The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other outlets reported yesterday that Japan, a country prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, is launching the Disaster Management Agency today (November 2) to minimize damage and industrialize disaster prevention technology.

Upgraded from the existing Cabinet Office's disaster management division, the new agency will serve as the control tower leading various ministries and local governments in disaster response policies.

The Prime Minister will head the agency, and the newly created post of Minister for Disaster Management will be concurrently held by State Minister for Reconstruction Goshi Hosono.

The agency was launched to advance disaster prediction technologies and proactively identify and cope with mega-disasters—such as the Nankai Trough mega-earthquake and an inland earthquake directly beneath the capital region, which are feared to cause the most severe damage in Japan.

It also plans to utilize disaster prevention as an economic promotion strategy, exporting the technology and experience accumulated as a disaster-prone nation overseas.

The Japanese government aims to increase total overseas sales in the disaster prevention sector from 1 trillion yen (approx. 8.46 trillion KRW) in 2024 to about 2 trillion yen by 2030.

The Disaster Management Agency's budget request for fiscal 2027 stands at 65.2 billion yen (approx. 550 billion KRW), with over 30% of the requested amount allocated to the industrial promotion sector.

Meanwhile, a minor commotion arose after Disaster Management Minister Hosono pre-announced that he would issue an emergency appeal to the public alongside the launch of the organization.

Concerns spread both inside and outside Japan that a war or similar crisis might be imminent after it was leaked that his pre-released emergency appeal would ask citizens to stock up on at least three days', and preferably a week's, worth of water, food, and emergency toilets in advance.

In response, Minister Hosono stated during a press conference on October 30 that while some rumors were circulating suggesting there was information predicting a war or disaster, that was not the case, explaining that the intent was simply to urge preparation for large-scale disasters expected to occur in the future.