Large-scale natural disasters are afrequent and common occurrence in Japan. Over the years,Japan has evolved its disaster management system to addressall phases of a disaster: from disaster prevention,mitigation, and preparedness, to emergency response,recovery, and rehabilitation. This report consists of fourparts: Introduction (Chapter 1, 2, 3), Simulation drills(Chapter 4, 5, 6, 7), Community based activities fordisaster awareness and risk communication (Chapter 8, 9),and Conclusion (Chapter 10). The introduction (Chapter 1)starts with an overview of the institutional and legislativeframeworks for Disaster Management in Japan (Chapter 2),followed by an overview of disaster simulation drills inJapan, particularly focusing on the Comprehensive DisasterManagement Drill Framework, which is an overarchingframework for both national and local governments (Chapter3). The following four chapters present examples ofsimulation drills organized at the national and regionallevel, including the National Scope (Chapter 4), andoverviews of three prefectures: Hyogo (Chapter 5), Shizuoka(Chapter 6) and Tokyo (Chapter 7). The next part of thereport introduces a number of community level activitiesaimed at increasing residents’ disaster awareness andpreparedness. These activities are led by various actors,including: a school, an NGO or CSO, and a learning center(Chapter 8). Risk communication activities in Kobe city areintroduced (Chapter 9). Finally, the conclusion (Chapter 10)outlines common challenges and offers tips for the planningand implementation of disaster drills in addition to otherdisaster awareness or preparedness activities. This reportwas developed to introduce Japanese disaster simulationdrills as a model to help other countries plan and implementdisaster simulation drill exercises.