Japan to Introduce Disaster Prevention ICT System in Indonesia

Jakarta, April 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan and Indonesia have reached an agreement to collaborate in introducing a Japanese information and communications technology system for disaster prevention in the Southeast Asian country, Japanese communications minister Yoshitaka Shindo said Tuesday. Japan hopes to market its disaster prevention ICT system in Southeast Asia, where systems that send natural disaster information to local residents have not been introduced although the region suffers frequently from natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Japan's ICT technology includes earthquake and tsunami early-warning systems. Japan's communications ministry and Japanese companies including NTT Data Corp. <9613> and Fujitsu Ltd. <6702> will be part of the program to set up the ICT system in Indonesia. Tokyo is considering utilizing official development assistance for the program. At a press conference, Shindo said that Japan's disaster prevention system can send early earthquake warnings within a few seconds after a quake occurs and issue a tsunami warning across a country within three minutes through television and mobile phones. He said he has explained to Indonesian government officials how the system works. As TVs and mobile phones are not available in some areas in Indonesia, a plan calls for utilizing speakers at mosques to send disaster information. In Indonesia, a massive earthquake that struck off Sumatra and subsequent tsunami left some 170,000 people dead or missing in December 2004. END