［January 2017］
15 – Fire Brigades Review – A Year of Local Governments in Japan

AKEMASHITE OMEDETO! (Happy New Year!)

As I have mentioned before, the Japanese believe everything becomes fresh and new in the New Year, so almost every Japanese work place holds a New Year’s ceremony to make sure staff are motivated in starting the new year. Within local government, the most well-known New Year’s ceremony is held by the fire brigade in the form of the “Fire Brigade Review”. It is famous with the public due to its scale and spectacle.

The largest review is held by the Tokyo Fire Department. This year’s review was held on 6 January and about 2,800 firefighters joined in in front of more than 10,000 spectators. They showcased their skill through demonstrations of firefighting and rescue drills for earthquakes, chemical terrorism incidents and other disasters. Volunteer fire brigades for regions and buildings, some companies and students also participated and some volunteers displayed traditional acrobatic techniques performed on ladders which were passed down from 17th century fire brigades.

In Japan, municipalities are responsible for firefighting and residents expect municipal fire brigades to protect their lives and property. Large cities have their own fire departments and small cities, towns and villages have joint ones, making a total of 750 fire departments and more than 160,000 firefighters working in fire defense. Every brigade in the municipality deals with standard fire outbreaks and in case of a huge fire and earthquakes, other fire brigades come together to protect civilians.

Katsunori Kamibo

Director