Evolution of Japan's flood control planning and policy in response to climate change risks and social changes

Abstract

Building a sustainable society by strengthening disaster resilience is a common goal in the world. It is crucial to promote cooperation between the general public and the science community by sharing data, information, knowledge, experiences, and ideas. Japan has routinely been beset by catastrophic floods caused mainly by destructive typhoons and critically active seasonal fronts. With the turn of the 21st century, changes in climate and society required additional realignment into the standardized procedures that had evolved over the previous half-century. Japan's new policy, ‘River Basin Disaster Resilience and Sustainability by All,’ takes comprehensive measures, mainly consisting of flood prevention, exposure reduction, and appropriate evacuation, response and recovery, aiming to strengthen disaster resilience and achieve sustainability through concerted efforts among all stakeholders. The policy can play a key role in the achievement of the common global goal. HIGHLIGHTS New flood control planning considering climate change is identified in comparison with the conventional planning.; A new flood control policy considering changes in climate and society is identified in comparison with the conventional policy.; The roles of science and technology in the new approach are clarified.;

Keywords

• climate change
• disaster resilience
• disaster risk reduction
• flood control planning
• flood control policy
• sustainability