Basic Act on Disaster Management

In cases where an extraordinary disaster has occurred, and the disaster is so abnormal and remarkably severe that it has a serious impact on the State economy and public welfare, when the Prime Minister finds a special necessity to enforce emergency disaster control measures concerning the disaster, preserve the economic order of the State, and address other important issues concerning the disaster, the Prime Minister may declare a state of emergency disaster involving the whole or part of the affected area, after deliberation in a cabinet meeting.

Such a declaration provided for under the preceding paragraph must specify the area concerned, give an outline of the situation warranting such action, and set the date and time when the declaration takes effect.

When a state of emergency disaster has been declared pursuant to the provisions of the preceding Article, the Prime Minister must submit the matter to the Diet for its approval for the declaration within twenty days from the day of declaration; provided, however, that when the Diet is in adjournment or the House of Representatives is in dissolution, the Prime Minister must promptly seek such approval in the Diet first convened thereafter.

When a resolution of disapproval has been made as in the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, when the Diet has voted to repeal the declaration of a state of emergency disaster, or when there is no longer the necessity for the declaration, the Prime Minister must promptly repeal the declaration.

When a state of emergency disaster has been declared under Article 105, unless headquarters for emergency disaster control have already been established related to the disaster, the Prime Minister is to establish headquarters for emergency disaster control pursuant to the provisions of Article 28-2.

When a state of emergency disaster has been declared under Article 105, the government is to specify the basic policy on measures to cope with the state of emergency disaster (hereinafter referred to as "basic policy on measures" in this Article).

The matters as provided for in the basic policy on measures are as below:

general policy concerning measures to cope with a state of emergency disaster;

important matters concerning emergency disaster control measures;

important matters concerning the preservation of economic order of the state;

beyond the matters set forth in the preceding two items, important matters concerning measures for important subjects concerning the disaster;

important matters concerning the system of the government for carrying out affairs accurately concerning the matters set forth in the three preceding items.

The Prime Minister must prepare the draft of the basic policy on measures and seek a cabinet decision.

When a cabinet decision prescribed in the preceding paragraph has been made, the Prime Minister must immediately and publicly notify the basic policy on measures.

The Prime Minister represents the Cabinet in exercising control and supervision over the administrative branches based on the basic policy on measures in coping with the state of emergency disaster.

The provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) apply mutatis mutandis to changes in the basic policy on measures.

The basic policy on measures becomes null and void when the declaration of a state of emergency disaster has been abolished pursuant to the provisions of Article 106, paragraph (2).

When the basic policy on measures has become null and void pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Prime Minister must immediately make a public notice to that effect.

With respect to the disaster related to a declaration of a state of emergency disaster under Article 105, the Prime Minister must announce the condition of the disaster, the outline of measures taken for it, and any other information related to the disaster in a proper way such as by newspaper, TV broadcasts, and the Internet.

When a declaration of a state of emergency disaster has been made under Article 105, the Prime Minister may ask citizens to cooperate with the State in not buying without reason goods that are closely related with the lives of the citizenry or important goods in the national economy, or in any other necessary matters within the extent necessary.

When having been asked to cooperate pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the citizens must endeavor to respond to the requests.

When a declaration of a state of emergency disaster under Article 105 has been made, Cabinet Order to designate that disaster is deemed to have been specified pursuant to the provisions of Article 86-2, paragraph (1), Article 86-3, paragraph (1), Article 86-4, paragraph (1), and Article 86-5, paragraph (1), and the provisions of Article 86-2, paragraphs (2) and (3), Article 86-3, paragraphs (2) and (3), Article 86-4, paragraph (2), and Article 86-5, paragraphs (2) through (13) are applied. In this case, the term "the areas and during the period provided for by Cabinet Order" in Article 86-2, paragraph (2) and Article 86-3, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "the area of jurisdiction of the headquarters for emergency disaster control related to that disaster and during the period from the time when a declaration of a state of emergency disaster related to that disaster has been made to the day designated by the headquarters for emergency disaster control".

When Cabinet Order to designate the disaster is specified before a state of emergency disaster under Article 105 has been declared, pursuant to one of the provisions of Article 86-2, paragraph (1), Article 86-3, paragraph (1), Article 86-4, paragraph (1), or Article 86-5, paragraph (1), the provisions of the preceding paragraph (limited to the portion concerning the Cabinet Order) do not apply.

When Cabinet Order to designate the relevant disaster as a specific extraordinary disaster is specified before a declaration of a state of emergency disaster under Article 105 has been made, pursuant to the provisions of Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Specified Extraordinary Disasters Act, the provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply.

In cases where there is an urgent need to preserve the economic order of the State and to ensure the public welfare when confronted with a state of emergency disaster, when the Diet is in adjournment or the House of Representatives is in dissolution, and further, there is no time to determine to convoke an extraordinary session in the Diet or to convoke an emergency session of the House of Councilors for its action, the cabinet may enact Cabinet Order in order to take necessary measures on the matters set forth in each of the following items:

rationing or restriction or ban on the transfer or delivery of goods of daily necessity in critical shortage;

determining a ceiling on prices of commodities, consideration for services, and other payments for emergency disaster control measures, disaster recovery efforts, and stable lives of the citizenry;

deferment of monetary debts (exclusive of wages, accident compensation payments, payment of monetary debts involving labor relations, withdrawals from accounts in banks or financial institutions for the payment of deposits, etc.); extension of the duration of a creditor's rights.

Cabinet Order enacted pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph may provide that any person in violation of any provision of that Cabinet Order is liable to imprisonment for not more than two years, a fine of not more than one hundred thousand yen, penal detention, a petty fine, or confiscation, or cumulative imposition of two or more penalties; that when a representative of a corporation, or any agent, employee, or other worker of either the corporation or an individual has committed a violation of that Cabinet Order with respect to the business of the corporation or the individual, the person who committed the act is punished, and in addition, a fine, petty fine, or confiscation prescribed in the respective provisions is imposed also on the corporation or the individual; and that where confiscation of objects cannot be enforced either in whole or in part, the monetary value of the objects is additionally collected.

In cases where Cabinet Order enacted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) is no longer required, the cabinet must immediately repeal it.

The cabinet must, upon enactment of Cabinet Order pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), immediately determine to convoke an extraordinary session of the Diet or to convoke an emergency session of the House of Councilors; it must further take measures to enact an Act to replace the Cabinet Order if the measures taken are to be continued, and for other cases, it must seek approval for the Cabinet Order enacted.

Any Cabinet Order enacted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), unless it has already been repealed or has expired, ceases to be effective, either at the same time as the implementation of an Act which may have been enacted at an extraordinary session of the Diet or at an emergency session of the House of Councilors to replace that Cabinet Order referred to in the preceding paragraph, or at the time of a decision which may have been taken at either session not to enact such an Act to replace the Cabinet Order.

Beyond the cases described in the preceding paragraph, any Cabinet Order enacted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), unless it has already been repealed or has expired, ceases to be effective twenty days from the day of opening of an extraordinary session of the Diet provided for in paragraph (4) or upon the termination of the extraordinary session, whichever comes earlier, or ten days from the day of opening of an emergency session of the House of Councilors provided for in paragraph (4) or upon the termination of the emergency session, whichever comes earlier.

When Cabinet Order has ceased to be effective pursuant to the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, the Cabinet must immediately make a public notice to that effect.

If penalties are provided for in Cabinet Order enacted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), prior laws continue to govern in application of penalties to acts committed while the Cabinet Order remained in effect, even after the Cabinet Order has been repealed, has expired, or it has ceased to be effective pursuant to the provisions of either paragraph (5) or (6).

When confronted with a state of emergency disaster, in cases where assistance from other countries concerning the relief of disaster victims cannot be accepted urgently and smoothly according to law, when the Diet is in adjournment or the House of Representatives is in dissolution, and further, there is no time to make a determination to convoke an extraordinary session in the Diet or to convoke an emergency session of the House of Councilors for its action, the Cabinet may enact Cabinet Order in order to take necessary measures to accept the assistance.

The provisions of paragraphs (3) through (7) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the preceding paragraph.