The national seismic hazard maps for Japan present useful information on local earthquake environments, but we have not yet found a practical use for these maps in earthquake-disaster prevention and mitigation measures practiced by residents. The use of these maps requires risk rather than hazard information. This article discusses what is needed for the use of seismic risk information in local areas. If risk information is to be used, risk must be defined, and who uses it and what for must be made clear. I define house damage risk based on probabilistic seismic hazard as a seismic risk, regarding it as information that contributes to goal setting and planning for earthquakedisaster prevention and mitigation measures by residents in disaster-prevention community planning discussed by Kawabata [1]. Accordingly, the use of seismic risk information requires efforts in disasterprevention community planning. This article selects two cases of workshops held to raise the awareness of residents about disaster prevention and discusses the promotion of disaster-prevention community planning. As a result, both cases showed changes in awareness about local disaster-prevention capacity to varying degrees, and it is confirmed that this awareness is promoted to disaster-prevention community planning through the following essentials: (i) monitoring changes in the awareness of residents about disaster prevention and (ii) setting up methods and human resources for disaster-prevention community planning in the area. Efforts in disaster-prevention community planning by residents has been effectively developed in areas involving local municipal government. It is confirmed that this requires local management, i.e., a system using methods such as taking town walks, creating disaster-prevention maps, and playing disaster imagination games. These in turn cause the government to prepare menus selectable by residents in line with their situations and as a service to residents that promotes disaster-prevention community planning.
