ID :
12550
Tue, 07/15/2008 - 16:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12550
The shortlink copeid
Hard-up localities delay spread of J-Alert system
TOKYO, July 15 (Kyodo) - Local governments and municipalities across Japan, hampered by fiscal constraints, are slow in adopting an alarm system designed to provide instantaneous notification of earthquakes and other natural disasters as well as manmade threats.
The arrangement, called the J-Alert system, was launched in February 2007 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to warn prefectural, city, town and village governments via earth satellites of threats posed by tsunami, volcanic eruptions and terrorism.
Subsequently it added up-to-the-minute reports on earthquakes. At the end of last year, the agency expanded the information to include national emergency reports such as those on missile launches targeting Japan.
The high cost of installing the system, ranging from 3 million yen to 10 million yen for devices including automatic wireless radio starters and satellite modems, has led many municipalities to have second thoughts about adopting the system.
As of early July, 41 of the nation's 47 prefectural governments and the municipalities of 62 cities, towns and villages had introduced J-Alert.
The agency has distributed about 700 satellite modems to local governments wishing to install them. The disaster and emergency information received via satellite modems is aimed at notifying residents of emergencies even when they are outside their homes, reaching them via local public address systems linked to disaster prevention wireless radio broadcasts.
The agency has also sent letters to about 1,800 heads of municipalities through the prefectural governments, urging them to equip their areas with the J-Alert system.
As a result, officials expect that a total of about 400 local governments will have the system by the end of the current fiscal year ending next March.
One reason cited for the delay in its introduction is that many municipalities need to update their disaster prevention wireless radio system from analog to digital, a task made harder because they are short of funds.
Municipalities that need to set up wireless radio and public address systems are thought to be looking at an outlay in the range of more than 100 million yen.
''It is difficult (for municipalities) to secure funds for the installation of wireless radio and other equipment since there are many priority tasks such as relocating city offices that do not meet the earthquake-proof standard established by the central government,'' said an official of the municipality of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, who was in charge of dealing with quake victimsin his city at the time of the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake.
Officials of the Shizuoka prefectural government's disaster prevention bureau said the city of Fuji and the town of Yoshida are the only municipalities in the central Japan prefecture that have upgraded 100 percent to the J-Alert system, including making the switch from analog to digital wireless radio.
They said the bulk of municipalities still rely on an analog wireless radio, adding that many are putting off the introduction of the J-Alert system with an eye toward achieving efficiency in the installation of the digital configuration.
The municipality of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, is placing its hopes on the J-Alert system as city residents feel themselves at the frontline of a potential national emergency given their location on the Sea of Japan. They have been exposed to the threat posed by North Korean missile test launches as well as to that posed by suspicious boats operating in nearby waters.
''There is an Air-Self Defense Force substation base located in Wajima and we just don't know when something untoward might happen,'' a city official said.
''No matter how much money it would cost us to install the alert system, there's no substitute for the safety and security of the citizenry.''The city was originally scheduled to introduce the J-Alert system during the current fiscal year but decided to delay it until fiscal 2010 or later due to a shortfall in funds.
A senior official of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said he recognized the dire financial situation facing many municipalities but added that the J-Alert system is a matter of life and death.
''I hope it will spread across the nation as soon as possible,' ' he said
The arrangement, called the J-Alert system, was launched in February 2007 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to warn prefectural, city, town and village governments via earth satellites of threats posed by tsunami, volcanic eruptions and terrorism.
Subsequently it added up-to-the-minute reports on earthquakes. At the end of last year, the agency expanded the information to include national emergency reports such as those on missile launches targeting Japan.
The high cost of installing the system, ranging from 3 million yen to 10 million yen for devices including automatic wireless radio starters and satellite modems, has led many municipalities to have second thoughts about adopting the system.
As of early July, 41 of the nation's 47 prefectural governments and the municipalities of 62 cities, towns and villages had introduced J-Alert.
The agency has distributed about 700 satellite modems to local governments wishing to install them. The disaster and emergency information received via satellite modems is aimed at notifying residents of emergencies even when they are outside their homes, reaching them via local public address systems linked to disaster prevention wireless radio broadcasts.
The agency has also sent letters to about 1,800 heads of municipalities through the prefectural governments, urging them to equip their areas with the J-Alert system.
As a result, officials expect that a total of about 400 local governments will have the system by the end of the current fiscal year ending next March.
One reason cited for the delay in its introduction is that many municipalities need to update their disaster prevention wireless radio system from analog to digital, a task made harder because they are short of funds.
Municipalities that need to set up wireless radio and public address systems are thought to be looking at an outlay in the range of more than 100 million yen.
''It is difficult (for municipalities) to secure funds for the installation of wireless radio and other equipment since there are many priority tasks such as relocating city offices that do not meet the earthquake-proof standard established by the central government,'' said an official of the municipality of Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, who was in charge of dealing with quake victimsin his city at the time of the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake.
Officials of the Shizuoka prefectural government's disaster prevention bureau said the city of Fuji and the town of Yoshida are the only municipalities in the central Japan prefecture that have upgraded 100 percent to the J-Alert system, including making the switch from analog to digital wireless radio.
They said the bulk of municipalities still rely on an analog wireless radio, adding that many are putting off the introduction of the J-Alert system with an eye toward achieving efficiency in the installation of the digital configuration.
The municipality of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, is placing its hopes on the J-Alert system as city residents feel themselves at the frontline of a potential national emergency given their location on the Sea of Japan. They have been exposed to the threat posed by North Korean missile test launches as well as to that posed by suspicious boats operating in nearby waters.
''There is an Air-Self Defense Force substation base located in Wajima and we just don't know when something untoward might happen,'' a city official said.
''No matter how much money it would cost us to install the alert system, there's no substitute for the safety and security of the citizenry.''The city was originally scheduled to introduce the J-Alert system during the current fiscal year but decided to delay it until fiscal 2010 or later due to a shortfall in funds.
A senior official of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said he recognized the dire financial situation facing many municipalities but added that the J-Alert system is a matter of life and death.
''I hope it will spread across the nation as soon as possible,' ' he said
