Amend Oil Refinery Disaster Zones to add Atsuma and remove Niigata, Himeji

The government promulgated the Cabinet Order to Partially Amend the Cabinet Order Designating Special Disaster Prevention Zones for Oil Combinate, etc. (Cabinet Order No. 350) in the Official Gazette (Extra Edition) dated November 13. This amendment is based on Article 2, Item 2 and Article 47 of the Act on Prevention of Disasters in Petroleum Industrial Complexes, etc. (Act No. 84 of 1975) and comes into effect on November 14, the day following the date of promulgation. Simultaneously, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Notice No. 4 and a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Notice, which define the details of the zones, were issued on the same date and apply from the date the Cabinet Order takes effect.

The subject of the amendment is the Cabinet Order Designating Special Disaster Prevention Zones for Oil Combinate, etc. (Cabinet Order No. 192 of 1976). This law provides a framework for designating areas where petroleum refining, storage, and high-pressure gas production are concentrated as “Special Disaster Prevention Zones,” imposing obligations on businesses within these zones, such as the establishment of self-defense disaster prevention organizations and the submission of disaster prevention regulations. This amendment simultaneously adds and removes designated zones. The Cabinet Order was promulgated with the joint signatures of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Hayayuki Fujii, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa.

Addition of Zones in Atsuma Town, including the area around the Tomato Oil Storage Office

Appended Table 2(a) was revised, and areas in Atsuma Town, Yufutsu District, Hokkaido were newly incorporated into the Special Disaster Prevention Zones.

• Areas within the district of Aza-Kyowa as determined by the competent minister
• Areas within the district of Aza-Hama-Atsuma as determined by the competent minister

The specific boundaries were defined in the notice issued on the same date. In Aza-Kyowa, the premises of the Tomato Oil Storage Co., Ltd. Tomakomai Office, the premises of the Hokkaido Oil Joint Storage Co., Ltd. Hokkaido Office, and the areas from 842-5 to 842-11 are designated. In Aza-Hama-Atsuma, the areas 5-9, 5-10, 8-2, 611-1 to 612, 615, 615-2, 619-1, and up to 621 are designated. All of these are areas treated as land integrated with the premises of petroleum storage facilities.

Partial Removal of Designations in Chuo-ku, Niigata City and Iejima-cho, Himeji City

Meanwhile, two areas were removed from the designation in the Appended Table.

• In Appended Table 25(a), the listing of “areas from Hinode 3-chome, Ryugashima 1-chome, Ryugashima 2-chome, and Numatare-higashi 2-chome to Numatare-higashi 6-chome in Chuo-ku” is changed to “area,” and “as well as Yamakido, Chuo-ku” is deleted.
• Appended Table 44 was marked as “Deleted.”
• In Appended Table 68(a), “Oaza Ichinosu, Oaza Iejima Aza-Ippongi, Aza-Jounouchi, Aza-Wataba, Aza-Yokoai, Aza-Kaminishigawa, Aza-Higashimatsura, Aza-Uchinakasu, Aza-Higashinakasu, and Aza-Tobishima” is changed to “Oaza Ichinosu,” and “Aza-Shinden, Aza-Enomichi, and” is deleted.

As a result, the areas of Hinode, Ryugashima, and Numatare-higashi in Chuo-ku, Niigata City, as well as Yamakido and certain village sections of Ieshima-cho in Himeji City, will lose their designation as Special Disaster Prevention Zones.

Simultaneous Updates to Enforcement Orders and Related Provisions

Cabinet Order No. 350 also amends Appended Table 3 of the Order for Enforcement of the Petroleum Complex etc. Disaster Prevention Act (Cabinet Order No. 129 of 1976) via its supplementary provisions.

• In the section for the Third District, “Appended Tables 15 through 17” is changed to “Appended Tables 16 and 17.”
• In the section for the Ninth District, “Appended Tables 44 and 49” is changed to “Appended Table 49.”
• The date in Paragraph 3 of the main designation Cabinet Order is changed from “April 1, 2025” to “April 1, 2026.”

The same Official Gazette also published Cabinet Order No. 349 (Cabinet Order to Partially Amend the Order for Enforcement of the Petroleum Complex etc. Disaster Prevention Act). Based on Article 19-2, Paragraph 1 of the Act, this order changes “and 12 through 14” to “, 12 and 13” in the section for the Second District of Appended Table 3 of the Enforcement Order; this also takes effect the day following the date of promulgation.

Businesses Within the Zones Forced to Review Disaster Prevention Systems

The supplementary provisions establish transitional measures regarding penalties, stating that penalties for acts committed prior to enforcement shall still follow previous examples. While newly added designated areas may become subject to requirements such as self-defense disaster prevention organizations, disaster prevention regulations, and notification obligations for specified business establishments, these obligations will be removed for deleted areas. Consequently, coastal companies and local governments are required to verify the breakdown of areas and switch their disaster prevention systems from November 14 onwards.

Sources

• Cabinet Order No. 350: “Cabinet Order to Partially Amend the Cabinet Order Designating Special Disaster Prevention Zones for Petroleum Complexes etc.” (Promulgated November 13, 2026; effective the day following promulgation)
• Cabinet Order No. 349: “Cabinet Order to Partially Amend the Order for Enforcement of the Petroleum Complex etc. Disaster Prevention Act” (Promulgated November 13, 2026; effective the day following promulgation)
• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Notice No. 4 / Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Notice: “Partial Amendment of the Designation of Areas Related to Special Disaster Prevention Zones for Petroleum Complexes etc. Based on the Provisions of the Appended Table of the Cabinet Order Designating Special Disaster Prevention Zones for Petroleum Complexes etc. (Cabinet Order No. 192 of 1976)” (November 13, 2026; effective from the date of enforcement of Cabinet Order No. 350)
• Governing Law: Petroleum Complex etc. Disaster Prevention Act (Act No. 84 of 1975)
• Published in: Official Gazette, November 13, 2026 (Friday) Extra Edition