TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's space agency plans to partner with private firms to enable various orbiting satellites to conduct emergency observations during natural disasters, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday, reflecting lessons learned from a massive earthquake in central Japan last year.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency aims to draw up a framework for the coordinated use of public and private satellites by the end of the year that will outline coverage areas and observation times of the satellites, with a drill already conducted last month based on a hypothetical megaquake in the Nankai Trough, the sources said.

Satellite images and data have proved instrumental in assessing the situation after disasters, including the massive March 2011 quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, as well as during typhoons, heavy rains and volcanic eruptions.

With the number of private satellites increasing in recent years, the initiative aims to facilitate swift and accurate disaster relief by streamlining the data provision process to the central and local governments.

During the Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck on Jan. 1 last year, JAXA's advanced land observation satellite, Daichi-2, conducted emergency observations from the same night.

While the observations identified changes to the coastline due to the uplift caused by the earthquake, as well as areas with building damage and landslides, there were some challenges, such as a lack of prior coordination regarding observation targets and scheduling with private satellites.

According to the draft guidelines currently under review by a consortium of around 280 public and private entities in the industry, including JAXA, initial disaster observations will be conducted by the Daichi-2 and Daichi-4 satellites to assess building damage and crustal deformation over a wide area.

As both satellites pass over Japan twice daily, private satellites will cover the other timeframes to monitor issues such as road blockages caused by landslides and areas inundated by tsunamis.

Those capable of high-precision observations over smaller areas will also provide detailed assessments of critical infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, disaster response hubs, airports and ports.

The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience in Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, is developing a system that will consolidate observation requests from the central and local governments with data analysis results to facilitate smooth information sharing.

The findings of a drill conducted last month based on a hypothetical megaquake in the Nankai Trough, an ocean-floor trench that runs along Japan's Pacific coast, will be compiled by the end of January and incorporated into the finalized guidelines.