With natural disasters being a constant threat, Japan has traditionally paid a lot of attention to disaster mitigation technologies. To ensure that approach remains strong, the government of Japan announced a new round of funding in December, according to Bloomberg, earmarking about 15 trillion yen over five years to further accelerate their disaster preparations, with this money expected to go toward reducing the risks threatened by earthquakes, wind and flooding.
Currently including 123 disaster reduction projects, involving upgrading roads, schools, and airports, and the acquisition of a supercomputer for predicting rainfall, this five year plan will replace an existing three-year emergency project deemed to be insufficient.
Japan already has some of the most impressive disaster reduction projects on record, partially driven by legislation which emphasizes resilience, including laws which can hold architects and engineers liable for building defects for up to a decade after construction. “We need to plan, during the design phase, a structure that can withstand disasters,” Mayumi Sakamoto, a professor at the University of Hyogo Graduate School specializing in Disaster Risk Management told Bloomberg. “By embedding disaster preparation facilities during the construction phase, the city will become even more resilient.”
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