# 2593
Despite strong indications that the national government of Japan takes the pandemic threat very seriously, we continue to see little evidence of that mind set filtering down to the private sector, or to local governments
Earlier this year a think tank sent out a preparedness questionnaire to 4,000 listed companies asking about their preparedness for a pandemic.
Out of 4,000 questionnaires sent only 448 companies, or about 11%, chose to respond. Of those, according to the InterRisk Research Institute & Consulting Inc. survey, only 48% said they either had a pandemic plan, or had plans to formulate one.
For more details, see Japan: A Dearth Of Preparedness.
Today, in an article in Japan's Daily Yomiuri, we learn that the level of preparedness among local government entities appears to be no better.
Not that Japan is alone in this.
I doubt that the level of preparedness in most nations is any better. Even companies, agencies, and municipalities that have pandemic plans, often fail to test, and revised them.
Having a plan isn't enough, of course. It has to be a good plan, based on reasonable assumptions.
And you have to test the plans, regularly.
A hat tip to Shiloh on Flutrackers for posting this article.
Study: Local govts lack sense of urgency on flu
The Yomiuri Shimbun
(Dec. 25, 2008)
Only 6 percent of municipalities across the country have prepared for a possible outbreak of a new type of influenza, by taking such measures as working out contingency plans and setting up emergency drills, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team has revealed.
Their study also found that only about 20 percent of municipalities had set up systems to fight a potential outbreak in cooperation with medical institutions and emergency teams, a sign that local governments lack a sense of urgency over the issue.
The study was conducted by post in August, surveying 1,787 local governments and Tokyo's 23 ward governments about their flu-related contingency projects, with 1,188 governments, or about 70 percent, responding.
Only 68 governments, or about 6 percent, said they had mapped out action plans in preparation for a possible outbreak of a new strain of influenza, while only 74 governments had conducted drills to deal with a flu pandemic.
About 12 percent of governments said they were working on creating action plans, while 65 percent said they have not considered any plans.
Asked if they had any system to coordinate with medical institutions, 11 percent said they did, while another 11 percent said they had done so "to a certain extent."
About 24 percent of local governments have set up systems for cooperating with fire departments in charge of emergency and rescue missions. Only 15 percent have established systems for working with virus-testing institutions, even though such facilities are vital for detecting a new flu strain and in preventing its spread.
Asked for reasons for the delay in preparing countermeasures, 36 percent said they did not know what kind of measures a local government should take.
About 19 percent responded that the central government's countermeasures are not clear enough, while 15 percent said they lacked funds for such projects.
Meanwhile, 11 percent said the level of attention to the issue was low in their governments.
In 2005, the central government created an action plan to combat a new flu pandemic. Since then, prefectural governments have mapped out their own plans at the request of the central government.
However, decisions on possible countermeasures against a flu outbreak in each region have been up to local governments.
(Dec. 25, 2008)
