The World Bosai Forum/International Disaster Risk Conference@Sendai 2019 (WBF2019) held in November 2019 in Sendai City, Japan, was successful in bringing together actors from multiple sectors to advance the goals of disaster risk reduction (DRR). We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who participated in the sessions, exhibitions, poster sessions, and mini-presentations, as well as to the many local people who came to the event.

According to the World Bosai Forum [1], 871 participants from 38 countries attended the WBF2019 which included 50 oral sessions, 3 keynote speeches, 47 poster sessions, 33 mini-presentations, and 14 exhibition booths, which contributed to deepening the discussion and promotion of the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2015–2030” (SFDRR) and in particular progress towards the achievement of Global Target E, to substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. Including lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, local knowledge and solutions towards advancing BOSAI were actively shared and discussed among the participants who joined this global forum, from various organizations and sectors. In particular, there were many sessions in which young people and private companies played a key role.

The guest editors are pleased to publish this special issue of the Journal of Disaster Research, which is comprised of 13 articles sharing the research advancements presented at the WBF2019. We hope that this special issue on the WBF2019 will contribute to the literature on disaster science and further advances in disaster risk reduction.

1. [1] World Bosai Forum, “WBF 2019 Report,” 2020, http://www.worldbosaiforum.com/2019/english/report/index.html?id=report [accessed November 10, 2020]