On May 19, the 67th Flood Fighting Drill in the Tonegawa River Basin took place , in the City of Sakae, Chiba Prefecture. This drill is aimed at handing down Japan’s traditional flood prevention techniques and raising public awareness of flood prevention. This type of annual event, organized by MLIT and riparian municipalities along major rivers, is conducted across Japan prior to the flooding season. Many people participated, including flood-fighting teams, local residents, and other stakeholders. The drill in the Tonegawa River basin is one of the biggest such events. 

The JWF has been holding the Flood Fighting Drill Tour since 2006 for officials from embassies and international organizations in Tokyo, with the aim of transmitting information to the rest of the world about our experience and the lessons learnt from water disasters, as well as traditional flood fighting activities carried out by local residents. (The tour was canceled in 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred.) Twenty nine officials from one international organization and sixteen countries including the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated. In addition, JICA cadets (twelve students from twelve countries, belonging to the Co-Creation Program on water-related disaster management), observed and experienced the drill together with the embassy officials.

At the exhibition area, the JWF operated a booth in order to help visitors and participants understand the current water situation around the world. We offered a quiz on water to raise public awareness.

The JWF intends to provide information about Japan’s traditional flood fighting techniques and the establishment of disaster prevention systems based on public-private partnerships. Transmitting Japanese knowhow to the world, the JWF continues to help enhance flood prevention capabilities throughout the world.

Outline of the 67th Flood Fighting Drill in the Tonegawa River Basin

Date	Saturday, 19 May, 2018
Venue	City of Sakae, Chiba Prefecture
Organaizers	MLIT; Chiba, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, and Kanagawa Prefectural Governments; City of Sakae
Outline of the Drill	Opening ceremony Flood Fighting Drill 1st half Flood Fighting Drill 2nd half Closing ceremony
Number of participants	Approx. 13,000, including guests and visitors

Outline of Flood Fighting Drill Tour 2018 for Embassy Officials

Objective	Providing officials from embassies and international organizations in Tokyo with an opportunity to see and take part in flood fighting drills.
Agenda	Visiting to the drill site; experience of flood fighting methods, such as making sand bags and learning rope work, observing rescue and first-aid training. Visiting to the North Chiba Water Conveyance Visitor Center
Participants	29 officials from one international organization and 16 countries including the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina (participating countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, India, Indonesia, Ecuador, Korea, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, Bangladesh, Philippines, Benin、Belgium, Malawi, Mali, Myanmar, Romania, and Pacific Islands Center）

A scene from the study tour (1st half)	Learning about rope work
The tour group listening to explanations in the exhibition booth by Swing Corporation	The tour group listening to explanations in the exhibition booth by FRICS
The exhibition booth by the Japan Water Forum	The group photo in the North Chiba Water Conveyance Visitor Center

(Reported by Sayoko KUWAHARA, Manager)