With activities still underway to restore normality in the wake of the Sichuan Earthquake, a disaster-response manual appropriate to the needs of the region is in urgent demand. With many years of experience in dealing with the aftermath of earthquakes, Japan is well placed to contribute to an emergency manual that can be used in the areas affected by the Sichuan earthquake and in other disaster-struck regions in China. In this project, the Japan-China-Asia Economic Strategy Forum will collaborate with Kobe University, University of Hyogo, governmental agencies in Hyogo Prefecture, Kobe City and elsewhere, the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Hyogo, the Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress (HITS), the School of Public Administration Renmin University, and the Sichuan Prefectural Government to provide training in China for disaster prevention officials from around the country and create disaster-response manuals for specific provinces in China.

This year, the following activities will be carried out.

• Invitation of disaster prevention experts to Japan:
  Six experts in disaster prevention from Sichuan province will be invited to Japan to create, with their Japanese counterparts, a curriculum for training in China. Most of the relevant work will be carried out in Hyogo prefecture.
• Dispatch of experts to conduct training in China:
  Japanese experts will be dispatched to China in autumn to assist in the training program for 200 administrative officials from regional governments run by the School of Public Administration Renmin University.
• Creation of a disaster prevention information website:
  Materials collected through the training will be used to construct a website entitled 'Japan-China Disaster Prevention/Reduction Network', through which project results will be made public.