February 2, 2021 Implementation of Anti-disaster Drills for Securing Communication Services in Times of Large-scale Disasters

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) will conduct collaborative training related to an initial response by MIC, local governments, telecommunications carriers, etc., as described below. This drill is for making preparations for large-scale natural disasters to quickly restore the communication services of the affected municipal offices and respond to issues related to power and fuel supply services and dispose of fallen trees.

1. Background purpose

In recent years, natural disasters, such as typhoons, earthquakes, and heavy rains, have caused tremendous damage to telecommunication services, including landline and mobile phones, which are important infrastructures for people’s lives. In the event of a large-scale disaster, it is important for municipal government offices, which is an important base for disaster response, to restore communication services quickly. Then activities, such as the rescue of lives and support for evacuees, will not be hindered even if the communication services are damaged.
Besides, the final review of the verification team on the series of disasters, including Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis in 2019 (Cabinet Office, March 2020), indicated issues, such as the cooperation of the telecommunications field with electric power and fuel supply services and local work on disposal of fallen trees.
Therefore, to deal with these issues in a large-scale natural disaster, MIC has decided to implement training assuming the initial response that should be carried out in cooperation with national organizations, local governments in the disaster area, and telecommunications carriers.

2. Overview of drills

1. Implementation theme, time, date, etc.^*

• *
  The drill may be conducted online to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus infections.

1. Cooperation with fuel supply

Kanto area (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
From 1:00 pm to 4:40 pm on Wednesday, February 10, 2021

2. Cooperation with power supply service

Hokuriku area (Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture)
1:00 pm to 5:15 pm on Friday, February 12, 2021

3. Cooperation with local work on disposal of fallen trees

Shikoku area (Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture)
1:00 pm to 5:15 pm on Friday, March 19, 2021

2. Damage assumption

1. Cooperation with fuel supply service in the Kanto area (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)

The drill will assume a power outage in a wide area of the city due to the influence of a typhoon, causing damage to communication services as a result of functional failures of mobile phone base stations. The collaborative training of MIC, telecommunications carriers, and local governments will aim to promptly procure the fuel supply required for private power generators and mobile power supply vehicles for the early recovery of the power-depleted mobile phone base stations.

2. Cooperation with power supply in the Hokuriku area (Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture)

The drill will assume that the influence of a large earthquake resulting power outages and disruptions in transmission lines over a wide area of the city, causing damage to communication services due to the functional failures of mobile phone base stations and communications buildings. The collaborative training of MIC, telecommunications carriers, local governments, and electric power companies will aim to quickly secure the power required for mobile phone base stations for the early recovery of the mobile phone base stations etc. suffering from power outages.

3. Cooperation with local work on the disposal of fallen trees in the Shikoku area (Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture)

The drill will assume heavy rains causing power outages and transmission line disruptions over a wide area of the city and damage to communication services due to the disconnection of transmission lines in mobile phone base stations and communications buildings. The collaborative training of MIC, telecommunications carriers, and the road manager (local government) will aim for the early restoration of broken transmission lines in mobile phone base stations and communication buildings by promptly reopening prefectural roads and city roads interrupted by collapsed utility poles due to fallen trees, transmission line disruptions, and landslides.

3. Participating organizations (planned)

1. Cooperation with fuel supply service in the Kanto area (Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture)

MIC (the headquarters and the Kanto Regional Bureau of Telecommunications), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (the Kanto Tohoku Industrial Safety and Inspection Department and the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry (the Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Department), Gunma Prefecture, Maebashi City, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corporation, Softbank Corp., Rakuten Mobile, Inc., and TEPCO Power Grid, Inc.

2. Cooperation with power supply service in the Hokuriku area (Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture)

MIC (the headquarters and the Hokuriku Regional Bureau of Telecommunications), METI (Chubu Kinki Industrial Safety and Inspection Department), Kanazawa Local Meteorological Observatory, Ishikawa Prefecture, Nomi City, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation, NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corporation, Softbank Corp., Rakuten Mobile, Inc., the Hokuriku Electric Power Company, and Hokuriku Electric Power Transmission Co., Ltd.

3. Cooperation with work on disposal of fallen trees in the Shikoku area (Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture)

MIC (the headquarters and the Shikoku Regional Bureau of Telecommunications) METI (Shikoku Branch of Chugoku Shikoku Industrial Safety and Inspection Department) Ehime Prefecture, Iyo City, NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corporation, Softbank Corp., Rakuten Mobile, Inc., and Shikoku Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co., Ltd.^*Shikoku Regional Development Bureau (under adjustment)

3. Training content

It is assumed that liaisons members are dispatched from MIC (the headquarters and each Regional Bureau of Telecommunications) and telecommunications carriers to the disaster countermeasures headquarters established at the city hall in each assumed disaster-stricken area. The dispatched liaisons will hold a communication-related liaison and coordination meeting, collect, grasp, and share damage information on communications services. At the same time, they will conduct training through discussions with participants, including experts, about an ideal way of cooperation. The discussion themes will include the identification of issues related to power and fuel supply services and work on the disposal of fallen trees for the early restoration of mobile phone base stations and communications buildings, a study on countermeasures, and coordination with related organizations.