Japan: the Disaster Management Agency is due to be created on 2 November
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- The Disaster Management Agency is due to be created on 2 November: it does not exist yet today.
- It has 352 career staff, and the Central Disaster Management Council is transferred to it from the Cabinet Office.
- The official texts could not be consulted directly, and the name of the minister is not known here.
In this article
The timeline
The law creating the Agency was passed by the House of Councillors on 13 July 2026. According to the site Politics JP, the Cabinet meeting of 25 September set the date at 2 November and the decree on its entry into force was published in the Official Gazette on 30 September. The Agency therefore does not exist yet today: its creation is planned for tomorrow.
An organisation under the Prime Minister
According to Wikipedia, the Prime Minister heads the Agency and a minister for disaster management is provided for. The Central Disaster Management Council is transferred from the Cabinet Office. The staff is 352 career positions, or 355 with three political posts, depending on the source. A Hokkaido Shimbun article from January announced a workforce 1.6 times larger than the current Cabinet Office department.
And in the regions?
Regional offices called “disaster management bureaus” are planned. According to Wikipedia, they are to be set up within two years of the law’s promulgation, with two sites by fiscal 2028. They will not be operational as soon as the Agency is created.
What could not be verified
The Official Gazette and the pages of the Cabinet Secretariat could not be consulted directly here. The name of the minister, a possible ceremony and the first measures depend on official announcements.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01The present indicative
est / sont + attribute (noun, adjective, prepositional phrase)
L’Agence n’existe donc pas encore aujourd’hui : sa création est prévue demain.Key pointsÊtre in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.
02The passé composé
present of avoir + past participle
Certains textes officiels n’ont pas pu être consultés directement.Key pointsThe passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.
03The futur simple
stem (infinitive) + -ai / -as / -a / -ons / -ez / -ont
Ils ne seront pas opérationnels dès la création de l’Agence.Key pointsThe futur simple means “will do” or “is planned to”. Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive (participer → il participera). Watch the irregular stems: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, pouvoir → pourr-, voir → verr-. In the news it is used for fixed plans and outlooks.
04The passive voice in the present
être (est / sont) + past participle (+ par / de)
D’après Wikipédia, le Premier ministre dirige l’Agence et un ministre de la Gestion des catastrophes est prévu.Key pointsThe passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).
05The passive in the passé composé
a / ont été + past participle
La loi de création de l’Agence a été adoptée par la Chambre des conseillers le 13 juillet 2026.Key pointsThe past passive means “was done”. Its form is present of avoir + été (past participle of être) + past participle. Été does not change, but the last participle agrees with the subject in gender and number (la loi a été votée / les textes ont été votés). It is frequent in news reporting results such as votes, decisions and announcements.
06Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
Certains textes officiels n’ont pas pu être consultés directement.Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
07Citing a source with selon
selon + noun / organisation
Selon le site Politics JP, le Conseil des ministres du 25 septembre a fixé la date au 2 novembre et le décret d’entrée en vigueur a été publié au Journal officiel le 30 septembre.Key pointsSelon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.
08Expressing a plan or a deadline
être prévu / prévoir / être envisagé
L’Agence n’existe donc pas encore aujourd’hui : sa création est prévue demain.Key pointsPrévoir means “to plan, to expect”. Être prévu means “to be scheduled” and être envisagé means “to be under consideration”. In the news, read them separately from expressions that describe events that have already happened. They do not say that the event has already taken place.
09Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
Selon le site Politics JP, le Conseil des ministres du 25 septembre a fixé la date au 2 novembre et le décret d’entrée en vigueur a été publié au Journal officiel le 30 septembre.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
ウィキペディアによると、首相が防災庁の長を務め、防災大臣を置きます。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Rejecting an interpretation
〜わけではない / 〜という意味ではない
地方の組織が発足日からすぐに動き出すわけではありません。Key pointsThese forms limit and deny an interpretation: “it does not necessarily follow” or “that is not what is meant”. They do not necessarily deny every fact in the sentence. Read what is being denied together with the earlier part.
03Plan, outlook and policy
〜の予定 / 〜見込み / 〜方針
つまり、発足は今日ではなく、明日の予定です。Key points予定 is a plan, 見込み a forecast and 方針 a course of action or intention. None of them asserts that something has already been carried out. Note the difference from expressions such as “決まりました”.
04Polite negation and plain form
〜ではありません / 〜ではない
地方の組織が発足日からすぐに動き出すわけではありません。Key pointsThey negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.
05Indicating the subject: について
noun + について
発足日については、9月25日の閣議で11月2日と決まり、9月30日の官報で施行期日を定める政令が公布されたと、政治情報サイトの政治JPが伝えています。Key pointsAs in “予算について”, it shows the topic to be talked about or explained. In the form “〜についての報道”, の is added so that the group qualifies the following noun.
06Giving examples with など
noun / expression + など
大臣の氏名、発足日の式典、最初の取り組みなどは、公式発表を待つ必要があります。Key points“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.