Japan Nurturing Disaster Response Leaders at Elderly Homes

From Jiji

August 18 2021

TOKYO – Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is supporting local governments’ efforts to nurture elderly home workers capable of leading the work to ensure the safety of residents in times of disasters.

The ministry hopes that such caregivers, whom it terms “disaster prevention leaders,” would become able to evacuate residents at the appropriate time.

Specifically, it will provide financial assistance to prefectural governments to help them conduct disaster training programs targeting managers and senior staff workers of special and group homes for elderly people.

Participants will learn from local disaster experts and academics with expertise on disasters basic knowledge about floods and earthquakes as well as the meaning of disaster-related information and warnings issued by local governments and the Japan Meteorological Agency.

They will also learn disaster response know-how, such as when they should call on other caregivers for help for evacuations and how to transfer residents according to the levels of care they need.