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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an assembly drill on foot based on a scenario supposing the occurrence of a metropolitan earthquake, and then held a meeting of the Central Disaster Prevention Council at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, advice was sought on "the designation of regions that should promote disaster management measures for the Nankai Trough earthquake and regions that should particularly strengthen tsunami evacuation measures for the Nankai Trough earthquake," as well as "the designation of zones that should take emergency measures for the metropolitan earthquake." After the "revision of the Basic Disaster Management Plan" was decided, briefings were conducted on the "final report of the Working Group on Reviewing Measures Pertaining to the Metropolitan Earthquake," the "draft Government Functions Continuity Plan," and the "handling of items decided at the discretion of the Chair."

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,

"Today marks the 19th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. We are also approaching the three-year mark of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
I would like to once again express my deepest condolences and sympathies to all those who lost their lives or were affected by these disasters.
Today, before this meeting, an assembly drill was held on foot among Cabinet members and Government personnel based on a scenario supposing the occurrence of a metropolitan earthquake.
There is concern that a metropolitan earthquake or a Nankai Trough earthquake will occur in the near future, and this is anticipated to have a severe impact on Japanese society and the economy, including impact on central functions in the capital as well as widespread and catastrophic tsunami devastation.
The Government will appropriately apply legislation, including the recently passed Act on Special Measures Concerning Countermeasures for the Nankai Trough Earthquake and Act on Special Measures Concerning Countermeasures for the Metropolitan Earthquake, and continue to take all possible disaster management measures with a sense of urgency to protect the lives and property of the people in the event of a major disaster.
During today's meeting, advice will be sought on the designation of regions pertaining to the Nankai Trough earthquake and to the metropolitan earthquake. I would also like to ask the Council to discuss and decide on the revision of the Basic Disaster Management Plan based on last year's revisions of the Basic Act on Disaster Control Measures, among other items. I look forward to a lively discussion."