KEY POINTSPanasonic Digital launches INDIGO RIVER Lab. with the University of Tokyo and NIED for disaster information sharingInitiative aims to extend Japan’s EEI disaster-response framework from public bodies to private companies and communitiesApril 2026 pilot distributes 11 EEI data categories including weather and road information
The initiative with the University of Tokyo and NIED aims to extend Japan’s EEI disaster-response framework to companies and communities. Photo by Patrick Konior on Unsplash
Patrick Konior
Panasonic Digital Co. has launched INDIGO RIVER Lab., a cross-sector initiative with the University of Tokyo’s Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, or NIED, to promote disaster information sharing and mutual assistance, the company said on July 23.
The Osaka-based company said the program is designed to help companies restore operations more quickly after disasters and improve the resilience of local communities. It brings together industry, government, academia and citizens around the sharing of essential disaster-response information.
The initiative comes as natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy rain and flooding become more severe and frequent, increasing the importance of business continuity planning, or BCP, at companies. In Japan, BCP refers to contingency planning designed to keep operations running or enable early recovery during emergencies.
Panasonic Digital said Japan’s Cabinet Office began operating SOBO-WEB, a new integrated disaster information system, in fiscal 2024 for central government ministries, local governments and designated public institutions. The system uses EEI, or essential emergency information, as a common framework for disaster response, and INDIGO RIVER Lab. is intended to extend that framework to the private sector and promote disaster-information flows across public and private entities.
Under the initiative, participants will study technical methods and operating rules for using EEI data that should be shared during disasters and build a practical information-linkage mechanism for emergency response. Based on joint research with NIED, Panasonic Digital began a demonstration test in April 2026 to acquire and distribute 11 types of information included in EEI, such as weather and road conditions.
The company plans to recruit other private-sector companies and community development councils to join INDIGO RIVER Lab., starting with users of Panasonic Digital’s INDIGO RIVER disaster information aggregation platform. INDIGO RIVER operates on Microsoft Teams.
NIED is a national research and development agency specializing in disaster prevention science. The University of Tokyo is one of Japan’s leading national universities. Japan has in recent years moved to strengthen disaster-data coordination as the country faces repeated earthquakes, typhoons and torrential rain events.