Masazumi Wakatabe: Financial and settlement systems as social infrastructure - disaster management perspective

Opening remarks by Mr Masazumi Wakatabe, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, at the Symposium "The Impact of Natural Disasters on Financial Markets and Financial Institutions", Nagoya City University Graduate School, Nagoya, 28 November 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

I. Introduction

I am delighted to be given this opportunity to speak to you at this symposium.

Japan is at risk of various natural disasters - wind and flood damage caused by typhoons or heavy rain, volcanic eruptions as well as earthquakes, such as the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and the Great East Japan Earthquake. This year again, typhoons such as Faxai and Hagibis inflicted serious damage. The probability that a massive earthquake may occur in the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coast within the next 30 years is estimated to be 70-80 percent. Disaster prevention measures have also been updated in preparation for cases where earthquakes occur consecutively with a certain time lag after the initial event in the Nankai Trough, something which has been experienced in the past.

Many other countries seem to be vigilant of the risks of terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, or widespread power outages triggered by transmission equipment malfunction.