Disaster Relief Systems,
Network Resilience and Recovery in Japan
June 2012
Michiko Fukahori
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Japan
Contents
1. The Great East Japan Disaster
2. Damage to the Telecommunication Network
3. MIC Study Report “Maintaining Communications
Capabilities during Major Natural Disasters and other
Emergency Situations”
2
1. The Great East Japan Disaster
～ What has happened ～
The Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami
- Date and Time: 11 March 2011 (FRI) 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC)
- Magnitude:
9.0 (the largest magnitude recorded in Japan’s history)
- Epicenter:
N38.1, E142.9 (130km ESE off Oshika Peninsula) Depth 24km
Miyako (Iwate)
Run-up height:38m*
JMA Seismic Intensity
Sendai
Otsuchi (Iwate)
Run-up height:17m*
Tokyo
Epicenter
Fukushima nuclear power station
(Japan Meteorological Agency)
Kesennuma (Miyagi)
Run-up height: 20m*
* The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami Joint Survey Group
(http://www.coastal.jp/)
4
The 3.11 Disaster
Miyako City,
Iwate Prefecture
5
Summary of Damages
Great East Japan
Earthquake (2011.3.11)
Great Hanshin
Earthquake (1995.1.17)
Magnitude
9.0
7.3
Dead
15,835
6,434
Missing
3,669
3
Damaged
Houses
903,220
639,686
Damaged
Fishing Boats
> 22,000
40
Damaged
Fishing Ports
> 300
17
Damaged
Farmland
23,600ha
214ha
*1 As of November 7, 2011 (source: National Police Agency)
*2 As of November 24, 2011 (source: MAFF)
6
Thanks for assistance from all around the world
Offers from 163 countries and regions, and 43 international organizations
Condolences expressed by more than 180 countries and regions,
and more than 60 international organizations
As of October 17,2011, survey by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan 7
7
Thanks for Assistance for Communication from ITU
On 14th March 2011, Secretary General of ITU kindly offered emergency
assistance utilizing satellite communications equipment from International
Telecommunication Union （ITU）
 ITU deploys a total of 153 satellite communications equipment
units for free and does not charge a communication fee.
• 78 Thuraya satellite phones
• 13 Iridium satellite phones
• 62 Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network terminals.
 Those were lent out free of charge to Local governments, etc.
via MIC. It helped local governments largely to deal with
emergency situation just after the disaster.
8
2. Damage to
the Telecommunication Network
～ Lessons Learned ～
Damage to Fixed Lines, Mobile Base Stations
Mobile Communications
Fixed-line Communications
■ In total, around 1.9 million communication
lines were damaged.
■ In total, about 29,000 base stations
were damaged.
Max. no. of damaged base stations
Max. no. of damaged lines
15000
～
～
[Unit: fixed-line
phones
10,000
Lines]
FTTH
fixed-line FTTH
phones ＋ADSL
fixed-line
phones
[base
station
s]
10
Network Congestion
Fixed-line Communications
■ Carriers restricted phone traffic by as much
as 80 to 90 percent.*
* There was 4 to 9 times the normal volume of traffic (NTT East.)
Max. outgoing traffic restrictions
Mobile Communications
■ Carriers restricted voice traffic by as much as 70 to 95
percent.*
■ Packet traffic, however, was either not restricted or
restricted at a lower rate (0 to 30 percent).
* There was 50 to 60 times the normal volume of traffic (DoCoMo).
eMobile was not subject to restrictions.
Max. outgoing traffic restrictions
voice packet voice packet voice packet
11
Trend of shut down mobile base stations
No. of households without electricity
[Unit: 10,000 houses]
No. of disabled base
stations
7,000
500
MAX : About 6.6 thousands stations
6,000
400
5,000
MAX : About 4 thousands stations
4,000
300
MAX : About 3.8 thousands stations
After Shock
(M7.4)
3,000
200
2,000
100
0
MAX : About 6 hundreds stations
3/11(金)…
3/11(金)…
3/12(土)…
3/12(土)…
3/12(土)…
3/12(土)…
3/13(日)…
3/14(月)…
3/14(月)…
3/14(月)…
3/15(火)…
3/15(火)…
3/16(水)…
3/16(水)…
3/17(木)…
3/17(木)…
3/18(金)…
3/18(金)…
3/19(土)…
3/20(日)…
3/21(月)…
3/22(火)…
3/23(水)…
3/24(木)…
3/25(金)…
3/27(日)…
3/28(月)…
3/29(火)…
3/30(水)…
3/31(木)…
4/1(金)…
4/4(月)…
4/5(火)…
4/6(水)…
4/7(木)…
4/8(金)…
4/9(土)…
4/10(日)…
4/11(月)…
4/11(月)…
4/12(火)…
4/13(水)…
4/14(木)…
4/15(金)…
4/18(月)…
4/18(月)…
4/19(火)…
4/20(水)…
4/21(木)…
4/22(金)…
4/24(日)…
4/25(月)…
4/26(火)…
4/27(水)…
4/28(木)…
5/2(月)…
5/6(金)…
1,000
NTT
ＮＴＴドコモ
DoCoMo
KDDI
ＫＤＤＩ（ａｕ）
(au)
Softbank
ソフトバンク
mobile
eMobile
イー・モバイル
0
No. of households without electricity
13
under the jurisdiction of Tohoku
東北電力管内の停電戸数
Electric Power
Locations of Damage to Mobile Networks
Base stations
collapsed or backup
batteries ran out
NTT central office,
NTT central office customer building, etc.
(relay building)
(housing building)
Backup generators
ran out of fuel
because of long
power outages
Transmission line
relay station
Area A
Base
station
Communication cable
RNC
Trunk
exchange
Cables cut off or
duct destroyed
Area B
14
Causes of Damages Resulting from the Great East Japan Earthquake
■ Over 80% of communications breakdown both cases of fixed and mobile was caused by
widespread and prolonged power outages.
Fixed telephone
Interrupted
transmission
13%
Collapse or
outflow Flood
4%
3%
Mobile telephone
Interrupted
transmission
11.9%
Power
outage
80%
Earthquake
0.1%
Tsunami
2.8%
Power
outage
85.3%
15
Characteristics of the Disaster
 The most powerful known earthquake to have hit Japan and
the extremely destructive tsunami
-Telecommunication infrastructure seriously destroyed and carried away,
especially in the Pacific coast region
 The earthquake and tsunami triggered power disruption and
the electricity supply stopped for a few days.
- Battery and fuel for electrical generators exhausted
 Emergency alert was highly crucial.
- Some half an hour to evacuate after the earthquake until seawater
flooded to the people
 Telephone congested extensively with so many calls
- Not only in devastated Tohoku region, but also in metropolitan area
because of so many calls made by a large number of commuters unable
to get home due to traffic paralysis
 Restoration activities confronted with the difficulties caused by
nuclear accidents
16
3. MIC Study Report “Maintaining Communications
Capabilities during Major Natural Disasters and other
Emergency Situations”
Study at MIC
Study Group on Maintaining Communications Capabilities
during Major Natural Disasters and other Emergency Situations
- Set up by MIC in April 2011
- Members: telecommunications carriers, vendors,
internet service providers, application service
providers, academia, and MIC
- Published a report in December 2011
The report includes:
- Summary of the 3.11 disaster and its recovery
- Action plan to protect the network against future disasters
MIC: the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
18
Outline of the Final Report
Alleviating congestion
in emergency situations
Minimizing disruption to communications
in the event of damage to base and/or relay
stations
Implications of the recent disaster
for future network infrastructure
Implications of the recent disaster
for future internet usage
19
3-1. Alleviating Congestion in Emergency Situations
1. Ensuring voice call capability
(1) Revision of the design capacity of switching equipment and other measures to upgrade the overall
capacity of the telecommunications network
(2) Ensuring the stable viability of emergency priority calls
(3) Consideration of new service types aimed at boosting the viability of voice calls (call length
limit/reduced sound quality)
2. Expanding/Improving means of communication other than voice calls
(1) Boosting the sophistication of emergency message services (Upgrade emergency message
services (cross-referenced search)
(2) Voice-based services not employing the telephone network (Convert Voice Messages into Data
Files)
(3) Addressing delays in mobile phone text message transmission
(4) Simplified handsets for senior citizens
3.Keeping users informed of available means of communication during emergency
(1) Effective information distribution via emergency notifications to mobile phones and broadcast
media
(2) Sharing and supplying of congestion and communications restrictions information through
cooperation between the government and carriers
(3) Education and distribution of information on communication methods during states of emergency
in ordinary times
4. Designing robust networks to cope with congestion
(R&D on Dynamic Control of Mobile Communication Networks at the Time of a Major Disaster)20
Upgrade Emergency Message Services (cross-referenced searching)
■ Upgrading emergency message services to allow cross-referencing (i.e. searching) of
different emergency message services.
Register message/information of safety
Emergency message dial (171)
Registered: 570,000
Viewed: 2,760,000
伝言蓄積装置
Storage
device
Maximum capacity: 8 million messages
Retention time: 48 hours
（全国５０箇所）
50 ・・・・・
sites nationwide
Emergency broadband message board (web171)
Capacity: 500 million messages (text
伝言容量：５億伝言（テキスト換算）
equivalent) 伝言保持：４８時間
(web171)
(web171)
Retention time: 48 hours
View
message/informatio
n of safety via the
internet
イ
ン
タ
ー
ネ
ッ
ト
n t e r n e t
伝言サーバ
Message
server
Register
Registered: 110,000
message/information Viewed: 180,000
of safety via the
internet
I
Not evacuation centers
Computer etc.
Mobile phone/PHS emergency message boards
Register
message/information of
safety on message servers
maintained by mobile
carriers
Replay voice
message/informati
on of safety
伝言蓄積装置
Storage device
・・・
F i x定
e・・・
d電 話
l i n網
e
固
・・・
e t wnumber
o r (10
k digits)
固定電話番号（１０桁）で登録
Registered
with fixed linentelephone
・・
Record voice message/
information of safety
Evacuation center A
Confirmation of message/safety
Register with fixed-line phone number within disaster-affected
被災地内の固定電話番号で登録
region(mobile
and IP numbers may also be used)
（なお、携帯電話やＩＰ電話番号等も利用可能）
Text
Voice (attached file)
Image (attached file)
https://www.web171.jp
Cross-referenced searching
(at the initial stage, combined
searching of emergency
message boards and web171)
Registered: 1,570,000
Viewed: 2,810,000
Message server
伝言サーバー
Message server
伝言サーバー
各社携帯電話網
Mobile networks
伝言サーバー
Message
server
Registered with telephone number (11 digits)
携帯電話番号（１１桁）で登録
View message/information of
safety on message board
services of mobile carriers
Retention time: duration of
the service for a specific
21
disaster
Convert Voice Messages into Data Files
■ Mobile carriers are introducing emergency voice message services for sending voice
messages via the packet network at times of disaster.
■ Telecommunications Carries Association (TCA) developed a set of guidelines that includes
interface specifications for interconnection to enable cross-communication among carriers.
How the service works
It is difficult to make contact
because there is congestion
after disaster
Send voice messages
by means of
packet communications
Calling
Party
①Voice call
(2)SMS notifications to B
(1)Send voice messages
Digitalize and send the
message to B
Packet
network
Send voice
messages
Message replay
notifications
A
Voice call network
Message
Server
of B
(DoCoMo center)
(4)SMS notifications to A
Notice that B received the
message automatically
Notice that B received the
message
Message receipt
notifications
Called
party
Receive
voice messages
(3)Replay messages
Download and replay voice
messages
B
22
R&D on Dynamic Control of Mobile Communication Networks
at the Time of a Major Disaster
- Flexible reconfiguration of communication processing resources
- Maximum possible resources can be directed to basic communication
services during a disaster.
Next-generation congestion-proof system
Voice
calls
Email,
internet
Voice
calls
Music
Movies
Normal
use
Email,
internet
Music
…
Basic communication
services
Basic communication services
…
Voice calls
Email, internet
(emergency
message boards)
Music
Movies
Files
…
Rich media etc.
Emergency
use
Movies
Files
Files
No possibility to reconfigure or redirect
processing resources
Voice calls
Rich media etc.
Email, internet (emergency
message boards)
Other
Dynamic allocation of processing
resources
23
3-2. Minimizing Disruption to Communications
in the Event of Damage to Base and/or Relay Stations
1. Emergency repairs to damaged telecommunications infrastructure
(1) Emergency repairs to base stations and local stations
(2) Emergency repairs of transmission routes
(3) Network sharing and collaboration between carriers during states of emergency
(4) Information sharing and partnerships between relevant administrative institutions
and infrastructure organizations
2. Providing communications capability to disaster-affected regions and evacuation centers
(1) Securing and providing communications capability based on the length of time
elapsed since disaster struck (Satellite-based mobile phones)
(2) Advance deployment of effective means of communication in evacuation centers, etc.
(Public Telephones as Means of Communication in Disaster)
24
3-2. Minimizing Disruption to Communications
in the Event of Damage to Base and/or Relay Stations
3. Ensuring stability of power supplies (Planned Revision to Technical Standards on
Measures against Power Outage)
(1) Ensuring emergency generators (including ensuring fuel) suited to the type and size of
telecommunications facilities
(2) Dissemination of information on the availability of fixed-line phones during electrical
blackouts, and promotion of the use of battery powered fixed-line phones
(3) Steps by manufacturers, etc. to reduce the power consumption of facilities and
terminals, development of more lightweight and longer-lived batteries etc.
4. Providing emergency information and disaster damage reports
(1) Effective use of emergency notification text messages on mobile phone (Emergency
e-mail Notifications by mobile phone)
(2) Enhancement and improvement of restoration area maps
(3) Boosting the sophistication of services for verification of individual’s safety (using
location data from mobile phone, etc.)
(4) Development of simplified devices for senior citizens and other means of providing
information with consideration given to information literacy and accessibility
25
Satellite-based Mobile Phones
■ In order to secure means of communications for local governments in a time of disaster, MIC maintains
reserve stores of satellite-based mobile telephones and simple radio communication devices and is
formulating a system for lending these terminals free of charge to affected local governments.
■ In the Great East Japan Earthquake, the MIC loaned 214 satellite-based mobile telephones, 230
multichannel-access (MCA) radio communication devices, and 1,355 simple radio communication
devices.
(2) Instruction to
lend
(3) Transportation to
affected area
Affected area
Storage depot
Relevant
organizations
How is the
river?
MIC
Bureau of Telecommunications
(1) Loan request
Emergency response headquarters
No
flooding.
Understood
Preparation
completed.
Used as means of communication at disaster recovery
centers and at on-site disaster management headquarters
26
Public Telephones as Means of Communication in Disasters
Number of permanent public telephones (Type I)
■ Current 109,000 public telephones should be maintained so
as not to reduce the level of “minimal means of outdoor
communication”, in disasters and other emergencies.
Ad-hoc public telephones
■ It is hoped NTT East & West promote measures for exante installation of ad-hoc public telephones at evacuation
points and in convenience stores.
Measures for improving convenience
Providing information on the location of
public telephones
■ NTT East & West should, using Web pages and other media,
disclose widely the locations of permanent and ad-hoc
public telephones.
Announcements to users
■ NTT East & West should make efforts to publicize when call charges are to be waived
during a disaster or other emergency.
■ Japan’s Telecommunications Carriers Association(TCA) and MIC should make efforts to 27
publicize this information and the universal service system.
Planned Revision to Technical Standards
on Measures against Power Outage
【Measures against Power Outage】
●Longer operation times for backup power generators and storage batteries
• Considering a possibility of widespread and prolonged power outage that affects operation times for
backup power generators and storage batteries, take necessary measures, including stockpiling of
sufficient fuel and securing means of supplement, with respect to equipment that provide communications
functionality to core emergency response facilities such as prefectural and municipal government offices..
●Reporting/disclosure of backup power systems and procedures
• Report to MIC of measures against power outage (e.g. basic policy for operation times of communications
functionality during a power outage, information on equipment with added protection against power
outage and corresponding coverage areas, fuel reserves and supply systems) and status of deployment
of equipment for emergency restoration (e.g. mobile power generator trucks).
• Disclose information on coverage areas of mobile base stations with backup power.
Emergency email Notifications by mobile phone
■ Mobile carriers are introducing emergency email notification systems.
■ They are also widening the scope to include tsunami warnings as well as emergency
earthquake notifications, in cooperation with the Meteorological Agency.
Meteorologic
al Agency
Generated
by system
automatically
Same system as for
tsunami warnings
・ Messages appear on pop-up screen.
・ Emergency earthquake notifications
and Area Mail messages use a special
ringtone and/or vibration pattern.
Area Mail Center
Dedicated line
Internet
Enter manually on website
Local government
・ Sent to all mobile
phones serviced by
base stations within a
given area
simultaneously
・ Unaffected by network
congestion
Emergency
earthquake
notification
Earthquake has
occurred at ●●●.
Be prepared for
strong
tremors.(Meteorologi
cal Agency) ）
29
3-3. Implications of the Recent Disaster
for Future Network Infrastructure
1. Improving the disaster resilience of network
(1) Ensuring network safety and reliability (Planned Revisions to Technical Standards on
Safety and Reliability)
(2) Promoting introduction of local government common duct etc.
(3) Infrastructure deployment to suit the recovery plan of the affected area
(4) R&D to improve network disaster-resistance (Research & development to enhance
communication-network resistance to disasters)
2. Setting up systems and structures for responding to disaster
(1) Verification/review of structure for responding to disasters at relevant
telecommunications carriers
(2) Information sharing/conveyance structure between the national government,
relevant enterprises and local government
30
Planned Revisions to Technical Standards on Safety and Reliability
I. Power outage
① Longer operating times for
backup power generators
and storage batteries
II. Damage to trunk transmission lines
Augmented with
wide-zone base
stations
⑥ Reports and updates on repairs to
trunk transmission lines
② Reports and updates on
efforts to restore power
Central disaster
response facility
V. Other
⑬ Improve PHS
resilience to power
outages
⑫ Designate
organizations with
priority access to
telephone network in
an emergency
⑩ Analyze network usage
during restricted periods
Central disaster
response facility
24-hour operation
of backup power
generators and
storage batteries
Mobile power
generator trucks
Mobile base
station trucks
⑤ Additional base station
capacity at central disaster
response facility
③ Provide multiple
transmission routes
between all exchange
facilities
Authenticati
on system
④ Improve loop
structure network
reliability
Authenticati
on system
⑦ Geographical dispersion of key
telecommunications facilities
⑨ Reports and updates on
design capacity
⑧ Response based on
hazard maps
IV. Network congestion
and priority
communication services
⑪ Updates on network
congestion
III. Tsunami/flooding
31
Research & development to enhance communication-network resistance to disasters
Based on lessons from the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, MIC implements
research and development of disaster-proof technology to strengthen the critical ICT infrastructure.
（２） Improvement of interoperability
（１） Improvement of availability
Research and development of technology to
suppress telecommunication congestion of mobilenetwork and others by flexible-allocation of
network-resource between different networks,
when congestion is caused by a disaster.
Internet line
Data line
Mobile
network
Flexible telecommunication
between different networks
Research and development of technology to
reconstruct network-infrastructures immediately
and automatically between different networks,
when network-infrastructures are broken by the
disaster, such as earthquake or tsunami, etc.
Using the testbed in the
stricken area (Tohoku area),
actual proof experiments will
be conducted.
Image transmission
Internet
connection
Emergency call
Network
Interoperability between
different telecommunication
devices
Tohoku area
3-4. Implications of the Recent Disaster
for Future Internet Usage
1. Maintaining the viability of Internet connections
(1) Safeguarding Internet access and functionality (Review of Bandwidth-control
Guideline)
(2) Approaches to network construction underpinning the Internet
2. Effective use of the Internet
(1) Information sharing over the Internet (Publication of Recovery/ Reconstruction Data
in Digital Format)
(2) Use of social media services
(3) Use of mirror sites
(4) Information gap considerations
(5) Effective use of the Internet
3. Application of cloud services
(1) Active use of cloud services
(2) Collaborations between cloud service providers (R&D on Inter-Cloud Technology for
Wide-area Disaster Responses)
4. Building collaborative frameworks among Telecommunications operators to prepare for
disaster
(1) Operator collaborations to secure communications in the event of a disaster
33
(2) Coordination of disaster message boards
Review of Bandwidth-Control Guideline
Background to bandwidth control
■ Internet traffic has increased dramatically with the spread of broadband. In particular, situations in which
heavy users occupied too much network bandwidth existed.
■ Some ISPs applied bandwidth control to deal with the occupation of bandwidth by heavy users.
Formulating the guidelines for bandwidth-control operating standards
■ In May 2008, an association of telecommunications operators (with MIC participating as observer)
formulated a guideline for bandwidth-control operating standards (partly revised in June 2010). The
purpose of the guideline is to establish minimum-requirement rules for operating standards, so avoiding
arbitrary bandwidth controls.
Overview of guideline for bandwidth-control operating standards
● Categories of bandwidth control
1. Control of communications bandwidth by heavy users exceeding a set traffic volume
2. Control of communications bandwidth targeting specific applications (e.g., P2P)
● Organizing issues related to the Telecommunications Business Law: secrecy of
communications, non-discrimination between users, and information disclosure
Reviewed guideline was published in March 2012 focusing on traffic control for temporarily restricting
users’ access to bandwidth across the board with a view to preventing entire network congestion
34
during disaster.
Publication of Recovery/Reconstruction data in Digital Format
■ Information should be provided in HTML and CSV formats (not only in PDF, Word, Excel) in
order to ensure the secondary use, access by mobile phone and to reduce the burden on
networks.
Title
File formats for disclosing important
information to the public
(18 March, 2011: LASDEC(Local Authorities Systems
Development Center)  all local governments)
Request for cooperation in providing
disaster-related information
(22 March, 2011: Cabinet Public Relations Secretary
 Other ministries)
File formats for providing information
on earthquakes occurring off the
Tohoku coast
Summary
•
•
•
•
•
•
(30 March, 2011: Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry  Keidanren(Japan Business Federation) )
Listings on each ministry’s Web site should provide the
necessary information in a timely manner and in a form
easily understood by citizens.
Promptly make Web pages accessible by mobile phones.
Change PDF Web content to HTML format.
•
As far as possible, use file formats, such as HTML and CSV,
that place a relatively light burden on communication lines,
rather than using only the more data-heavy file formats,
such as PDF.
•
As far as possible, use data formats suited to automated
processing, such as HTML and CSV, rather than using only
data formats that are difficult to process automatically, such
as PDF.
35
Develop a separate open API for information dissemination
(29 March, 2011: Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Communications  Other ministries)
Data formats for publishing
information on earthquakes occurring
off the Tohoku coast
Publish information in HTML format, not in PDF alone.
Use JPEG format, instead of PDF, as to scanned paper
documents.
Use CSV format, instead of Excel format, as to tabular data.
•
R&D on Inter-Cloud Technology for Wide-area Disaster Responses
-
-
Sharing resources among multiple cloud systems by optimal communication route after a
large-scale disaster
Transfer whole processing functions from one cloud to another within 30 minutes
Advantages of the Inter-cloud approach
- Individual operators can keep investment costs to a minimum.
- Small and medium-sized operators will not be forced out of business.
Cloud 1
Normal load
3 facilities
Overload
4 facilities
Cloud 2
2 stand-by
facilities
Use stand-by
facilities of
other carriers
Cloud data center A
Cloud 3
1 stand-by
facility
Available to local
businesses in the
Tohoku region
1 stand-by
facility
Boost disaster response capacity by
Inter- clouds dispersed around remote regions
Inter-Cloud test bed
Cloud data center C
Cloud data center B
Technology for instant
switching based on validation
using JGN-X
36
The final report
The final report (English version) is
available at:
http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_cont
ent/000146938.pdf
Press Release:
Official Announcement of Final Report on the Maintaining Communications
Capabilities during Major Natural Disasters and other Emergency Situations
(December 28, 2011)
http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/eng/Releases/Telecommunicatio
ns/11122803.html
37
Thank you for your attention!
38