Japanese Prefectures Asked to Secure Hotels as Shelters

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government has asked prefectures to lead efforts to secure hotels as shelters during large-scale disasters. Guidelines drawn up by the Cabinet Office call on local officials, mainly at prefectural governments, to work to secure accommodation and match it with evacuees. The guidelines suggest that local governments select such hotels in normal times, while ensuring that shopping facilities and hospitals are located nearby to improve living conditions for evacuees. The Cabinet Office also advises local governments to list hotels based on whether rooms are barrier-free and if evacuees can use them continuously for a certain period. Local governments are also advised to confirm whether meals are provided and whether pets are allowed. After a disaster occurs, local government officials will visit designated shelters and individual homes to find out whether people want to move to hotels. After a powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, in January 2024, some evacuees left hotels used as shelters without informing anyone, making their whereabouts unknown. Such actions could leave local governments unable to deliver information on support measures for residents in disaster-hit areas. The guidelines call for the establishment of a system in which hotel users fill out a notice of departure to share the date and destination with local officials. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]