Report shows lack of company preparation for blackouts

June 14, 2019

Tokyo--A government report showed Friday stalled progress in Japanese companies' preparation for blackouts in response to the first large-scale power failure in the country in September last year following a powerful earthquake in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan.

A survey in the 2019 white paper on disaster prevention, adopted at a cabinet meeting, asked whether measures have been taken to prepare for possible blackouts at a total of 1,322 companies in Hokkaido and Tokyo, as well as Osaka, Okayama, Hiroshima and Ehime prefectures.

Of the 576 responding companies, only 55 said they had already taken countermeasures or created systems for collaborations with nearby companies.

Countermeasures have been already taken at a total of 11 companies--six in Tokyo, three in Hokkaido, one each in Osaka and Hiroshima. No respondents in Okayama and Ehime took countermeasures.

"Many companies haven't been able to take action despite their willingness to do so," the annual white paper said, noting as many as 274 companies voicing hopes to consider countermeasures in the survey. Jiji Press