The Cabinet Office plans to simplify evacuation alerts in the wake of natural disasters such as the devastating typhoon that caused widespread damage across eastern Japan last year.
The current system includes evacuation "advisories" and "instructions." The Cabinet Office wants to abolish advisories and issue only evacuation instructions.
It plans to compile a draft stipulating the change and submit a bill to revise the Basic Law on Disaster Management during next year's ordinary Diet session.
In May 2019, the government launched a five-stage alert system, indicating disaster risk levels and actions residents should take in the event of heavy rains.
Evacuation advisories and instructions are both categorized as Level 4, at which evacuation from dangerous areas is advised.
The law stipulates that in the event of disasters, evacuation advisories should be issued first, followed by evacuation instructions if danger levels rise.
"Evacuation instructions are not always issued, so both warnings were categorized as Level 4," a Cabinet Office official said.
Local government officials criticized the system, claiming that the difference between the two levels was difficult to understand and could lead to at-risk residents waiting for evacuation instructions to be issued before they take action.
Under the proposed system, the Cabinet Office will abolish advisories and consolidate the warnings into evacuation instructions, with the alert category kept at Level 4. At Level 5, a new "evacuation order" will be issued, urging residents to take immediate action to protect their lives.
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