00:04Hello and welcome to Global Japan in northern Vietnam.
00:08Behind me is a Sabo Dam, a Japanese invention designed to protect communities from landslides.
00:15Let's find out more.
00:25The rhythm of life in the village of Piang nestled here in the mountains of Son La Province is intrinsically
00:32tied to the nearby river.
00:41But in 2017, a landslide struck. Within moments, part of the village vanished beneath the mud.
00:48This landscape still bears the scars of the storm.
01:03We have to move to the river. We have to move to the river and move to the river.
01:13Last year, Vietnam, with the support of Japan's International Cooperation Agency, inaugurated the country's first Sabo Dam.
01:21In Japanese, Sa means sediments and Bo relates to protection.
01:26This concept was developed over a century ago to let water flow through
01:30while holding back the rocks and debris carried down during heavy rainfalls.
01:35Sabo Dam makes the stream gradient, gentler, and reduces the force and energy of debris flow.
01:43Placing several Sabo Dams within a basin prevents the riverbed from being eroded
01:49and helps stabilize the whole river basin.
01:54So the whole valley downstream can be protected?
01:57Yes, yes, sure. That's one small Sabo Dam.
02:00But that's one giant leaf for sediment disaster risk reduction in Vietnam.
02:08Twelve Sabo Dams are planned to secure the entire Nam Pam River basin.
02:12This kindergarten, located just below the structure, is among the buildings already protected.
02:40Japan's disaster prevention strategy rests on three pillars, protective infrastructure,
02:45land use planning, and early warning and evacuation systems.
02:51Last February, Japan signed an agreement with the UNESCO to strengthen disaster preparedness here in Nehaen,
02:58a province frequently battered by floods.
03:01This village was devastated in July 2025.
03:05The river level rose by 15 meters during the night.
03:35The agreement between Japan and UNESCO in Vietnam
03:39provides for Japanese technical support to improve hazard mopping and early warning systems
03:45through cutting-edge technologies.
03:47It also places strong emphasis on education continuity in the face of disasters.
03:53Just across the river, nearly two meters of water flooded into these classrooms last year.
04:10The program includes workshops to strengthen evacuation practices.
04:15Japan is hoping to share its strong expertise in this field.
04:35How do you prepare?
04:36There will be a drill today?
04:48Around 15,000 people, including students and teachers, are expected to benefit directly from the project.
04:56Drills like these save lives.
04:59UNESCO and Japan share this conviction.
05:01They have been partners for decades.
05:04The relationship between UNESCO, Japan and Vietnam is one that's existed for many, many years.
05:10Japan is a recognized leader in the area of disaster risk reduction, in particular at the technological level.
05:16And so we've been working with Japan at the global level on these types of issues in different countries.
05:22And the extreme events are going to happen.
05:23That's how we plan together as a community, bringing in the expertise from Japan,
05:28bringing in the years of work that UNESCO has done in the school environment, for example,
05:33to better prepare different parts of the population to confront these events when they happen.
05:38Japanese support also extends to major cities.
05:42In Hanoi, the capital, rapid economic development has led to the pollution of rivers and lakes by domestic wastewater.
05:49This project aims to change that.
05:52This is the largest wastewater treatment plant in Hanoi.
05:55It was inaugurated last year with technical and financial support from Japan.
06:00Let's have a look.
06:02This vast infrastructure has connected a million people to the wastewater treatment network.
06:08It incorporates Japanese rapid frustration systems adapted to heavy rainfall
06:13and is linked underground by large pipes dug using state-of-the-art boring technologies.
06:26And what happens in case of heavy rainfall?
06:54Through bilateral partnerships and the regional organization ASEAN,
06:58Japan has long supported Southeast Asia with a proactive approach to risk reduction.
07:03Investments that are essential to strengthen infrastructure and promote more resilient reconstruction after disasters happen.
07:11A concept Japan calls Build Back Better.
07:14Japan experienced economic growth by investing in the preventive disaster risk reductions.
07:21We realized that, you know, that's the duty of Japan, you know, to disseminate that kind of lessons.
07:27Our project concentrated on the Asian regions.
07:30Now, you know, our activity is expanding to the rest of the world.
07:34The investment before disaster happens is really important to us.
07:38In a Build Back Better concept is providing us with a new idea to make a society much stronger.
07:48And that's it for this special edition of Global Japan.
07:52Thanks for watching.
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