Minister attending disaster reduction conference

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee will fly to Japan today to participate in the World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in the Tohoku region from 3 to 4 July.

Hosted by the Japanese Government, the conference will be held in the city of Sendai in Tohoku, which was struck by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Over 300 people from 100 countries and international organisations will attend.

Mr Brownlee has been invited by the Japanese Government to give a keynote address on lessons learned from the Canterbury earthquakes. He will also discuss with conference participants disaster reduction measures including preparedness and emergency response.

“Our experiences in Christchurch and with responding to disasters within the wider Pacific region have taught us the value of international cooperation in disaster emergency response, prevention and recovery,” Mr Brownlee said today.

“The help Christchurch received from overseas, including from Japan, in February last year was immense. We want now to learn from and contribute to international research and action plans that will enable all our communities to be better prepared to withstand and recover from these calamities.”

While in Japan Mr Brownlee will have separate meetings with his Japanese counterparts Reconstruction Minister Tatsuo Hirano and Transport Minister Yuichiro Hata, other senior Japanese policy makers, scientists and academics. He will also visit the Shimizu Corporation in Tokyo, a leading company involved in disaster prevention technology.