Japan launches new national agency to boost disaster response

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Japan has launched a National Disaster Management Agency to coordinate preparedness, emergency response and reconstruction. More than 350 staff will work on national readiness for potential major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, including a Tokyo-area quake or Mount Fuji eruption.

Japan on Monday launched a new national agency focused on disaster management with the goal of making the country better prepared should there be a megaquake along the Pacific coast or in Tokyo, or an eruption of Mount Fuji. More than 350 workers at the National Disaster Management Agency will oversee preparedness, emergency response and reconstruction efforts. The agency is not being created in anticipation of any specific calamity, but rather is meant to fill a gap amid worries about whether...