Urgent need to prepare for a “national disaster” Can the Disaster Management Agency fulfill its role as a control tower?

On the 2nd, the day the Disaster Prevention Agency was inaugurated, Disaster Prevention Minister Goshi Hosono issued an ``urgent request'' calling for thorough advance disaster prevention, stating that the first mission is to prepare for ``national disasters.'' The purpose is to prevent or minimize damage caused by disasters, but it is unusual for the government to make such a request during peacetime. Success or failure will likely depend on whether effective disaster prevention measures can be taken.

The Disaster Prevention Agency, a command tower for disaster response, is established, and the first minister in charge issues an "urgent request" to the public, calling on them to stockpile and check stockpiles.

The government's Earthquake Research Committee puts the probability of a Nankai Trough earthquake occurring within the next 30 years at ``60 to 90 percent or more.'' At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on the 2nd, Hosono said, ``We don't have any special information regarding earthquake prediction,'' but emphasized, ``I want people to treat the disaster as their own personal problem.'' He called on each and every citizen to "self-help" in preparing for disasters.

The government wants to popularize ``phase-free,'' which allows people to use everyday goods and services without distinguishing between normal times and emergencies, such as standard installation of seismic breakers in newly built houses and standardization of the securing of purchased furniture.

However, it is difficult to say that the public's awareness of disaster prevention has increased. In a public opinion poll conducted by the government in 2025 among 3,000 people aged 18 and over, 37.6% of people answered that they were taking measures to prevent furniture and home appliances from tipping over in preparation for a major earthquake. Of those who said they were not taking any measures, 38.2% said they were thinking about doing so, but were putting it off.

The Disaster Prevention Agency has been given the ``right to make recommendations'' to other ministries and agencies whose measures are not making progress. The Reconstruction Agency and the Digital Agency also have the right to make recommendations, but this has never been exercised. Although Mr. Hosono declared, ``I have no intention of making it a treasured sword without drawing it,'' there are concerns within the Disaster Prevention Agency as to whether ``only the right to make recommendations can serve as the command tower.''

Nobuo Fukuwa, Professor Emeritus of Earthquake Engineering at Nagoya University, points out that in order for the Disaster Prevention Agency to serve as the control tower for the entire government and respond to a national disaster, ``we need to develop a strategy that is completely different from conventional countermeasures,'' such as building a system that involves industry and society as a whole.