Climate resilient cities : a primer on reducing vulnerabilities to disasters - Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is the most populous urban agglomeration in the world, with a population of over 35 million. Due to the concentration of population in Tokyo, as well as its political, economic, and other functions, disasters have very high impact on the affected people as well as the region and the world. Therefore, protecting people's lives and property from disasters and keeping social assets safe are the basic issues for development of the metropolis. Disaster prevention and risk management are accorded very high priority. In December 1923, Tokyo was severely damaged from the Great Kanto earthquake. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 and left over 141,000 dead and destroyed over 128,000 houses. The safety of Tokyo has gradually been improved with increased fireproofing of buildings and other preventive measures. However, much remains to be done. Densely built wooden houses and a shortage of open spaces, combined with diversifying household energy uses and weakening actions taken in the event of disasters resulting from the aging population, have been the major causes of the spread of fire, a secondary disaster of earthquakes. For the purpose of introducing an indicator for the development of disaster-resistant cities, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government assesses the vulnerability of each district for earthquakes and announces the results to Tokyo citizens.