At UNDP, our partnership with the Government of Japan is built on a shared goal: helping communities across the Asia-Pacific region become more resilient to disasters. This region is already the most disaster-prone in the world – as seen in the recent major earthquakes in Myanmar and Thailand – and with disaster risks intensifying because of climate change, Japan’s support for disaster risk reduction (DRR) is more vital than ever. One of the standout examples of this partnership is the Regional Tsunami Project, which has engaged students, teachers, local officials, and communities to better prepare for tsunamis.

We built on this momentum by organising an interactive Oral Session at the World Bosai Forum (WBF) in Sendai, Japan, in March 2025. UNDP has been part of every WBF so far, and this year was no exception. We showcased key achievements and lessons from the Regional Tsunami Project and reaffirmed UNDP’s longstanding commitment to resilience. The engagements in Japan also opened up opportunities for dialogue with the City of Sendai, Japan’s Cabinet Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA, IRIDeS at Tohoku University, and private sector partners – building on insights from UNDP’s recent APFSD side event in Bangkok.

Here are three key lessons from our time in Japan that can help drive stronger resilience across the Asia-Pacific region:

1. Focus on School Preparedness & Youth Engagement

Coastal communities in Asia-Pacific are among the most vulnerable to tsunamis – and schools are often on the front lines. At the WBF, Japanese high school students proudly shared how they developed tsunami hazard maps for their schools and communities. Their leadership highlighted an important lesson: focusing on schools and youth is crucial for long-term disaster resilience.

The Regional Tsunami Project has embraced this approach. As of December 2024, the project had reached around 800 schools in 24 countries, engaging more than 220,000 students, teachers, officials, and community members through tsunami drills. These drills have turned education into real, actionable preparedness.

Preparedness is evolving: school initiatives are now helping boost wider community resilience. Across Asia-Pacific, youth are increasingly stepping up – not just participating, but actively co-creating solutions – through initiatives like Youth Co:Lab, co-founded by UNDP and the Citi Foundation.

Moving forward, it’s clear: young people should be active designers of future preparedness efforts.

2. Enable Knowledge Exchanges

Japan has long been a global leader in DRR, offering invaluable lessons for the world. At the WBF, countries showcased how they are using local solutions developed with Japan’s support. But the real opportunity lies in cross-border knowledge exchanges – learning from each other and co-creating new solutions.

One good example is DX4Resilience, a UNDP project supported by Japan. It conducted digital maturity assessments for DRR in Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka – helping governments benchmark their progress and craft national digitalisation strategies for DRR. The same methodology has also helped 13 countries globally analyse the current status of Disaster Loss Data for the SDGs and the Sendai Framework indicators.

By scaling up partnerships across regions, cities, and institutions, we can tackle interconnected risks faster and build resilience together.

3. Strengthen Private Sector Partnerships

The Asia-Pacific region risks major development setbacks from disasters. At the WBF, private sector innovators showcased cutting-edge solutions – like AI tools that track and visualise real-time disaster information by analysing social media, satellite images, and CCTV footage.

While the private sector remains underutilised in DRR efforts, Japan’s experience shows huge untapped potential. The partnership between UNDP, Fujitsu, and IRIDeS at Tohoku University – established through the Global Centre for Disaster Statistics (GCDS) initiative – is a good example. This collaboration helped seven countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka) to strengthen their national capacities for disaster statistics, enabling them to identify and implement interventions that build resilience to disasters and climate change.

We need to go further. The private sector must become a stronger partner in building resilience across the Asia-Pacific region.

Moving Forward: Building a More Resilient Asia-Pacific

Our experiences and lessons from Japan reaffirm the joint commitment of Japan and UNDP to make DRR more inclusive, innovative, and effective.

With less than five years left to achieve the Sendai Framework, the time to act is now. By placing youth at the center, promoting cross-border learning, and forging stronger private sector partnerships, we can build a safer, more resilient future for everyone across the Asia-Pacific region.