Japan launched its National Disaster Management Agency on Monday, establishing a Cabinet body to coordinate disaster planning before emergencies and the government’s response, recovery and reconstruction afterward. The government’s FY2026 staffing plan sets a quota of 352 positions, up from 220 in the existing disaster management office; it does not confirm how many posts were filled on opening day.
The agency’s first public request asked residents to check their homes for earthquake risks, secure furniture, review evacuation routes and stock supplies. Its guidance calls for households to keep water and food on hand for at least three days, preferably one week, and to stock portable toilets; it also recommends three liters of drinking water per person each day, including water for cooking.
The notice was signed by Goshi Hosono, the disaster management minister. In the official Japanese message, Hosono said each person must recognize their responsibility to protect their own life.
The law places the agency in the Cabinet and names the prime minister as its head. It gives the disaster management minister authority to recommend measures to other government bodies, whose heads must give those recommendations “sufficient respect.”
The government has identified a maximum-scale Nankai Trough earthquake as a major planning risk. Its estimates include as many as 298,000 deaths and 2.35 million buildings fully collapsed or burned; a separate estimate puts the peak number of people in evacuation shelters at 6.5 million one week after the quake. The government says the maximum-scale scenario is not a prediction of when a quake will occur.
Regional offices remain a future step. In September, Hosono said the government would study their roles and organization before considering locations.
