Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� September, 2003

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A comprehensive disaster prevention drill by the Japanese Government was held on September 1, Disaster Prevention Day. This year's comprehensive disaster prevention drill by the Government focused on the preparation for inland earthquakes which are especially hard to foresee, with an assumption of earthquakes hitting beneath the Southern Kanto Region and Tokai region. During the drill, based on the assumption that a big earthquake with its epicenter in southern Saitama Prefecture occurred at 9:30 a.m., a meeting of relevant Cabinet ministers was convened at around 10:30 a.m. and decision was made for the declaration of the state of disaster emergency and the establishment of the Headquarters for Emergency Disaster Control. Following the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a press conference at around 11 a.m., declared the state of disaster emergency and convened a meeting of the Headquarters for Emergency Disaster Control at around 11:20 a.m., with all Cabinet members in attendance. During this meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi held a television conference with the Vice Governor of Saitama Prefecture. In the afternoon, Prime Minister Koizumi inspected the Eight Wards, Cities and Prefectures Comprehensive Drills for Disaster Prevention held at the Sai-no-Mori Iruma Park in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture. The drills in the park included emergency evacuation drills by the local residents, search-and-rescue drills by rescue dogs, rescue drills from collapsed housing and rescue drills from mid- and high-rise buildings. At the closing ceremony of the disaster prevention drill, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "Daily attitude and preparedness are the most essential factor for disaster prevention. I would like people to take full advantage of this earnest and large scale drill."