The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is planning to include subsidies in its initial fiscal 2025 budget so that municipalities can ensure people don't have to sleep on the floor at evacuation centers.

The capital hopes to improve living conditions at evacuation centers and boost its disaster response capability, amid concerns that a huge earthquake may occur directly underneath the Tokyo metropolitan area and force up to around 2 million people to flee to evacuation centers.

Tokyo will also support efforts to enable evacuees to bring their pets with them.

Living conditions at evacuation centers set up following natural disasters remain difficult around the country. Examples of that hardship include people being forced to sleep on the floor in gymnasiums, which was seen following the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January.

That has prompted metropolitan assembly members to call for a review of how evacuation centers in Tokyo are operated. While such centers are run by Tokyo's special wards, cities, towns or villages, the metropolitan government has drawn up related guidelines and is already in the process of revising them.

Tokyo has thus far provided subsidies to municipalities to help them install fire extinguishers, stockpile portable toilets and establish Wi-Fi connections at evacuation centers.

From the year beginning next April, projects subject to subsidies will be expanded to include improving the bedding situation at centers, allowing people to bring pets to evacuation centers and providing warm meals.

The details of expenses eligible for subsidies will be discussed in the future.

Under the current framework, the metropolitan government covers a third of the costs for fire extinguisher installation expenses and half for stockpiling portable toilets. The capital will consider how much of the new initiatives will be covered from fiscal 2025.