2. Building resilient urban infrastructure with the aim to ensure safety and security for the next 100 years

Only when safety and security are firmly secured can we overcome difficulties and achieve great progress. Following the “Always be prepared” motto, we will advance measures to enhance the resilience of our city with a view to 100 years into the future.

Protecting the lives and assets of Tokyo residents by shoring up preparations for situations such as disasters

Strengthening measures for self-help, mutual-help, and public assistance

First, I will speak about storm and flood control measures. In June, regulating reservoirs in Tokyo took in the equivalent of about 3,000　25-meter swimming pools due to torrential rain brought about by Typhoon Mawar, demonstrating their great ability to mitigate damage. If we also take into consideration future climate change, which is expected to generate a 10 percent increase in precipitation over current levels, there is no time to lose in further strengthening measures to accommodate this increase. We recently released an interim report on the shape river facilities should take in the future. Accordingly, we will upgrade measures from a variety of perspectives, including the construction of underground rivers （floodways）—a grand approach that involves the creation of an additional river underground to divert floodwaters. We will also accelerate our review of the entire Basic Policy for Measures against Heavy Rainfall to formulate a new policy within the year. The policy will not only include improvements to rivers and other facilities, but also new measures to promote urban development that creates higher ground, and measures to promote the introduction of green infrastructure, among others.

In areas of five special wards in low-lying eastern Tokyo where flood damage is of particular concern, we are distributing flood risk assessments to individual households outlining the risk in their immediate area to encourage residents to take appropriate life-saving actions, a first in Japan. The experience of the Great Kanto Earthquake has shown us the vital importance of not only the role of public assistance, but also the roles played by self-help and mutual-help. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake, we have intensively rolled out events to raise awareness related to disaster preparedness, including an event featuring a lecture given by an expert and the opportunity to experience flooding through the use of virtual reality （VR） technology. And, while also relying on the updated editions of “Disaster Preparedness Tokyo” and “Disaster Readiness Guide: Prepare Yourself and Your Family,” I hope that the people of Tokyo will firmly acquire the knowledge and learn the actions necessary to protect themselves and their loved ones. In addition, we recently conducted the Comprehensive Joint Disaster Management Drill with Higashimurayama City with the aim to improve government disaster response capabilities on various levels. We will strengthen the three pillars of disaster preparedness: self-help, mutual-help, and public assistance, and thoroughly take all possible preparations to protect the lives and assets of the people of Tokyo.

Applying knowledge gained through an overseas site visit to prepare for a missile attack

When visiting Helsinki, Finland, last month, I was able to see that evacuation shelters were set up throughout the city in preparation for an emergency, such as a missile attack. I was also able to observe the creative ways that evacuation shelters are used on an everyday basis during normal times. For instance, some are used as sports or parking facilities. This experience allowed me to see Finland’s firm national commitment to crisis management, one that has been cultivated since the time of the Cold War. While also referencing best practices overseas, we will promote hard and soft measures suitable for Tokyo, and take various matters into consideration, such as the types of facilities that can be safely evacuated to and the forms of cooperation with relevant agencies needed to ensure the smooth evacuation of residents.

Protecting the people of Tokyo from health risks

We will also work to protect the people of Tokyo from a range of threats to their health, including infectious diseases. We have compiled and released an easy-to-understand review of the initiatives of the Tokyo iCDC, which served as the backbone of Tokyo’s COVID-19 countermeasures that spanned a period of nearly three years. Over the course of the pandemic, various insights and experiences were gained, including the development of the “Tokyo model,” new networks for dealing with infectious diseases were formed, and new challenges became apparent. Utilizing this precious knowledge, we aim to review our infectious disease control and prevention plan within this fiscal year to bolster readiness to act speedily and smoothly when an infectious disease outbreak occurs again in the future.