The key facts

  • The National Agency for Emergency Management is headed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi; Reconstruction Minister Goshi Hosono became Minister for Emergency Management
  • This is the first agency directly subordinate to the Cabinet since the creation of the Digital Agency in September 2021
  • Regional hubs will be selected by the summer of 2027, with operations beginning by July 2028

New agency under the prime minister's leadership

Japan's National Agency for Emergency Management began operating on Monday, with its stated mission being to strengthen disaster preparedness and coordinate responses to major earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions. According to Anadolu, citing Kyodo News, the agency is headed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, while Reconstruction Minister Goshi Hosono will concurrently serve as Minister for Emergency Management — an announcement made by Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara.

Regional hubs and priorities

Based in Tokyo, the agency will establish regional hubs to better coordinate with local authorities and prepare for potentially devastating earthquakes along the Nankai Trough, the Japan Trench, and the Kuril-Kamchatka (Chishima) Trench, as well as beneath metropolitan Tokyo. The hub locations will be selected by the summer of 2027, with operations beginning by July 2028. It will be the first government body directly subordinate to the Cabinet since the Digital Agency was created in September 2021. The agency is expected to support municipalities lacking the budget and emergency management specialists, and the minister will be empowered to recommend improvements to other government bodies. Priorities include improving evacuation shelters, reducing disaster-related deaths, and delivering essential supplies to evacuated residents. The agency will also oversee the recovery of earthquake-affected regions and combat increasingly severe floods caused by heavy rains across the country.