Japanese civil defense technicians will arrive in Brazil in August to exchange experiences with Brazilian teams who work in risk and disaster prevention. The initiative is part of an agreement announced by the Minister of National Integration, Fernando Bezerra Coelho, during a trip to Japan this week. The partnership between the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Ministry of National Integration will define the country's strategy for integrated risk and natural disasters management and improving civil defense policy.

"Brazil and Japan are united in order to face the challenges and so that the culture of prevention gain greater momentum. Preparing our cities and make them able to resist, absorb and recover when they are hit by a disaster, in time and in a suitable manner, takes planning, investment and hard work", he said. The agreement aims to improve urban expansion planning, to standardize the assessment and mapping of a disaster, establish protocols for disaster response, prepare procedures for alerts, and improve the Brazilian system of monitoring and alerts. Work will start in the field in the cities affected by recent natural disaster with the arrival of the JICA technicians in Brazil in August.

10 July 2012