Following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the Council for Science and Technology reviewed the national earthquake and volcano observation and research program and concluded that, in addition to predicting earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, comprehensive multidisciplinary research should be promoted to apply scientific knowledge to disaster mitigation. Based on this review, the Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program (2014–2018) emerged as a multidisciplinary initiative involving seismologists, volcanologists, engineers, and humanities and social scientists. This program has generated outcomes such as clarifying disaster processes through interactions among hazards and natural and social vulnerabilities. The importance of literacy for disaster resilience was recognized, and related research was advanced under the Second Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program (2019–2023). These findings were compiled in a special issue of the Journal of Disaster Research (Vol.19, No.1) in 2024. Research on literacy for disaster resilience continues under the Third Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program (2024–2028) and this special issue presents initial results from that program.

This special issue focuses on disaster management processes and includes eight papers and two survey reports from multidisciplinary fields that examine the types of knowledge and abilities required at each phase of disaster management, as well as the ways in which these capacities can be developed through collaboration among scientists, education and disaster response experts, policy makers, and community members. These studies emphasize literacy as a means of embedding scientific knowledge in society and linking theory and practice to fortify disaster resilience. The analyses primarily draw on earthquake-related events such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the 2018 Kumamoto Earthquake, the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, and the anticipated Nankai Trough earthquakes.

The collection opens with a survey report by Sawada et al. on the time gap between emergency information dissemination and evacuation behavior, followed by psychological and neuroscience-based examinations of relationships between early disaster warnings, crisis perception, and evacuation decision-making by Ohtomo et al. and Chen et al., respectively. These contributions highlight a central challenge in the emergency phase: how individuals receive risk information and translate it into appropriate actions.

During the disaster response phase, Komatsubara and Inoguchi identify critical tacit knowledge related to post-earthquake damage assessment that facilitates housing reconstruction support at the governmental level in Japan, while Kimura et al. apply the life recovery calendar method to evaluate how response efforts contribute to rebuilding affected lives.

In the post-disaster phase, transmitting lessons learned to future generations represents a major challenge in advancing literacy for disaster resilience, as demonstrated by Hamatsu and Takeuchi through school-based disaster education initiatives. These efforts should progress alongside the development of information tools, such as the digital archive proposed by Uchiyama et al.

Finally, in the preparation phase, Muroi et al. examine disaster prevention measures for future events through the lens of community development and sustainability. This phase also underscores the need to foster practical knowledge for disaster risk reduction, as shown by Nagata et al. in their analysis of risk perception among schoolteachers with key roles in disaster management, and by Shirokane et al. through participatory learning initiatives that enhance locality-based understanding.