The experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake has led the Government to modify the Act. The revision of June 1995, inspired by the paralysis of road transportation, allows the departmental public safety commission to regulate the traffic and gives the fire agencies to the authority to maintain a smooth flow of traffic for fire engines even without the presence of police agencies.
The revision of December 1995:permits the Prime Minister to set up Anti-disaster Headquarters, even without the proclamation of an emergency disaster, in the case of a catastrophic emergency disaster; makes the State and the local governments promote the organization of personal disaster defense and volunteer networks and to give priority to the aged, handicapped and infants;
urges the local governments to agree on conventions for mutual aid.
(i) Basic Plan for Disaster Prevention
This Plan, designed in 1963 with a little revision in 1971, in determining the principal points on national anti-disaster measures, was totally revised in July 1995 by the Central Disaster Prevention Council, the purpose being to rearrange the initial operations against disaster and to reexamine plans related to anti-disaster programmes.
The New Plan contains:
the categorization of plans according to the type of disaster (earthquake, storm damage, flood disaster, volcanic disaster, etc.;
