Scope of Efficient Disaster Damage Assessment for 2026 Heavy Rains

On August 27, 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced measures covering disasters caused by the 2026 Baiu Front heavy rains, the August 2026 Chiba heavy rains, and other events provisionally so designated. The covered period extends from the onset of the 2026 Baiu season through the August 2026 Chiba heavy rains, and covers disasters caused by heavy rains and typhoons.

This rule was established on January 13, 2017, to reduce the time and other resources required for disaster damage assessments during large-scale disasters.

Raising the ceiling for desk assessments will reduce the number of on-site investigations and shorten the assessment period. Raising the amount subject to deferred adoption will reduce the number of deferred cases and enable earlier project commencement. Simplifying drawings and photographs will also shorten the period required to prepare assessment materials.

The measures will reduce the work and time required for disaster damage assessments by affected municipalities and other parties, promote the early restoration of damaged facilities, and support the reconstruction of affected areas.

Covered facilities are farmland, agricultural facilities, and forest roads as prescribed by law. Aerial photographs, representative cross-sectional drawings, and other materials will be used to simplify drawings and other documents attached to assessment design documents. Desk assessments will be conducted using documents alone in meeting rooms and similar locations, while deferred adoption will be decided by the ministry headquarters without conducting adoption on site when the amount is at least a specified threshold.

Covered areas are areas where the number of damaged sites exceeded the average number of damaged sites over the past five years, excluding severe disasters subject to special measures. For farmland, the covered prefectures are Hokkaido, Akita, Yamagata, Tochigi, Gunma, Niigata, Toyama, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Kochi, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, and Kagoshima. For agricultural facilities, they are Akita, Yamagata, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba, Niigata, Toyama, Mie, Shiga, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, and Kagoshima. For forest roads, they are Hokkaido, Iwate, Akita, Yamagata, Niigata, Toyama, Mie, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, and Kagoshima. The covered areas may subsequently be expanded based on further investigations.