative organ, etc. to receive support from others smoothly or support others when a disaster has occurred or is likely to occur.

When the prefectural disaster management council has formulated or revised its prefectural area disaster management plan pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the council must promptly report it to the Prime Minister and release to the public an outline of that plan or revision.

When the Prime Minister has received a report on the prefectural area disaster management plan pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Prime Minister is to consult the National Disaster Management Council and may provide necessary advice or recommendations to the relevant prefectural disaster management council, when found necessary.