Video Message by Prime Minister Ishiba for “High School Students’ Summit on ‘World Tsunami Awareness Day’ in Kumamoto”

Hello, high school students. This is Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru. I am very pleased that the “High School Students’ Summit on ‘World Tsunami Awareness Day’ in Kumamoto” is being held with such grandeur.

You may know the origin of World Tsunami Awareness Day. There is an anecdote called “Inamura no Hi (The Fire of Rice Sheaves),” which tells the story of a leader who, during the Ansei Nankai Earthquake on November 5, 1854, set fire to his own rice sheaves in order to guide people who had fallen behind in the darkness to higher ground, saving many lives from the impending tsunami.

In 2011, Japan designated this day by law as “Tsunami Disaster Prevention Day” to draw lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake, in which approximately 20,000 precious lives were lost in the massive tsunami. Subsequently, Japan has made efforts, and in December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to establish a “World Tsunami Awareness Day.”

This year, on January 1st, the special day for celebrating the New Year, the Noto Peninsula earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture, causing tremendous damage, including a tsunami. Noto was also hit by heavy rains last month, and the hard work of recovery and reconstruction continues.

In recent years, not only earthquakes and tsunamis, but also heavy rains have become more severe and frequent not only in Japan but also around the world. Our mission is to share the lessons learned from disasters in various countries and apply them to future countermeasures.

I believe it is highly significant that the High School Students Summit, under the theme “Lessons from Kumamoto for the World and the Future,” is being held here in Kumamoto, which has been struck by major disasters such as the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake and the torrential rains in 2020.

I would like to conclude my remarks by expressing my hope that the young people who will be responsible for the future will take advantage of the knowledge and mutual bonds deepened by this Summit and play an active role in Japan and abroad as leaders in disaster prevention and building national resilience in the future.

I sincerely ask for your continued support.