RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE

TSUNAMI PROTECTION
COMMITTEE

MARCH, 2005

TSUNAMI PROTECTION COMMITTEE

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. TSUNAMI PROTECTION MEASURES IN JAPAN: CURRENT

STATE AND PROBLEMS ････････････････････････････････････ 2

(1) Current state and problems of warning and information provision

(2) Current state and problems of preventive measures
(3) Current state and problems of post-tsunami measures
(4) Current state and problems of accumulation and dissemination of
tsunami protection technology and knowledge

2. BASIC POLICY FOR TSUNAMI PROTECTION MEASURES IN

THE COMING YEARS ･･･････････････････････････････････････ 5

3. SPECIFIC URGENT GOALS AND DAMAGE MITIGATION

MEASURES･･･････････････････････････････････････････････ 6

(1) Warning and information provision

(2) Preventive measures
(3) Post-tsunami measures
(4) Accumulation and dissemination of technology and knowledge for
tsunami disaster prevention

4. MEDIUM TO LONG RANGE GOALS AND TSUNAMI

PROTECTION MEASURES ･････････････････････････････････ 10

(1) Medium to long range tsunami protection measures including

emergency measures
(2) Measures that take demographics into consideration
(3) Measures against sea level rise due to global warming

CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION

Japan has undergone many great tsunami disasters, and the scars left by tsunamis can be
found everywhere in the land and culture of the country like fingerprints and genes. The
measures that Japan has been taking to mitigate tsunami-induced damage are recognized as
being advanced in the international community.

There were many people, however, who were not fully aware of the horror of tsunami
because a great tsunami is a once-in-several generations occurrence.

Vivid photographs and video footages of the recent Indian Ocean tsunami have taught us
how dreadful and disastrous a tsunami could be. A number of important pieces of knowledge
have been gained and some important lessons have also been learned.

In view of lessons learned from the tsunami disaster, therefore, we have re-examined a
wide range of tsunami disaster mitigation measures that Japan has been taking.

In order to ensure safety from tsunami, it is necessary to take comprehensive measures over
a large area, knowing how disastrous a tsunami can be and identifying vulnerable places and
safety measures that can be taken. It is also important to regard tsunami protection efforts as a
continuous process beginning with prevention efforts and ending with restoration and
rehabilitation and use a strategic combination of structural measures and nonstructural
measures.

The basic policy for the coming years, therefore, is to try to implement an effective
combination of structural measures and nonstructural measures before and after tsunami,
instead of relying solely on structural measures to prevent disasters, in order to minimize
tsunami-induced damage.

In accordance with this policy, "minimizing human suffering" has been set as an urgent
goal and "minimizing damage and human suffering" as a medium to long range goal, and
targets and concrete measures to achieve them are described in this report.

The central government should be responsible for taking tsunami protection measures, but
damage and suffering cannot be minimized by the administrative authorities alone. Awareness
and actions of the public and people in all circles and at all levels are essential. It is our
sincere hope that the recommendations described in this report will help to start various forms
of cooperative efforts of the public and private sectors.

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1. TSUNAMI PROTECTION MEASURES IN JAPAN: CURRENT STATE AND
PROBLEMS

Sitting practically on top of four tectonic plates, Japan is prone to large-scale ocean-trench
earthquakes. In fact, Japan has suffered major tsunami damage roughly once every 10 years.

Furthermore, only about 10 percent of the land of Japan can be used as residential land, and
population and industry are inevitably concentrated in alluvial plains and coastal areas. Even
in those dangerous areas, intensive and efficient use is made of available space including
underground space and highly urbanized cities have been constructed.

The imminence of ocean-trench earthquakes such as the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai
earthquakes* has been pointed out for some time, and the occurrence of nearshore tsunamis
caused by those earthquakes has been predicted. There is also concern about a major tsunami
caused by a Cascadia earthquake†† expected in the North Pacific Coast or a Chilean
earthquake. A nearshore tsunami reaches a shore soon after an earthquake occurs and inflicts
secondary damage on earthquake-damaged areas.

Under these circumstances, the current state and problems of pre- and post-tsunami safety
measures are as follows.

(1) Current state and problems of warning and information provision

(a) Today, it is possible to issue a tsunami warning within three to five minutes after the
occurrence of an earthquake. In the event of some earthquakes such as the Tokai,
Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes, however, the first wave is likely to arrive within
several minutes after the occurrence of the earthquake.
(b) Tsunami height is highly dependent on such factors as coastal and submarine
topography. The percentage of people who can evacuate in the event of a tsunami is low,
and effort to provide information to help the public to understand the true nature of
tsunami is insufficient.
(c) Facilities for communicating information to visitors such as tourists are inadequate.
(d) Existing systems for providing tsunami information to moving vehicles and running
trains, watercraft, etc., in a timely manner are inadequate.
(e) Tide and wave height observation is not timely enough, and offshore observation is
inadequate. Reference levels used by different organizations for tide observation are not
consistent, and there is no established system for providing easy-to-understand
information to local public bodies, local residents, etc.
(f) There is no established standard for conveying information for people who need help
in a time of disaster.

1) * It has been pointed out that besides the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes, ocean-trench earthquakes along the
Nippon Trench and the Chishima Trench are also likely to occur.
2) † A Cascadia earthquake is a magnitude 8–9 earthquake that has occurred in the region along the Northwest Pacific Coast
mainly along the Canada–US boarder at recurrence intervals of 300–350 years. The last Cascadia earthquake occurred in
1700. It has been said for some time that another Cascadia earthquake is imminent.

－2－
(2) Current state and problems of preventive measures
(a) Inspection and performance evaluation of facilities that have a tsunami protection
function are inadequate. The target levels of the tsunami protection function are
inadequate.
(b) The seismic performance and gap-closing performance of 59 percent and 55 percent,
respectively, of the seawalls in important coastal zones‡ have not been checked.
(c) Even in important coastal zones, somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of all
municipalities have published their tsunami hazard maps.
(d) There should be more shelters and evacuation routes designed taking topography and
evacuation time into consideration.
(e) In areas where it is difficult to provide sufficient shelters because of relatively flat
topography, adequate consideration has not been given to the designation of buildings
that are to be used as tsunami shelters and requirements for such shelter buildings.
(f) Roads, railways and airports located near coastlines have not been inspected
adequately with respect to safety against the expected tsunami height.
(g) There are many facilities for storing hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) such as
LNG located in coastal areas. Many of these facilities are not protected from tsunami.
(h) Marine vessels sunk, stranded, broken or swept away and cargoes or other objects
washed away could impair port and harbor functions, cause water pollution, and
aggravate damage in the hinterland areas.

(3) Current state and problems of post-tsunami measures

(a) It has been pointed out that the systems for collecting tsunami damage information
from municipalities to prefectural governments and the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport are not functioning well.
(b) There is no system for timely collection of such information as whether or not port
and harbor facilities are usable.
(c) Damage to emergency transportation roads or important ports and harbors could
impair the function of regional transportation networks.
(d) Helicopters and other means of transportation for collecting information and
performing rescue and relief operations and disaster prevention bases necessary for
relief and emergency restoration operations are inadequate.
(e) The ability to pick up many people drifting in the sea is limited.
(f) Disposal of large volumes of debris containing saltwater in tsunami-affected areas is a
problem that needs to be addressed.
(g) Since there are as yet no plans for creating highly disaster-resistant communities,
appropriate and timely rehabilitation is difficult to achieve.

3) ‡ Important coastal zones are coastal areas that are likely to be affected by the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes
and ocean-trench earthquakes occurring along the Nippon Trench or the Chishima Trench (as of August, 2004, a total of
402 municipalities are located in important coastal zones).

－3－
(4) Current state and problems of accumulation and dissemination of tsunami protection
technology and knowledge
(a) Even in important coastal zones, about 20 percent of the municipalities do not
conduct tsunami response drills.
(b) There is no institutional system under which the causes of major disasters are
determined promptly and the findings are reflected in government actions.
(c) Neither administrators, researchers nor citizens can easily obtain information
regarding tsunami disaster prevention.

－4－
2. BASIC POLICY FOR TSUNAMI PROTECTION MEASURES IN THE COMING
YEARS

Tsunami protection measures in the past relied mainly on structural measures such as
seawalls designed to guard against a tsunami of an expected magnitude, and there was even
no policy for dealing with a tsunami of a greater magnitude.

In view of the current state and problems, the basic proposition in the coming years is to
enhance the level of safety as soon as possible despite the limitations in the amount of
investment and the response time requirements and strategically promote activities for
minimizing damage even in the event of a beyond-design-basis tsunami.

The magnitude of damage is determined by the level of tsunami risk reduction achieved by
means of structural measures such as seawalls and the level of effectiveness of nonstructural
functions such as the safety level of the social organization of the local community and the
inherent fire resistance and disaster tolerance of land use patterns.

In order to minimize damage in an area, therefore, it is necessary to take appropriate and

reliable structural measures so that the risk level can be lowered and to take nonstructural
measures so that the safety level, disaster resistance and disaster tolerance of the area can be
enhanced.

In short, it is necessary to strategically and strongly implement an integrated combination

of structural and nonstructural measures as comprehensive disaster mitigation measures.

Since, however, those measures are interrelated, their implementation requires close
coordination among the people concerned in view of the realities in the area. At the same time,
effort should be made to implement conventional, more or less standardized structural
measures in a manner suitable for the area.

On the basis of this concept, comprehensive measures ranging from pre-tsunami to

post-tsunami measures that can be taken against tsunami through the allocation of the roles of
"self-help," "mutual assistance" and "public assistance" and through cooperation must be
taken.

Public awareness of the importance of tsunami preparedness is apt to fade because tsunami
is characterized by long recurrence intervals. "Self-help," "mutual assistance" and "public
assistance" are based on public awareness. Continued effort must be made, therefore, in the
areas of safety education, public relations and tsunami response drills.

－5－
3. SPECIFIC URGENT GOALS AND DAMAGE MITIGATION MEASURES

The first step in damage mitigation is to take urgently needed measures to "minimize
human suffering."
To this end, educational effort should be made make the residents of coastal areas and
tourists and other visitors in coastal areas aware that it is their duty in the spirit of "self-help"
and "mutual assistance" to escape to higher areas in the event of an earthquake.

As a provider of assistance to the "self-help" and "mutual assistance" efforts, the

government should implement comprehensive measures to disseminate basic knowledge
about tsunami, provide tsunami information in an appropriate manner and in a timely manner,
and improve the evacuation environment for rescue and relief operations by making
evacuation routes and shelters available and providing tsunami protection facilities for
tsunami risk reduction.

In so doing, it is necessary to keep in mind that the level of understanding on the part of the
public at the receiving end of information and the level of functionality of facilities with a
tsunami protection function are deciding factors.

Therefore, with the aim of "minimizing human suffering" due to tsumanis induced by
ocean-trench earthquakes whose probability of occurrence is thought to be high such as the
Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes, specific urgent measures that should be taken within
five years from now have been identified.

(1) Warning and information provision

1) Better tsunami warnings

• To improve the earthquake observation network using nowcasting seismographs and
achieve faster tsunami forecasting by use of the emergency earthquake information
technology
• To construct a system for directly conveying tsunami forecasts and other information
to municipal governments
• To disseminate knowledge about tsunami height, methods for expressing the
destructive power of tsunami, etc.

2) Conveying and providing tsunami information in an appropriate manner

• To provide easy-to-understand tsunami information such as inundation depth, tsunami
arrival time, flow velocity and destructive power in the form of tsunami-prone area maps
• To construct a system for providing information on areas that are likely to be flooded
immediately in the event of tsunami for a model area
• To provide information to visitors such as tourists, road users and moving trains, ships,
etc. through a variety of means of communication such as telecommunications devices
such as cellular phones and other communications facilities
• To establish a method for conveying tsunami-related information to facilities used by
people in need of assistance in the event of a disaster
• To exchange opinions with the media on a regular basis about what disaster information
should be like and deliberate on methods for conveying information, the content of the
information to be provided, etc.
－6－
 3) Better tsunami observation
• To collect more real-time tsunami observation data obtained at a greater number of
locations including offshore locations and to share with the organizations concerned and
publish the data thus collected

(2) Preventive measures

1) Improvement of evacuation measures

• To prepare and publish tsunami-prone area maps so that all municipalities in the
important coastal zones can compile their tsunami hazard maps
• To ensure the availability of shelters and evacuation routes that are friendly to people in
need of assistance in the event of a disaster and assist in eliminating difficult-to-evacuate
areas in important coastal zones
• To compile information on buildings to be evacuated in the event of a tsunami, such as
requirements and improvement methods, and promote the dissemination of such
information
• To disseminate tsunami risk information on a continual basis by use of standardized
graphic symbols
• To strengthen evacuation measures so as to facilitate the evacuation of coast and port
users
• To create an environment in which moving vehicles, running trains, and ships and boats
can evacuate easily

2) Provision of facilities with tsunami protection function

• To substantially complete the compiling and publicizing of coastal conservation area
registers, the inspection and performance evaluation such as earthquake resistance
studies of facilities with a tsunami protection function, and a review of the master plans
for coastal conservation for important coastal zones
• To substantially complete the automation, remote control implementation or other
upgrading of water gates in key regional function concentration districts§ and promote
the seismic retrofit and raising of levees in important coastal zones; and establish an
improvement method suitable for each area
• To promote the raising of breakwaters at ports and harbors along important coastal zones

3) Promotion of tsunami protection measures for facilities located in coastal areas

• The managers of the facilities located near coasts will inspect their facilities with respect
to safety against the expected tsunami height and take protection measures in
cooperation with one another.
• The administrative authorities (e.g., port managers, regional development bureaus,
maritime safety departments, district transport bureaus) and private sector stakeholders
will draw up comprehensive tsunami protection plans and implement protection
measures.
• To establish an organizational system for control to be activated in the case where a
tanker or coastal facility storing a large volume of a hazardous and obnoxious substance
(HNS) such as crude oil or LNG has been damaged by a tsunami; and implement

4) § Areas behind which there are facilities that are to perform crisis management functions such as relief and restoration (e.g.,
municipal government offices, police stations, fire stations, hospitals)
－7－
 measures to prevent cargoes and small marine vessels from being swept away and
protect other marine vessels
• To provide guidance to passenger ship operators so as to ensure safety of passenger ships
in the event of a tsunami

4) Damage reduction through better land uses and better ways of living
• To recommend that developers incorporate damage mitigation measures into their
integrated development plans for coastal areas in order to create communities that are
highly resistant to tsunamis.
• To promote the application of the philosophy of damage mitigation to the siting, project
methods and usage of public facilities
• To conduct studies on the requirements for disaster-resistant communities in order to
reflect the findings in community planning and regional planning

(3) Post-tsunami measures

1) Collecting regional damage information
• To build an investigation system that can respond quickly in the event of a disaster
• To strengthen the system for exchanging damage information between the central and
local governments
• To enhance information gathering ability by making more effective use of helicopters,
etc.
• To construct an information collection system using artificial satellites
• To assist in establishing organizational systems for cooperation in collecting information
in affected areas

2) Ensuring the availability of regional transportation networks in a time of disaster

• To promote the seismic retrofit of road bridges and the construction of high-standard
arterial expressway and other road networks in order to secure the availability of
emergency transportation roads that play an important role in relief activities and the
transportation of relief goods
• To restore damaged roads quickly by, for example, removing obstacles from damaged
roads and carrying out emergency rehabilitation
• To construct a system for managing information on the usability of port facilities in an
integrated manner and providing such information to users
• To promote the construction of earthquake resistant seawalls at ports in important coastal
zones; and to improve detection systems using the laser-based depth measurement
technology and other related technologies and establish systems for urgent removal of
obstacles on sea routes that can be activated in conjunction with the detection systems

3) Promoting measures related to isolated areas

• To upgrade the functions of facilities that can be used as disaster prevention bases, such
as tsunami/storm surge disaster prevention stations, river disaster prevention stations,
Michi-no-Eki stations, coastal disaster prevention bases, located in the areas in important
coastal zones where such functional upgrading is necessary, and promote the
construction of such facilities; and to collect information that can be used to assist in
disaster prevention efforts, and share such information among the organizations
concerned
• To establish systems for wide-area joint operations involving the administrative
authorities concerned

－8－
 • To select emergency heliports and share the information on such heliports
• To build a system for cooperating with NGOs
• To enhance the rescue and relief capability of helipcopters

4) Strengthening restoration and rehabilitation measures

• To promote the research and development of equipment for disaster response operations
such as debris removal and strengthen the institutional framework for providing
assistance
• To improve rehabilitation assistance measures for disaster-resistant areas
• To strengthen the ability to pick up and transport people rescued from the sea

(4) Accumulation and dissemination of technology and knowledge for tsunami disaster
prevention

1) Accumulating technology and knowledge for tsunami disaster prevention

• To promote disaster prevention education at schools, provide assistance for the
education of community leaders in the area of disaster prevention and conduct
comprehensive tsunami response drills every year in order to maintain and enhance
public awareness of the importance of disaster prevention efforts
• To prepare pictorial illustrations showing expected tsunami behavior on the land or in
the sea at ports in important coastal zones
• To construct a three-dimensional database integrating the information on terrestrial and
submarine topography
• To compile high-accuracy terrain data for important coastal zones
• To establish a system for sharing information related to tsunami disaster prevention

2) Tsunami disaster prevention research and use of research findings for

administration
• To conduct research on tsunami disasters drawing on expert knowledge and build a
system for reflecting research findings in administration on a continual basis
• To promote research on the following:
mechanism of tsunami generation; tsunami behavior on the land and in the sea and the
spread of damage; building behavior in response to tsunami and control methods;
strength performance of structures against tsunami; rehabilitation policies and methods
of rehabilitation planning and implementation; study on the content of information and
appropriate communication methods, etc.

－9－
4. MEDIUM TO LONG RANGE GOALS AND TSUNAMI PROTECTION
MEASURES

The goal of tsunami protection measures is to minimize tsunami-induced damage including

property damage.

Humankind is destined to inherit tsunami risk from generation to generation. The best way
to mitigate tsunami damage, therefore, is to incorporate damage mitigation measures into land
uses and the way of living in each of future generations so that the philosophy of damage
mitigation is reflected in daily life.

In this country, which is not blessed with geographic conditions from the viewpoint of
tsunami disaster prevention, it is necessary to make consistent efforts to raise the level of
protection in areas where key community functions or key economic and social functions are
concentrated. At the same time, it is necessary to implement various measures making
effective use of every community planning and building construction opportunity in order to
prevent destructive damage even in the event of a beyond-design-basis tsunami.

Furthermore, it is also important to reduce the use of high-tsunami-risk areas as living

zones and steer land use so that living zones occur more in low-tsunami-risk areas than in
high-risk areas.

Japan has entered an era of population decline, and it is predicted that the population of
Japan will begin to gradually decrease in about 20 to 30 years and the demographic
composition will change considerably. During the same period, sea level is expected to rise
because of global warming. In order to cope with these unprecedented changes in changes in
demography and natural conditions, it is necessary to accumulate and utilize scientific and
technological knowledge and take appropriate measures.

In any case, a new policy is essential, and various institutional systems need to be
constructed with the understanding of the public.

In accordance with these requirements and taking into consideration the expected changes
in demography and natural conditions, medium to long range measures that should be taken
over a period of about 20 years have been identified with the aim of "minimizing
tsunami-induced damage and suffering including property damage."

(1) Medium to long range tsunami protection measures including emergency measures

1) Warning and information provision

• To develop methods for estimating the magnitude of tsunami-induced earthquakes to
enhance the accuracy of tsunami forecasting
• To perform recomputation of tsunami simulation reflecting the effects of topography
and land use changes
• To establish a system for providing information on areas that are likely to be flooded
immediately in the event of a tsunami and enhance the accuracy of prediction

－10－
 2) Preventive measures
• To construct shelters and evacuation routes to help to eliminate difficult-to-evacuate
areas
• To perform the seismic retrofit of coastal conservation facilities, construct seawalls and
breakwaters, and perform the automation and remote control implementation of water
gates at openings, on an as-needed basis, mainly in important coastal zones
• The managers of the facilities located near coasts will take necessary measures.
• To promote the formulation of land use plans (municipal plans) that give consideration
to disaster prevention

3) Post-tsunami measures
• To construct systems for urgent removal of obstacles such as sunken ships in port areas
throughout the country
• To construct facilities that can be used as disaster prevention bases in the areas where
such facilities are necessary
• To establish the technology and support systems for equipment for disaster response
operations such as debris removal

4) Accumulation and dissemination of technology and knowledge for tsunami

disaster prevention
• To establish functional maintenance methods and design technology for various
facilities subjected to beyond-design-level external forces
• To promote widespread use of the knowledge gained and the research results obtained
in administrative authorities and society

(2) Measures that take demographics into consideration

• To improve assistance to the growing number of people in need of assistance in the
event of a disaster
• To upgrade the measures designed to steer land use so that living zones occur in
low-tsunami-risk areas than in high-risk areas

(3) Measures against sea level rise due to global warming

• To decide on conservation measures to be taken as part of the tsunami protection
measures against sea level rise
• To decide on measures to be taken in order to create a country and economic and social
systems that are highly resistant to increases in external force caused by natural
disasters

－11－
CONCLUSION

The recommendations described in this document are the first of their kind to deal
specifically with tsunami protection measures. It is significant that the Tsunami Protection
Committee deliberated on the varied themes falling into the categories normally covered by
the National Land Development Council, the Infrastructure Development Council and the
Council for Transport Policy, addressed short- and long-range policies under a clearly defined
strategy, and has come up with a wide-ranging set of concrete measures to be taken.

In order to implement the recommendations, it is necessary to draw up action plans, carry

them out, verify their effectiveness and, if necessary, modify them. It is also important to
reflect the knowledge gained by analyzing the recent Indian Ocean tsunami in the
administrative measures to be taken in the coming years. The challenge of developing new
types of measures that need to be debated on a nationwide scale should also be taken up.

Tsunami protection measures that require follow-up as part of earthquake disaster

prevention measures, should be implemented by more than one ministry or agency and
require further deliberation should be implemented jointly by the ministries and agencies
involved with the help of expert knowledge.

Whether or not these recommendations will have historical value is solely dependent on the
efforts of not only the government but also the public and the various circles at various levels.
Needless to say, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) should promptly
set out to implement the recommended measures that fall into the categories for which the
ministry is directly responsible. In addition, MLIT should also present the other measures to
the local public bodies concerned. Furthermore, MLIT should ask the local public bodies to
report on the measures they have implemented or the measures they intend to implement, and
should collect the reports and present the results to the public.

－12－
 Members of the Tsunami Protection Committee

Tsunami
Fumihiko Imamura, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University

Local government
Mitsuhisa Ito, Mayor, Owase City, Mie Prefecture

Disaster Prevention
Yoshiaki Kawata (Chairman), Professor, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto
University

Transportation
Katsuhiko Kuroda, Professor of Engineering, Kobe University (Chairman, Port Transportation
Subcommittee)

Law
Tsuyoshi Nishitani, Professor, Law School, Kokugakuin University (Chairman, River
Subcommittee, Infrastructure Development Council)

Housing
Tsuneo Okada, Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo; President, Japan Building
Disaster Prevention Association (Chairman, Building Subcommittee,
Infrastructure Development Council)

Local government
Kazuo Ozawa, Mayor, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture

Coasts
Shinji Sato, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering

Maritime safety
Masaru Takahashi, Professor, Maritime Safety Technology, Japan Coast Guard Academy

Information
Atsushi Tanaka, Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Toyo University

Meteorology
Koji Yamamoto, Chairman, HALEX Corporation (former Director-General of the Japan
Meteorological Agency)

Media
Noboru Yamazaki, Commentator, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)

(Arranged alphabetically)

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