Japan to create flood projection maps for 4 Southeast Asian nations
Japan plans to create flood projection maps for Indonesia, Thailand and two other Southeast Asian nations to help mitigate the damage caused by water-related disasters in the countries, according to land ministry officials, Kyodo reports.
The plan, which will also cover Cambodia and Vietnam, comes as the Japanese government seeks to deepen ties with emerging and developing countries, collectively dubbed the Global South, amid China's growing influence in the region.
The government hopes that providing these maps to the four flood-prone recipient countries in the fiscal year starting April 2025 will lead to infrastructure projects involving Japanese companies.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry is expected to utilize observational data from satellites operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and local geographical information to create the maps.
Flooding forecasts will be based on a single area that the ministry identifies as crucial for business activities for each country, the officials said.
The four countries are seen as being crucial to the supply chains for Japan, so the government hopes that domestic firms aiming to make inroads into the markets will utilize the projection maps in deciding where to establish their bases, the officials said.
In the future, Japan plans to provide expertise to assist the four countries in crafting their own flood projection maps and offer training to their officials.
Tokyo is also considering expanding the scope of the recipients as many developing nations in South America and Africa are struggling to deal with floods, one of the ministry officials in charge of the project said.
