Initial Responses of the Government of Japan to the Great East Japan Earthquake (Earthquake and Tsunami) and Lessons Learned from Them

Akira Kotaki

doi:10.20965/jdr.2015.p0728

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JDR Vol.10 No.sp pp. 728-735

(2015)

doi: 10.20965/jdr.2015.p0728

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Initial Responses of the Government of Japan to the Great East Japan Earthquake (Earthquake and Tsunami) and Lessons Learned from Them

Akira Kotaki

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)
2-1-3 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8918, Japan

Received:

March 22, 2015

Accepted:

July 10, 2015

Published:

September 1, 2015

Keywords:

role of the government in huge disasters, Government’s Extreme Disaster Management Headquarters, L2 and disaster reduction, improvement of information management and responses to disasters by exercise, 72 hours

Abstract

Various lessons regarding initial and emergency responses to huge disasters in future can be derived from the processes of establishing and managing the Government's Extreme Disaster Management Headquarters for the Great East Japan Earthquake. Huge disasters (L2) that might occur at a very low frequency and could cause tremendous damage can be controlled only to a limited extent by constructing infrastructure alone. In addition, because the picture of disasters that occur in different manners cannot be fixed, it is necessary to accumulate various infrastructural and non-infrastructural measures in the order of effectiveness from the standpoint of disaster risk reduction to accept and mitigate damage. Supports to disaster-affected people such as early recovery, evacuation, rescue, emergency medical life-saving, and emergency supplies in initial responses should be strengthened to promptly respond to disasters. For that purpose, it is important to establish a system that allows the government or prefectures to temporarily take disaster emergency measures when prefectures or municipalities lose administrative functions, formulate a system for the government to respond to huge disasters, and improve disaster information functionality, conduct drills and prepare for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Cite this article as:

A. Kotaki, “Initial Responses of the Government of Japan to the Great East Japan Earthquake (Earthquake and Tsunami) and Lessons Learned from Them,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.10 No.sp, pp. 728-735, 2015.

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References

[1] White Paper on Disaster Management 2011
[2] White Paper on Disaster Management 2012
[3] http://japan.kantei.go.jp/incident/index.html,[accessed,Aug.,18, 2015]
[4] http://www.reconstruction.go.jp/english/ [accessed Aug. 18, 2015]
[5] Technical Committee under the Central Disaster Management Council, “Report of the Technical Committee for Investigation on Countermeasures for Earthquakes and Tsunamis Based on the Lessons Learned from the ‘2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake’,” 2011.
[6] Committee for Policy Planning on Disaster Management under the Central Disaster Management Council, “Committee for Policy Planning on Disaster Management – Final Report –,” 2011.
[7] A. Koresawa, “Main Features of Government’s Initial Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami,” Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 107-115,2012.
[8] A. Koresawa, “Government’s Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami,” Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.7, No.sp, pp. 517-527, 2012.
[9] A. Koresawa, “An Analysis of International Assistance Based on Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake,” Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.9, No.sp, pp. 653-664, 2014.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] White Paper on Disaster Management 2011

[2] [2] White Paper on Disaster Management 2012

[3] [3] http://japan.kantei.go.jp/incident/index.html,[accessed,Aug.,18, 2015]

[4] [4] http://www.reconstruction.go.jp/english/ [accessed Aug. 18, 2015]

[5] [5] Technical Committee under the Central Disaster Management Council, “Report of the Technical Committee for Investigation on Countermeasures for Earthquakes and Tsunamis Based on the Lessons Learned from the ‘2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake’,” 2011.

[6] [6] Committee for Policy Planning on Disaster Management under the Central Disaster Management Council, “Committee for Policy Planning on Disaster Management – Final Report –,” 2011.

[7] [7] A. Koresawa, “Main Features of Government’s Initial Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami,” Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 107-115,2012.

[8] [8] A. Koresawa, “Government’s Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami,” Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.7, No.sp, pp. 517-527, 2012.

[9] [9] A. Koresawa, “An Analysis of International Assistance Based on Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake,” Journal of Disaster Research, Vol.9, No.sp, pp. 653-664, 2014.