BAKU, Azebaijan, May 17. Developing sustainable
cities and reinforcing earthquake-resistant infrastructure remain
paramount priorities for global urban governance, Hideyuki Shiomi,
Vice-Minister for Engineering Affairs at the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, said during a
ministerial roundtable held within the framework of the 13th
session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Trend reports.
The Japanese official stated that within its national
infrastructure development framework, Japan is continuously
expanding stringent seismic construction standards to maximize the
overall resilience of buildings. He emphasized that in areas
impacted by major disasters, comprehensive reconstruction efforts
are strictly executed under the core principle of “Building Back
Better.”
According to Shiomi, Japan is systematically strengthening its
transport and network infrastructure as part of its sustainable
urban development and national spatial planning strategies.
Furthermore, the government is actively incentivizing the
relocation of creative human resources to revitalized regional
areas.
He noted that through close cooperation with the United Nations,
Japan consistently shares its extensive expertise in resolving
housing challenges and advancing municipal planning with
international partners.
The Japanese official reaffirmed that Tokyo will continue to
disseminate its knowledge and practical experience in disaster risk
reduction, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, sustainable
urban design, and the provision of affordable housing.
At the same time, it was underscored that the effectiveness of
these global initiatives relies on creating open, collaborative
platforms accessible to all nations—an effort Japan continues to
champion in partnership with the UN.
Shiomi added that building on these sustainability commitments,
Japan is slated to host the major international exposition “Green
Episode 2027” in Yokohama next year.
