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UNDRR Liaison Office in Japan

Overview

The UNDRR liaison office in Japan works closely with the Japanese Government and other institutions that have extensive experience and expertise in disaster risk reduction (DRR) to support other partners around the world to reduce disaster risk and build resilience.

The office looks after the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments online platform so that non-governmental stakeholders can also contribute to and be recognised for their efforts in implementing the Sendai Framework. 

The office also promotes collaboration with Japan-based institutions such as government agencies, academic and research institutions, the private sector, and civil societies, facilitating their contribution to global and regional DRR efforts and linking their experiences, technology and innovation to other countries’ and regions’ needs.

Contact us

DRI-East 5F
1-5-2 Wakinohama-Kaigan-dori
Chuo-ku
Hyogo
651-0073
Kobe-City, Japan
Phone: +81 782625550
undrr-japan@un.org

News and events

The first World Tsunami Awareness Day will take place on November 5, 2016
Press Releases

UNISDR Chief welcomes World Tsunami Awareness Day

The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the passing of a resolution yesterday by the UN General Assembly which recognizes November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day. The resolution was led by Japan and Chile.
Members of the new ARISE network in Japan (Photo: UNISDR)
Updates

ARISE network created in Japan

Japanese members of the UNISDR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, known for short as ARISE, are moving ahead with implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the global blueprint for reducing disaster losses adopted at a UN conference in Japan earlier this year.
(From left) SRSG Ms. Margareta Wahlström, Mr. Masayuki Hayashi from Toyama Prefectural government, and Mr. Mitsuo Fukuda from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in the area of the main Shiraiwa Sabo Dam in Tateyama Sabo Facilities. (Photo: UNISDR)
Updates

100 years preventing debris flows in Japan

The world’s first hybrid dam, combining both earth and concrete, is also earthquake proof and protects millions of people living on Japan’s vulnerable Toyama plain from a repetition of a major disaster which occurred there in the mid-19th century.
A group discussion in Dhaka on recovery planning among government officials, Fire Service & Civil Defence Directorate of Bangladesh and IRP (Photo: IRP)
Updates

Bangladesh forges ahead on recovery

Bangladesh, one of the most hazard-prone and climate-vulnerable countries in the world, is widely recognised as a leader in tackling the threat of disasters. Policymakers and practitioners in the South Asian nation are ramping up their efforts to make their country even more resilient as they move to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Centuries of disaster resilience work in the uplands area above Toyama City has aimed to work with rather than against nature and the rugged terain. (Photo: Toyama Prefecture)
Updates

Samurai protects his people… from floods

A 16th century Samurai has left a powerful legacy on the floodplain as well as the battlefield in one of Japan’s most beautiful yet hazardous regions.
Kirin Brewery’s Sendai plant resumed business months after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. (Photo: UNISDR)
Updates

Prevention pays: Japan’s private sector leads the way

Four years on from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, the country’s business sector has lived up to its reputation for resilience and shown clearly why disaster preparedness is so important for recovery.
Mr. Kazunori Endo, Director General, Soma Sousou Fishermen’s Cooperative in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture. (Photo: UNISDR)
Updates

Fukushima’s fish industry yet to recover

The fishing industry along the eastern coast of Japan is still reeling from the twin earthquake and tsunami that rocked the region four years ago, demonstrating starkly how disasters can strain key economic sectors and test resilience.
At today's High-Level Dialogue on Mobilizing Women Leaders for DRR, (left) Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director WFP, and the former President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. (Photo: UNISDR)
Updates

Japan backs women’s leadership in DRR

Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe today announced that boosting women’s leadership in disaster risk reduction would be a key element of the country’s new programme of international support.
Four years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Sendai is hosting the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction which opens this Saturday, 14 March. (Photo: Douglas Sprott via Flickr)
Press Releases

Japan tsunami remembered on eve of World Conference on Disaster Risk

The Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Margareta Wahlström, today took part in the solemn remembrance ceremony in Tokyo for all those who died in the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami which occurred on March 11, 2011.
Participants discuss their company’s measures in resilience and disaster risk reduction. (Photo: UNISDR)
Updates

Japan’s private sector puts focus on resilience and risk-sensitivity as World Conference looms

More than 250 representatives from Japan’s business community have held an information-packed session to prepare for next month’s World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will see the adoption of a new global framework to guide risk reduction over the next decade.
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Publications

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DRR in Japan

The Hyogo prefecture went through a dramatic recovery process after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (the Kobe Earthquake) in January 1995, that killed more than 6,400 people. Through the experiences and lessons learned, Hyogo led research, education and international cooperation on DRR. 

In January 2005, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) was organized by UNDRR (then ISDR) in Kobe, where more than 168 Governments adopted the “Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters” (HFA). The ten-year plan served as the main policy guidance for countries to develop policies on disaster risk reduction.

Building on this process, “The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030" was adopted as the HFA’s successor at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), held in Sendai in March 2015.