Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 6 - 12 [POLITICS]

Bolstering countermeasures against possibility of earthquake disaster is urgent in the Tokyo metropolitan area

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, devastating casualties are envisioned if a major earthquake hits. The present policy to minimize the damage caused by an earthquake and to protect people’s lives is called into question.

The Central Disaster Management Council estimates about 11 thousand deaths if a major earthquake hits the four prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama.

However, these four prefectures have the lowest number of ambulances per 100 thousand people. Out of all 47 prefectures, Tokyo ranks the 47th, Kanagawa 46th, Saitama 42nd, and Chiba 39th. As for the number of fire trucks, they also rank at the lowest level with Saitama ranking 47th, Tokyo 46th, Kanagawa 44th, and Chiba 40th.

Not only in major metropolitan areas but also in other areas, an urgent task is to enhance the earthquake resistance and safety of critical pipe lines, including water mains.

The percentage of earthquake-resistant pipes is the lowest in Yamanashi Prefecture at 9.7%. The four Kanto prefectures are also lower than the national average of 30.3% with Tokyo at 30.1%, Saitama at 27.8%, Tochigi at 27.4%, and Ibaraki at 27.1%.

The Japanese Communist Party is opposing the plan that many local governments are promoting to close public hospitals and reduce the number of firefighters, and is calling for an implementation of a project to make schools, public facilities, houses, and lifelines earthquake-proof or earthquake-resistant.

The JCP is seeking to establish “welfare-conscious, disaster-resistant municipalities” that protect residents’ lives and livelihoods with sound infrastructure and networks that work effectively in disaster conditions by improving medical, nursing-care, social welfare, and child-care support services.