Dam safety management in Japan

This report provides an overview of the legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks of dam safety in Japan. The key objective is to share good practices and lessons learned from Japan with practitioners and governments working on establishing or enhancing a dam safety assurance system, for further study and reflection in line with their national contexts.

The report comes to a series of conclusions, yet overall determining that Japan has developed a robust system of dam safety management and standards to address the challenging natural conditions of the country. Benefits identified within the country's dam safety is the prominent feature of Japanese dam standards including a systematic and detailed dam design system for seismic resilience. These dam frameworks must also be critically considered, as the report notes how climate change has been having significant effects on hydrometeorological conditions in Japan.