The Cabinet Office will conduct a survey as early as this fiscal year on stockpiles at facilities around the country that are designated to be used as temporary shelters in times of disasters.

This will be the first survey covering municipalities regarding stockpiling of goods at evacuation facilities.

After people affected by the powerful earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture in January faced a lack of relief supplies, the central government agency decided to conduct a survey on stockpiles as well as on the deployment of air conditioners, emergency power generators and gas facilities at designated shelters.

The survey is expected to cover stocks of food, blankets, baby formula, paper diapers for infants and adults, portable toilets, toilet paper and sanitary products, informed sources said. Cardboard beds and partitions, for which speedy deployment was difficult in the January disaster, will be added to the survey list, according to the sources.

Through a system to share information with local governments on relief supplies in the event of disasters, the central government will check whether the amounts of goods specified in local disaster management plans are secured. The survey will also cover goods kept at warehouses.

The number of designated shelters stood at 82,911 around the country as of Oct. 1, 2023.

Based on the results of the survey, the Cabinet Office will urge municipalities with insufficient stockpiles to redouble efforts to secure necessary amounts while calling on residents to voluntarily stockpile emergency goods.