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,
00:31is intrinsically tied 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.
01:12Last year, Vietnam, with the support of Japan's International Cooperation Agency, inaugurated
01:18the country's first Sabo Dam. In Japanese, Sa means sediment, and Bo relates to protection.
01:25This concept was developed over a century ago to let water flow through while holding back
01:31the 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
01:48from being eroded and helps stabilize the whole river basin.
01:53So the whole valley downstream can be protected?
01:57Yes, yes, sure.
01:58That's one small Sabo Dam.
02:01But that's one giant 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.
02:44Protective infrastructure, land use planning, and early warning and evacuation systems.
02:51Last February, Japan signed an agreement with the UNESCO to strengthen disaster preparedness here in Nehan,
02:58a province frequently battered by floods.
03:01This village was devastated in July 2025.
03:05The river level rose by 15 metres during the night.
03:09When the lake had been caught up on a coast, it was completely destroyed.
03:14There is about ten minutes the river is filled
03:35The agreement between Japan and UNESCO in Vietnam provides for Japanese technical support
03:41to improve hazard mopping and early warning systems through 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.
03:59The program includes workshops to strengthen evacuation practices.
04:14Japan is hoping to share its strong expertise in this field.
04:30How do you prepare? There will be a drill today?
04:38Yes, and I will show you the steps that we perform.
04:48Around 15,000 people, including students and teachers, are expected to benefit directly from the project.
04:56Drills like these save lives. UNESCO and Japan share this conviction. They 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.
05:24That'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. Let'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?
06:30When it comes to heavy rainfall, the water and the water will be heated and brought back to the factory.
06:36And when it comes to heavy rainfall, it will increase from 270,000 m3 to 576,000 m3 a day.
06:45This is not only to increase the construction of the water,
06:48but also to support the construction of the water in the city.
06:54Through bilateral partnerships and the regional organization ASEAN,
06:58Japan has long supported Southeast Asia with a proactive approach to risk reduction.
07:04Investments that are essential to strengthen infrastructure
07:07and 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.
07:26Our 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.
07:39And the Build Back Better concept is providing us with the new idea to make a society much stronger.
07:45America.
07:48And that's it for this special edition of Global Japan.
07:52Thanks for watching.
07:53You are one of the two.
08:00We would love to make our society more dzirky near our Kanellai
