The Counselor-in-charge of Evacuees
with the Cabinet Office Policy Officer-in-charge of Disaster Management

1. Background of the Amendment of the Basic Act on Disaster Management

During the East Japan Typhoon (Typhoon No. 19) in 2019, which caused a heavy disaster, it was revealed that evacuation information released by the government was difficult to understand.  Among the problems mentioned were the distinction between evacuation “advisory” and evacuation “order.”  As the evacuation was delayed, a large number of people, including the elderly and people with disabilities, were badly affected.  Thus, a new “Working Group on the Evacuation Caused by Typhoon No. 19 of 2019” was established under the Disaster Prevention Measures Implementation Council.  In the report by the working group, several matters were mentioned as to what must be discussed.  They include the handling of evacuation advisories and evacuation orders, securing of the effectiveness of evacuation of the elderly and people with disabilities, and wide-area evacuation (for residents beyond the local municipalities and prefectures when there is a disaster risk) stipulated by the the Basic Act on Disaster Management (Act No. 223 of 1961).

From June 2020, these matters were deliberated by the “Sub-working Group on Evacuation Information and Large-scale Evacuation due to Typhoon No. 19 of 2019” and the “Sub-working Group on the Evacuation of the Elderly due to Typhoon No. 19 of 2019” (hereinafter referred to as the “Sub-working Group on the Elderly.”  In December 2020 both groups generated reports on their policies.  In March 2021, the “Bill for Partial Amendment of the Basic Act on Disaster Management” was submitted to the 204th Session of the Diet, and after deliberation by the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors, it was enacted in April 2021 (Act No. 30 of 2021, promulgated on May 10^th 2021, and enforced on May 20, 2021).

2. Necessity for Individual Evacuation Plans and A Duty for Municipalities to Make Efforts in Preparing the Plans

To make evacuation support effective during a disaster, we deemed it appropriate to make individual evacuation plans along with the creation of a list of people who would be requiring assistance during an evacuation.   In August 2013, the concept was stated in the “Guidelines for the Evacuation of Persons Requiring Support” (hereinafter referred to as “Guidelines on Evacuation”).  However, as of October 1, 2020, only about 10% of the municipalities have completed the creation of individual evacuation plans for all those in the list of the people requiring assistance during an evacuation.  About 57% of the municipalities have completed the creation of some plans for some of those in the list of people requiring support.

It should be noted that, in the past disasters many elderly people and people with disabilities were badly affected, and during Typhoon No. 19 of 2019 there were cases where some people with disabilities were not properly evacuated.

Based on these circumstances, the Sub-working Group on the Elderly, experts and disaster management practitioners stated the need to further facilitate the creation of individual evacuation plans to ensure the smooth and prompt evacuation of the elderly and persons with disabilities.

For this reason, in the amended Basic Act on Disaster Management, it has become a duty for municipalities to make efforts in preparing “individual evacuation plans” , which are plans to provide evacuation support for people who need it and are registered according to their needs during an evacuation, as stipulated by the Local Disaster Management Plan.

3. Direction Towards the Making of Individual Evacuation Plans

(1) The Policy and System of Making Individual Evacuation Plans

For the effectivity of individual evacuation plans, municipalities shall take the leading role to collaborate not only with people responsible for regional disaster management but also with welfare professionals who understand the physical and mental conditions of the persons concerned, and are aware of their actual circumstances in the community, as well as in various organizations, be it medical, health and welfare professional organizations and companies.  In addition, it is possible to outsource part of the work according to the division of roles among the parties concerned in the relevant municipality.

 (2) Creation of Individual Evacuation Plans According to Priorities

Due to the limited capacities of municipalities, it is to one’s own advantage to create an individual evacuation plan for people requiring prompt evacuation so that they can be given priority.  To decide who gets to have priority, municipalities may use the following for guidance:

• Hazardous Cases:

Flood-prone areas (Flood Control Act – Act No. 193 of 1949); Sediment disaster prone areas (Act on Sediment Disaster Countermeasures for Sediment Disaster Prone Areas – Act No. 57 of 2000)

• The physical and mental condition of the persons concerned; the degree to which information is grasped and sound judgment is required
• Actual conditions of living alone, social isolation

Recognizing the limited capacities of each municipality, to ensure that evacuation plans are prioritized for all those needing prompt evacuation support, it is advisable to proceed with the following:

(1)  Create plans according to the priorities of the municipality; and

(2)  Create plans that are generated by an individual or a voluntary disaster management organization that carries out disaster management activities in the family and in the community, depending on the person’s circumstances.  (Hereinafter referred to as the Individual-generated/Community-generated Evacuation Plans.”

The Individual-generated/Community-generated Evacuation Plan is also based on the empowerment approach of protecting their own lives.

4. Support from the National Government

Based on the amendment of the Basic Act on Disaster Management, the Regulations for Enforcement of the Act were amended in May 2021, thereby establishing a public notification system that specifies the persons to be accepted into welfare evacuation centers.  In addition, also in May 2021, the action guidelines and the “Guidelines on Securing and Managing Welfare Evacuation Centers” (April 2016) were amended for a smoother execution of the system.

Creating an individual evacuation plan is expected to require a certain amount of expenses for the participation of concerned parties like welfare professionals.  Therefore, for fiscal 2021, the decision was made to introduce a new local allocation tax to prepare individual evacuation plans.  We are also working on creating a model of an effective and efficient Individual Evacuation Plan, and are now implementing model projects to be expanded nationwide.

The model projects are conducted considering the different situations in various communities, such as the mode of disaster, the kind of hazards, climate, population size, age structure, the process of securing evacuation centers, and the various issues to be resolved when creating individual evacuation plans.  Thus, we are working very hard to create effective and efficient models and to spread the knowledge gained from this project to local governments nationwide.

It is necessary to work on individual evacuation plans not only in cooperation with municipalities, but also with local medical, health, and welfare personnel, such as consultation specialists and groups of persons with disabilities who are active in the community.  With the participation of persons who need support for evacuation, such as persons with disabilities, triggered by the need to create individual evacuation plans, we hope that the local residents and the persons who need support will have a close working relationship leading to the creation of a community in which people can readily help each other in case of an emergency.

We in the Cabinet Office will also work with the concerned ministries, agencies, municipalities and prefectures to provide support to enhance the effectiveness of evacuation of those requiring special care.

Efforts to create individual evacuation plans are progressing in each community.  The municipality personnel are expected to communicate with welfare professionals, including consultation specialists and organizations of persons with disabilities who are active in the community.  If you are invited, kindly participate in the project.  The individual evacuation plan is a mechanism under the Basic Act on Disaster Management passed in May 2021.  We hope that the readers will disseminate the information about this mechanism to the people around you.