(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Today, I attended the “Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Disaster-Resistant Nation,” which aimed to enhance the disaster response building on the lessons learned from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake and to strengthen the organizational structure of the Government towards establishing the Disaster Management Agency. I reported that the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) have been implementing disaster countermeasures, working closely with relevant ministries and agencies, including the Cabinet Secretariat and the Cabinet Office, and that they are implementing various measures and projects based on the Defense Buildup Program to strengthen disaster prevention. I also mentioned that the MOD/SDF, in FY2025, will improve equipment, carry out human resource development and education for retired uniformed SDF personnel, and improve the treatment and working environment of SDF personnel, and that we will confirm the effectiveness of prompt transportation of vehicles, equipment, and materials of police and fire departments by SDF aircraft, building on the lessons learned from the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The MOD/SDF will actively contribute to the Government’s efforts to fundamentally strengthen the disaster response system in order to protect the Japanese people from disasters, and will continue to make efforts for disaster countermeasures, promoted by the Government as a whole.