Japan to Improve Weather Warning System

Tokyo, Dec. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan will improve its weather advisory and warning system by creating a new category applied in the event of Level 4 emergencies for which municipalities issue evacuation orders, the government said Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency and the land ministry said they plan to switch to the improved system in late May 2026 before the rainy and typhoon seasons arrive. The agency issues an emergency warning when an extreme weather-related disaster, such as flooding, is happening, leading municipalities to declare a Level 5 situation and issue an order urging residents to take emergency action to protect themselves. It also issues a regular warning in the event of a Level 3 situation, which prompts municipalities to issue an evacuation order for elderly and other vulnerable people. The agency will create the new category, called danger warning, designed to deal with Level 4 situations, in which municipalities issue evacuation orders for local residents in general. The new category will cover flooding, heavy rains, landslides and storm surges. Flood danger warnings may be issued for some 400 large rivers across Japan, with their names and affected municipalities to be disclosed when such a warning is issued. The agency will issue heavy rain danger warnings to deal with possible overflowing of small and midsize rivers and inundation of low-lying land including urban and residential areas. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]