Japan to build hospital ships to boost disaster response in coastal areas: ‘a huge help’

Japan is planning to construct hospital ships that will be able to respond quickly to natural disasters in coastal areas, with one medical expert who volunteered in the aftermath of the January 1 earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula saying such vessels would have been a “huge help”.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday instructed ministers to draw up a draft plan for ships designed to operate as floating hospitals by the end of the year.

The decision to develop hospital ships is a direct result of the magnitude 7.6 New Year’s Day earthquake, which triggered a series of tsunamis that destroyed a number of communities on the peninsula, including the towns of Suzu, Wajima and Noto.

Authorities have confirmed 281 fatalities and three people are still listed as missing. A further 1,300 people sustained injuries across six prefectures in the most powerful earthquake since the March 2011 tremor off northeast Japan.

“In our country, surrounded by the sea, there are situations in which approaching disaster areas from the sea and providing medical care are effective,” national broadcasters quoted Kishida as saying.

A government task force is considering utilising car ferries for emergency relief efforts until specialist ships can be commissioned.

The specifications of the new vessels have not been agreed upon but military and civilian hospital ships used by other nations are typically equipped with helicopter landing pads, docking areas where tenders can transfer patients, operating rooms, intensive-care facilities, dental services, laboratories, pharmacies and a morgue.

The Mercy Ships charity operates two hospital vessels, the MV Global Mercy and the MV Africa Mercy, while Spain also has two dedicated hospital ships. Elsewhere,