The following is excerpted from an interview with Hachiro Okonogi, the state minister for disaster management:
Disasters are becoming more severe and frequent, and a great many people are feeling fear. Digitization of the disaster prevention field is important to prepare for sudden disasters.
Specifically, there is a support system that allows local governments and the national government to share information on supplies needed at evacuation centers. We would like to make further improvements based on requests from local governments that have used the system.
Since there are a wide variety of support systems for disaster victims, we will make an effort to build a database that can be easily searched by disaster victims and local government officials. Also, we are considering allowing disaster victim certificates to be applied for electronically and having them issued at convenience stores.
As for disaster response, it is needless to say that we should take a supportive approach to the victims considering the needs of the disaster area. At the same time, it is also necessary to utilize lessons learned from past disasters in preparing for the next.
In particular, the torrential rain in Kyushu in July was the first large-scale disaster to occur amid the spread of the novel coronavirus. We will do our utmost to make use of lessons learned from this disaster for future responses, such as avoiding the so-called 3Cs -- closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings -- at shelters, accepting volunteers and dispersing evacuees.
It is necessary to revise the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law to review and unify the current evacuation information, which includes both evacuation advisories and evacuation instructions. We are preparing to operate based on a revised system in 2021 during the rainy season.
The government has received requests from the ruling coalition parties, the prefectural governors' association and the construction industry to extend the three-year period for emergency measures to strengthen national resilience, which will expire at the end of this fiscal year. We will make efforts to secure necessary and sufficient budgets to systematically promote resilience even after emergency measures are taken.
I am also the state minister for ocean policy, and regarding that field, it is increasingly possible to use transportation routes to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. It is hoped that research vessels will be built for constant and safe transportation.
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