Japan greenlights the launch of disaster management agency
The Japanese government Friday approved a bill to establish the planned disaster management agency, which will serve as a central command body for disaster response, Jiji Press reports.
The current disaster management division of the Cabinet Office will be reorganized into the agency, which will have personnel of 352, up from 220 at the current division. The related budget will also be expanded.
The agency will be headed by the prime minister and will also have a dedicated minister. The government aims to launch the agency in autumn.
According to the legislation, approved at a cabinet meeting, the agency will operate directly under the cabinet.
It will be responsible for formulating basic disaster-related policies, as well as for planning and overall coordination to address major disasters. The dedicated minister will have the authority to issue recommendations to other government agencies.
Earlier, it was reported that Japan’s ruling bloc had proposed a plan to allow lethal arms exports.