Rethinking the Future of Disaster Preparedness on the 100th Anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake
Mitsui Fudosan Group Expands its Safety and Security Measures to the Local Community
Will Hold the “Tokyo Midtown Yaesu Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023,” a Community Disaster Preparedness Event

August 30, 2023
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan, August 30, 2023 – Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, believes its facilities should be places that offer a high level of safety, security, and sustainability, not only in normal times but during emergencies as well. With this belief, Mitsui Fudosan has been advancing efforts in terms of both physical infrastructure and services, led by its “Smart Energy Project” in the areas encompassing Nihonbashi, Toyosu, and Yaesu, which will create a backup system for electricity and heat that includes existing urban areas.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake. Mitsui Fudosan feels it is important to look back at the history of disaster preparedness, and to further expand the community of local disaster preparedness by working with a variety of partners in neighborhood creation—not only the Company itself, but those in government, local residents, and others—to consider a vision for disaster preparedness in the future. This year, Mitsui Fudosan and the community will think about local disaster preparedness and strive to enhance disaster preparedness awareness and practical disaster readiness response in such ways as disaster preparedness events in which community residents can take part and holding drills in collaboration with the Tokyo Fire Department.

Mitsui Fudosan will continue contributing to achieving the SDGs and a sustainable society by making the most of the Group’s comprehensive strengths to further expand its efforts to create safe, secure, sustainable, and disaster-resilient neighborhoods into surrounding communities.

Initiatives on the occasion of the Great Kanto Earthquake’s 100th anniversary

• The “Tokyo Midtown Yaesu Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023,” Mitsui Fudosan’s first community disaster preparedness event, was held today. About 1,500 local residents participated, including students from Chuo Municipal Joto Elementary School. Other community disaster preparedness events are planned for Hibiya (Tuesday, Sept. 19) and Nihonbashi (Tuesday, Sept. 26), with many from those communities scheduled to attend. Other types of disaster preparedness drills will be held going forward.
• Mitsui Fudosan Group’s permanent Crisis Management Center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, was open to the public today. This gave local residents an opportunity to experience the Group’s disaster preparedness efforts for themselves, and to consider the importance of being prepared even in normal times.
• Drills conducted in collaboration with the Tokyo Fire Department, local fire companies, and town councils using buildings scheduled for demolition. The goal is to improve practical skills through realistic drills not possible in currently operating buildings.

About ¥60.0 billion in disaster preparedness and BCP*1-related investments since the Great East Japan Earthquake
Going forward, the Group will further expand community disaster preparedness as part of creating safe, secure, disaster-resilient neighborhoods

• 1 BCP stands for Business Continuity Plan.

“Tokyo Midtown Yaesu Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023”

Crisis Management Center (Nihonbashi, Tokyo)

１．Key disaster preparedness improvement initiatives to date

(1) Improving disaster preparedness capabilities in office buildings

Mitsui Fudosan has developed a variety of measures intended to improve disaster preparedness capabilities for office buildings. In terms of physical infrastructure, there are the “Smart Energy Project” in the Nihonbashi, Toyosu, and Yaesu area, as well as, on the roof of the Shinjuku Mitsui Building, installation of Japan’s first ultra-large vibration control device*2, designed to significantly reduce long-period earthquake ground motion. In terms of services, the Company opened the Mitsui Fudosan Technical Academy, a research facility for building management, and, among other services, also offers &Resilience, Japan’s first fixed-rate membership consulting service providing continuous support for corporate BCP, from formulation to operation and improvement. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Mitsui Fudosan has made about ¥60.0 billion yen in disaster preparedness and BCP-related investments to advance the creation of safe, secure neighborhoods.

• 2 This device involves hanging six 300-ton weights on the building’s roof, which during an earthquake will reduce vibration by moving in the opposite direction from the building’s sway.

Disaster preparedness training at the Academy using actual flames

Schematic of the Shinjuku Mitsui Building ultra-large vibration control device

(2)Nihonbashi/Toyosu/Yaesu “Smart Energy Project” (to supply electricity and heat)

Through Mitsui Fudosan TG Smart Energy Co., Ltd., a company jointly established with Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan is promoting its “Smart Energy Project.” This is Japan’s first effort to contribute to improving urban disaster preparedness capabilities by shifting to providing electricity and heat to entire areas, including existing buildings, from independent, distributed power sources in the urban center, creating a backup system for entire neighborhoods. Energy Centers play a central role in this project, and there are currently three sites, in Nihonbashi, Toyosu, and Yaesu.

Each Energy Center deploys a large-scale CGS*3 fueled by medium-pressure city gas pipelines. Even in the event of a grid-wide power outage, power can be generated by the CGS as long as the supply of medium-pressure city gas continues. Further, even when water supplies are cut off, the system can continue to supply heat by effectively utilizing the water in the heat storage tank as a coolant for heat source equipment. These systems thus contribute to achieving business continuity for companies in each area even during emergencies. Furthermore, in addition to energy production that makes full use of the waste heat generated during power generation, the integrated use of energy will help entire neighborhoods achieve low carbonization.

• 3 Abbreviation of cogeneration system. This produces power and heat onsite from a heat source such as city gas, and supplies energy with a high total energy efficiency.

Supplying electricity and heat to the entire Nihonbashi Smart Energy Project area

Schematic of the Nihonbashi Smart Energy Project

２． Initiatives this year on the occasion of the Great Kanto Earthquake’s 100th anniversary

(1) “Tokyo Midtown Yaesu Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023,” the first community disaster preparedness event

The “Tokyo Midtown Yaesu Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023,” Mitsui Fudosan’s first community disaster preparedness event, was held on August 30 (Wednesday) to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake. The event was attended by about 1,5000 people, including building tenants, students from the Chuo Municipal Joto Elementary School—located in the same building—, school associates, tenants from Yaechika, residents from surrounding areas, and others. With the cooperation of the Tokyo Fire Department, participants learned about disaster preparedness through VR experiences covering earthquake, fire, wind, and flood damage, in such ways as by experiencing an earthquake using a seismic simulation vehicle. Feedback from participants included comments such as, “The VR disaster preparedness experience and seismic simulation vehicle made me feel mentally prepared for an earthquake,” and, “The replica of the fireproof suit was so heavy that I instantly understood how difficult it must be to be a firefighter.” Mitsui Fudosan has plans for multiple other events that will contribute to improving community disaster preparedness capabilities.

[ At the event ]

[ Planned future events and drills ]

• Second community disaster preparedness event: Sept. 19 (Tuesday) “Tokyo Midtown Hibiya Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023”
• Third community disaster preparedness event:
  Sept. 26 (Tuesday) “Nihonbashi Fukutoku Garden Disaster Preparedness Festival 2023”
• Drills at major buildings for taking in those stranded away from their homes

(2)Public-private partnerships for drills at buildings scheduled for demolition

At Mitsui Fudosan, each September is designated Disaster Preparedness Month during which a number of drills are held. This year, in addition to these drills, the Company will conduct drills in October utilizing a building scheduled for demolition in Nihonbashi. Held in collaboration with the Tokyo Fire Department, local fire companies, and town councils, the drills are intended to improve community disaster preparedness capabilities through hands-on experience. They will include drills that cannot be held in currently operating buildings, including breaking down doors, discharging powder fire extinguishers, discharging water, and others.

Collaborative drill held at the Nihonbashi 1-chome Mitsui Building Annex prior to its demolition (September 2020)

(3) Public debut of Mitsui Fudosan’s disaster preparedness base, the Crisis Management Center

The Crisis Management Center, which serves as Mitsui Fudosan’s command post in the event of an emergency, was permanently established in 2005. The Center was opened to the public beginning August 30 (Wednesday), providing an opportunity for members of the community to think about the importance of preparedness in normal times by giving them the chance to experience the Center for themselves. The Center serves as a hub capable of linking approximately 150 Mitsui offices nationwide.

• Day and night shift and mustering systems enable emergency response 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
  The Mitsui Fudosan Group has had a day and night shift system in place since 2010, prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake. Two management staff from three Group companies stay overnight nearby, standing by to enable a 24/7/365 response system, making it possible in the event of an emergency to active the entire system at the touch of a button. In the event of a major earthquake, approximately 200 employees will gather at the Crisis Management Center and other sites, as needed, to establish a disaster response system over a short time, even at night and on holidays.
• Approximately 150 buildings nationwide can be linked through multiple telecommunication networks
  In addition to strong damage-resistant dedicated lines, the Crisis Management Center also has multiple networks in place. The Crisis Management Center serves as a hub connecting area-specific task forces in 11 prefectures and approximately 150 buildings nationwide, enabling centralized management of information from each region. These links to accurate information in the event of an emergency support a rapid response and early recovery.
  
  
• Disaster preparedness response through collaboration between three Mitsui Fudosan Group companies Mitsui Fudosan, together with Mitsui Fudosan Building Management Co., Ltd., and Mitsui Fudosan Facilities Co., Ltd. is responsible as a group for the entire process from building development, to operations and management, to building maintenance. By having the three Group companies work together in normal times, we are able to establish our own disaster response organization and ensure a smooth response in the event of an emergency. The Mitsui Fudosan Technical Academy, established in 2020, works to hand down operational management expertise and technical skills to all generations through cooperation among the three companies, including in disaster preparedness.
  
  
  　Disaster response system through collaboration between three Mitsui Fudosan Group companies