ブックタイトルRecommendations to prepare for future mega-disasters in Japan

概要

Recommendations to prepare for future mega-disasters in Japan

the Republic of Korea) to start operating in Japan from the next the day.? There would also be a situation where foreign medical practitioners without a Japaneselicense should be exceptionally allowed to provide medical services in emergencies. Insuch circumstances, however, it might be difficult to predetermine the exact scope towhich the exceptional legal provision should be applied. Therefore, it is important topre-establish agreements among the relevant Ministries on specific procedures toinform the response actors of the kinds of decisions to be made during the emergencies.2 2 The key is not solely relying on measures that are narrowly defined as‘legalpreparedness’.? Developing administrative manuals that contain relevant guidelines and operationalstandards is considered effective. This will include non-legal and temporary measuressuch as the budgetary allocation of reserved funds discussed above and redeploymentof government officials to the disaster response headquarters. During the GEJE, a largenumber of government officials were asked to work at the Government’s EmergencyDisaster Response Headquarters for an extended period of time. Thus, the relevantministries were required to apply a flexible system in the selection of their staff and toclarify their rotation policies. In addition, MOFA’s decision to deploy its liaison officersaccompanying the international rescue teams helped facilitate their smooth on-sitecoordination significantly. However, the MOFA officers deployed were not fully familiarwith the missions of the rescue teams and their equipment, thus a manual for the laisonofficers needs to be developed for their future deployment.(iii) Use of the international guidelines: IDRLThe Government of Japan should clarify its core responsibilities as the disaster affectedcountry as well as those born by other countries providing international assistance. TheGovernment should articulate a set of guiding principles defining its institutionalframework for disaster relief, and strengthen its domestic laws and regulations, policiesand procedures for accepting incoming international assistance. Furthermore, theGovernment should ensure minimum legal convenience extended to the assistingcountries and organisations in a comprehensive manner. To this effect, the Governmentshould utilise the IDRL guidelines and prepare to communicate on the acceptance ofinternational assistance to the countries and organisations offering assistance withoutdelay. It is important to note, however, that the IDRL Guidelines have been mainlydesigned for assisting developing countries to promote their legal preparedness, thusthey may contain provisions that are not necessarily suitable for a developed country. Inthis regard, the guidelines could be further developed and refined building on Japan’sexperience.e. Concluding partnership agreements? In order to avoid legal problems such as those caused by the accidents and damagesresulting from relief operations, the Government of Japan should put in place legalarrangements with countries that are likely to offer assistance.2 2 With regard to the provision of medical services by foreign doctors, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfareissued an official notice on March 14, 2011, as an opinion of the Ministry’s division responsible for this matter.According to the notice, non-compliance with the law for providing a minimum and necessary medical service forthe disaster affected populations can be justified on the grounds of the Article 35 of the Japanese Criminal Law.18