C. The Fire Defence Facilities for which the Grant Rate for Improvement Projects is Raised to 1/2

Besides the fire defence facilities (fire pump etc.) which are provided in the Fire Defence Facilities Reinforcement Promotion Act Sec. 3, the fire defense facilities for which the grant rate for the improvement projects is raised to 1/2 include loading cars with small power pump, portable small power pumps and earthquake- resistant water storage tanks, which are provided in the Ordinance thereof.

(3)Outline of Acts relating to Earthquake Preparations in the Southern Kanto Region

Population and various functions are concentrated in the Southern Kanno Region; here live a quarter of the population, 30% of the Gross National Product is generated, 40% of all financial and insurance workers are working, and 60% of the headquarters or head offices of enterprises with capital of over 1 billion yen are situated.

Tokyo is also taking a greater role in the arena of international finance and economy, as its role in the domestic economy grows.

Considering the importance of the Southern Kanto Region, the damage caused by an earthquake measuring about 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale would be disastrous. Even though the areas directly damaged by such an earthquake might be limited, the secondary effect from the damage on the metropolitan functions in some areas could cause the damage to spread beyond those directly- damaged areas, through malfunction of peoples lives and the economy. Furthermore, such influence could spread around the world through the financial markets.

In June 1988, the special committee of the Central Disaster Prevention Council for designating the Areas under Intensified Earthquake Disaster Prevention submitted an interim report on the

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