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NHK
4 days ago
- Politics
- NHK
Japan govt. approves new 5-year plan to create disaster-resilient infrastructure
The Japanese government has approved a new infrastructure plan aimed at enhancing disaster prevention and preparedness measures over a five-year period starting next April. The plan was approved at Friday's Cabinet meeting. It calls for more than 20 trillion yen, or about 139 billion dollars, to be spent on projects, including the repair and replacement of water supply pipes and sewage pipes. This comes after a series of cave-ins occurred across the country. Old sewage pipes apparently caused the cave-ins. One massive sinkhole opened up in the city of Yashio, which is located near Tokyo. Under the plan, sewer pipes with a diameter of at least 2 meters that were installed 30 or more years ago will be replaced by fiscal 2030, if they are deemed to be at high risk of rupturing. Water pipes that are at least 80 centimeters in diameter and are considered to be at high risk of leaking will be replaced by fiscal 2041. Also under the plan, officials will focus on improving the accuracy of systems designed to predict the formation of bands of heavy rainclouds and typhoons. The plan calls for tsunami evacuation facilities to be provided as well. The enhancement of transportation networks in peninsulas and other places is among the other projects in the plan. This comes after a major earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula on New Year's Day in 2024. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said ahead of the Cabinet meeting that he hopes the relevant government agencies will work closely together, so that the country can become more resilient.
Japan Times
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
That sinking feeling: Japan's aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb
At around 9:50 a.m. on Jan. 28, a 5-meter-wide sinkhole emerged at an intersection in Yashio, a small, factory-laden working class city in Saitama Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo. Footage of the scene shows a 2-ton truck turning left at the junction and plunging into the gaping void just four seconds after it appeared — giving the 74-year-old driver almost no time to react. The collapse was triggered by a major rupture in a 42-year-old sewer pipe buried deep beneath the road. The 4.75-meter-wide reinforced concrete pipe had gradually corroded at a bend, where sulfuric acid had slowly degraded the structure until it gave way. The area's soft, sandy soil — a mixture of silt and clay — also made it easier for sediment to be drawn in and for a large underground cavity to form. Fire department units at the scene initially estimated that rescuing the driver wouldn't take long. But a combination of factors complicated efforts and conditions at the site quickly worsened in the days that followed as the sinkhole grew to 40 meters in diameter and 15 meters in depth.
Japan Times
14-05-2025
- Japan Times
Body in Saitama sinkhole identified as that of truck driver
A body found inside the cab of a truck that fell into a sinkhole in Saitama Prefecture in January has been identified as the truck's 74-year-old driver, prefectural police said Wednesday. The body was found on May 2 after the truck fell into the sinkhole created at the center of an intersection in the city of Yashio on Jan. 28. The road collapse is believed to have been caused by the rupture of a sewage pipe beneath the road.
Japan Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
LDP and Komeito agree to draft supplementary budget before autumn session
Senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, agreed Tuesday on the need to draft a supplementary budget before a possible extraordinary session of the Diet this autumn. The supplementary budget is expected to fund measures to deal with inflation and the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The LDP-Komeito coalition plans to draw up economic measures, including subsidies to reduce electricity and gas bills for July to September, ahead of this summer's House of Councilors election. "We need a (supplementary) budget to strongly implement economic measures," LDP Diet affairs chief Tetsushi Sakamoto told reporters after meeting with his Komeito counterpart and the secretaries-general of both parties. Stay updated on the trade wars. Quality journalism is more crucial than ever. Help us get the story right. For a limited time, we're offering a discounted subscription plan. Unlimited access US$30 US$18 /mo FOREVER subscribe NOW The LDP and Komeito officials also agreed to include in the government's forthcoming basic economic and fiscal policy measures to reduce the financial burden of education and to tackle aging infrastructure, in the wake of a road collapse accident in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, in January. At the meeting, the Komeito side called for tax cuts and benefits to be considered as economic measures while keeping in mind financial sources. The LDP side did not respond to this, according to Sakamoto. In response to the day's LDP-Komeito agreement, Junya Ogawa, secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said at a news conference that it will be "too late and irresponsible" to compile a supplementary budget this autumn.
