NHK


 

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru inspected an anti-disaster drill on Disaster Prevention Day on Monday.

The drill was conducted based on the scenario that a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck with an intensity of upper six on the Japanese scale of zero to seven.

Ishiba visited a site in Saitama City, north of Tokyo, where Tokyo and eight other local governments in the metropolitan area were participating in a drill.
Ishiba inspected how firefighters rescued people from a house buried in mud and others who were trapped under a collapsed building.

Then, guided by an official, Ishiba experienced how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, using an automatic external defibrillator, or AED. He also set up a bed made of cardboard boxes and a partition used in evacuation centers.

At a closing ceremony, the prime minister called the drill extremely significant. He said it offered a chance to gain training for rescuing and assisting affected people, restoring lifelines, using AEDs, and setting up cardboard box beds.

Ishiba said the drill contributed to improving each participant's disaster response capabilities.

Ishiba said massive quakes such as one directly beneath the Tokyo area and one in the Nankai Trough off Japan's Pacific coast could occur any time.

He stressed it is important for rescue teams, officials, and businesses to improve their skills, and for people to confirm what actions they should take to protect their own lives.