Notes from the President's Office No.16 Disaster Preparedness in Keio University: Its Present Status and Future Prospects
Vice-President Tetsuya Komagata
Vice-President for Facility Management, Crisis Management
Given the frequent occurrence of massive natural disasters, such as earthquakes and torrential rain, our full range of capabilities in crisis management and disaster preparedness as an educational institution has come under increasing scrutiny. We must plan for times of disaster, specifically in rapidly implementing safety status reporting and taking appropriate care of Keio students, faculty, and staff who have no choice but to remain on campus, while working to restore normalcy and continuity in our institutional, educational, and research activities.
Keio University has achieved a 100% earthquake-resistance rate among its buildings in its efforts to ensure safety against earthquakes, and it also conducts annual fire drills. Keio also promulgated the Disaster Preparedness Regulations in 2009 and the Disaster Preparedness Plan in 2018 as part of its overall disaster preparedness framework.
However, there have been particular challenges in the Keio-wide promotion of disaster-preparedness measures. One such challenge is the wide geographical distribution of Keio's many campuses—Mita, Hiyoshi, Yagami, Shonan Fujisawa, Shinanomachi, Shiba-Kyoritsu, and so on. As evident in the example of Shinanomachi Campus (Keio University Hospital), which put together an advanced disaster preparedness system at an early stage, these campuses have considerable autonomy and differ in their disaster preparedness requirements (such as how they are to receive members of the public not affiliated with Keio during disasters). Thus, when comparing Keio with single-campus universities, one cannot deny that we have faced issues in areas like the establishment of a Keio-wide business continuity plan (BCP) or the speed at which a disaster preparedness plan is implemented.
Nonetheless, we cannot allow these structural and geographical reasons to delay our disaster preparedness, especially amidst the growing risk of disaster year after year. Thus, since President Itoh's first term in office, we have accelerated efforts to flesh out our disaster preparedness measures. First, we have regularized tabletop exercises for Mita Campus and the Keio central administration. We also aim to finalize a disaster-time response system by the end of AY 2027 and are making steady progress with revising and setting up disaster preparedness systems across Keio (i.e., for every campus and affiliated school).
In March 2026, we released the first versions of the "Manual for the Keio Headquarters for Emergency Response" and "Manual for the Mita Headquarters for Disaster Control." To ensure that the wide-ranging content in these manuals can be immediately put into action during an emergency, we have formulated a "To Do List" corresponding to the roles of each office holder, such as the President (as Keio Headquarters Chief) and the Director for Crisis Management, and consolidated a system for prompt immediate response. Furthermore, we have defined a three-phase nighttime/holiday system centered on immediate response by security officers, and we are giving maximum priority to ensuring effectiveness in our disaster response through tabletop and on-site exercises.
At the same time, we have worked to disseminate information through a variety of media to ensure that our immediate response in times of disaster is thorough and appropriate. In addition to putting up "Immediate Response Posters" at every classroom, we have released an instructional video and a Q&A drill for faculty and staff members on immediate response in times of disaster. We are also working to raise everyday awareness on disaster preparedness by setting up display tables featuring disaster supplies and transmitting information via digital signboards at university Co-op stores. Renovation works are also underway in AY 2026 centering on Mita Campus' South Building and South School Building, which are to accommodate evacuees taking temporary shelter as well as the Keio Headquarters for Emergency Response. In addition, we have clarified and shared the objectives behind safety status reporting, which is conducted in the event of earthquakes of intensity higher than or equal to 6-lower; specifically, we undertake such reporting to have a precise grasp of the status of students, staff members, and faculty members and to better examine the next moves in our institutional and educational operations.
It is difficult to predict when disaster will strike, and it is certainly not easy to have a sense of urgency in pressing forward with effective disaster preparedness with our everyday duties hard on our heels. Nonetheless, in the previous academic year, considerable strides were made in our disaster preparedness system as we began to deploy staff members with specialized disaster preparedness responsibilities.
Moving forward, we shall fine-tune our manuals on the basis of repeated drill and practice, make use of digital technology to thoroughly disseminate information to our ever-rotating roster of students and faculty members, and consolidate procedures for our staff members on rendering aid. Furthermore, we shall take a long-term view in systematically strengthening our campus infrastructure, such as our emergency stockpiles, backup power supply, and water supply systems.