Disaster In Japan Research Articles

Development of Standard Operation Procedures for Receiving International Emergency Medical Teams. Cooperation Between the United States National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT) and Japan DMAT

Introduction:Japan DMAT and US DMAT have been conducting several tabletop exercises to prepare for major earthquake disasters in Japan. Japan is predicting overwhelming disasters on Japanese soil soon, which needs efficient and optimum use of resources in medical assistance, including additional support from the US. The Japanese government established a large-scale Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster Emergency Response protocol in 2020. However, this protocol does not include any standard operation procedure (SOP) to receive an international medical team. The purpose of this study is to establish the SOP of receiving medical assistance from US-DMAT based on the WHO International Emergency Team (EMT) initiative through tabletop exercises.Method:Collaborated with the Office of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) of the United States Health and Human Services, tabletop exercises assuming that a large-scale earthquake occurred during the hosting of the 2025 Osaka Expo was conducted utilizing an online meeting system.Results:A provisional SOP was composed. Even though Japan had several disaster medical assistance collaborations with US DMAT and is well-familiarized with the Classification and Minimum Standards for Emergency Medical Teams", many issues need to be prepared to accept US DMAT.Conclusion:Numerous procedures need to be conducted to receive US DMAT assistance during a large-scale earthquake in Japan. With this SOP, receiving US medical team assistance will be conducted promptly, eventually saving many lives. This SOP can be modified for other international teams' acceptance in Japan. It could reference other countries seeking to have SOP for receiving international medical team assistance shortly.

Required Functions of Information Gathering and Processing for Health, Medical, and Welfare Coordination Headquarters for Disasters in Japan

Introduction:The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan have suggested local governments establish Health, Medical, and Welfare Coordination Headquarters at the time of disaster. Gathering and processing information is one of the key functions of the headquarters. The study aims to clarify the required functions of information for the headquarters.Method:A series of interview surveys and observations were conducted, including for local governments and experts in disaster response. The contents were analyzed and required standard functions and procedures had been extracted.Results:The most important aspect of information gathering is its use in decision-making in matching needs and demands with resources. Needs and demands are based on damage and situation of the casualties. Resources can be categorized into human, material, financial, and informational. Because the headquarters have to process much information, it is important to clarify the objective and strategy of disaster response. The headquarters gather various quantitative and qualitative information using information and communication technology, telephone, meeting and other methods. Qualitative information can be categorized as: expected, surprising (unexpected), and unusual (rare) contents. For expected contents, quantification or estimation of needs from information in normal time or limited information immediately after the disaster and displaying or further analyzing by geographic information systems is useful. By surprising contents or case reports, additional responses or strategies will need to be reviewed.Conclusion:The procedure, including information gathering and decision-making, follows the OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop. According to our mail survey of all 47 prefectural local governments in 2019, 89% were planning to establish the headquarters. However, only 36% had prepared a manual. Using the results of this study, a standard strategic manual for the operations of the headquarters is being developed and brushed up.

Current Status of the Disaster Health, Medical, and Welfare Coordination in Japan

Introduction:Non-coordinated support during disasters has negative effects on affected communities and people. From the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the United Nations introduced a cluster approach to avoid gaps and duplication of aid. Japan's disaster coordination of support for health and medical care was organized after the 2017 Kumamoto earthquake. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) announced and issued the notice that the prefectures need to establish a system related to health and medical activities in the event of a large-scale disaster. In July 2022, welfare content was added. This study investigated the current status of health sector organizational coordination among health, medical, and welfare responders during 2022 the Large-Scale Earthquake National Exercise (LSENE).Method:The 2022 LSENE was conducted on October 1, 2022 with participation from the Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT) and responders from each prefecture's health and welfare divisions and organizations. Each responder's exercise log sheet and the exercise controller's evaluation were reviewed.Results:Even though there was a notice from the MHLW, organized coordination was conducted only by several medical and health teams. DMAT is the only team with a system to dispatch teams from non-affected prefectures and coordinate well to allocate teams. Some other health and welfare organizations did not have a dispatching system. They had difficulty sending teams to affected areas, especially due to a lack of a systematic response system, training, coordination headquarters, and information sharing. It was suggested that information sharing and coordination among responders is necessary, although information gathering and request judgments related to dispatch coordination are different for each organization.Conclusion:In order to smoothly coordinate support teams for health, medical, and welfare in the event of a disaster, it is necessary not only to improve the coordination headquarters for health, medical, and welfare but also to verify its operation through training.

Japan DAMT COVID-19 response. The Temporary Medical Facility for Hospitalization Waiting and Doctor Home Response System in Sapporo City, Hokkaido

Introduction:In Japan, the response to COVID-19 has been a disaster response. In May 2021, the number of patients requiring hospitalization increased rapidly in Sapporo City, Hokkaido. Almost all medical institutions and clinics were overcrowded, and patients were forced to wait at home. Sapporo City requested a response from the Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT).Method:DMAT collaborated with the Sapporo City Public Health Center to set up a patient waiting station (The Temporary Medical Facility for Hospitalization Waiting) utilizing an unused hotel. DMAT placed the patient under medical care, provided oxygen therapy and other procedures, and coordinated hospitalization referrals. DMAT also organized a doctor home response system for patients who need emergency hospitalization and those who have returned home from The Hospital Waiting Stations.Results:64% of the patients were admitted to hospitals, 27% back to their homes, 9% were sent to residential care facilities, and 1% were sent to welfare facilities. The doctor home response system was able to redirect 52% of patients requiring emergency hospitalization.Conclusion:For the rapidly increasing number of patients with COVID-19, DMAT established a temporary medical facility and home visit system and was able to minimize the number of preventable deaths.

The JDR Method. Our 20 Years of Experience and Practice in Developing Human Resources for Disaster Medicine.

Introduction:The Japan Disaster Relief Search and Rescue Team (the JDR Rescue Team) Medical Unit consists of EMT (emergency medical team) registered doctors and nurses who provide health care and medical advice to rescue operations. The JDR Medical Unit began 20 years ago when they voluntarily participated in rescue training and is characterized by volunteers who belong to different hospitals across the country. As a result, there were problems due to varied skills, and motivation. Until 2017, all applicants were recruited and trained as provisionally registered members, but only about 30% of them became fully registered members.Method:Since 2018, we have fundamentally changed our personnel training methods, establishing three main pillars. The first is a screening process based on work experience, expertise, and motivation; the second is dedicated guidance through training, textbooks, online study sessions, and training; and finally, we have created abundant training opportunities and visualized the growth process through a ladder to keep them motivated and goal-oriented at all times. Specific trainers are defined as task force members and they analyze each scene of the deployment practically and reflect on training. The task force also receives training abroad and absorbs good practice from other teams.Results:After changing the personnel training methods, the number of participants who dropped out of the training program was significantly reduced, and approximately 90% of the participants became fully registered members. The team members are more motivated and the team's capabilities have improved, leading to IER (INSARAG External Reclassification) certification as a heavy team twice.Conclusion:By selecting experienced and capable members and providing them with sufficient guidance and abundant training opportunities, we succeeded in improving the efficiency and capacity of human resource development. Ideally, victims are handed over to EMTs as patients for the future goal.

Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team Boot Camp for the Trainer in KOBE : Corona Era Experience of Hyogo Emergency Medical Center

Introduction:Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (JDMAT) consists of four personnel. They are selected in 47 local governments in Japan, and after the completion of a four day boot camp, they are registered in the list of JDMAT. Hyogo Emergency Medical Center (HEMC) has been playing an important role as one of the oldest boot camps with Disaster Medical Center in Tachikawa. The boot camp's significance is obvious, but the JDMAT system requires a trainer for the course. Many courses were discontinued and affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.Method:Retrospective, single institute data, observed in the number of participants for instruction. The periods are from March 2019 to September 2022. Instructing members of this boot camp consist of three categories of Drs, Nurses, and logisticians.Results:In FY2019, from April to March during the pre-pandemic year, a boot camp was held nine times. During those days, the total number of instructors, including potential ones, was 659 persons, and fortunately 75 people participated for the very first time. However, during the Corona era, in FY2020, the boot camp was held only four times. The total number of instructors was 161 persons, and 14 people participated for the first time. In FY2021, the boot camp was held only three times. The total number of instructors was 141 persons, and 11 people participated for the first time. In FY2022, after two quarters passed, the boot camp was held five times according to the schedule. The total number of instructors was 256 persons, and 18 people participated for the very first time.Conclusion:Officers were not trained for future disaster response for two years because of the pandemic.

Significance of the “Coordination Headquarters for Healthcare and Medical Support” in Japan; comparison with Emergency Medical Team Coordination Cell (EMTCC)

Introduction:The Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) was established in 2005. Although it had become possible to gather medical teams at an early stage in the fields of health and welfare, there had still been a lack of personnel. In 2017, the Japanese government decided to establish the Health and Medical Coordination Headquarters when we had major disasters. Not only the medical team, but also the public health nurse and the welfare team gathered at this headquarter, and activities that integrated health, medical care, and welfare started from an early stage. On the other hand, WHO indicates to establish EMTCC within the Ministry of Health, in order to manage and coordinate EMT activities and aggregate data.Method:The Japanese Headquarters and the EMTCC were compared in terms of their functions and issues.Results:In Japanese headquarters, the director of the local public health center will be the director, and the secretariat for the headquarters will be run by supporters. Participants in the headquarter meeting include leaders of public institutions involved in health risk management. Furthermore, leaders of unions such as medical, dentist, pharmacists and nurses on the side of supporters, leaders of medical, healthcare, and welfare will participate. To establish EMTCC, WHO dispatches a coordinator, information manager, and data analyst.EMTCC collects medical information by using Minimum Data Set (MDS), which is similar to Japanese Surveillance in post extreme emergencies and disasters (J-SPEED). The most significant difference is that EMTCC does not deal with health and welfare issues.Conclusion:Regarding medical care, information is summarized in a similar way at headquarters. These facts indicate the Japanese headquarters management experience is applicable to EMTCC.

The Role of Nurses in the Reclassification Exercise of the Japan Disaster Relief Search and Rescue Team (the JDR Rescue Team)

Introduction:The JDR Rescue Team has successfully completed the INSARAG External Re-Classification (IER) process, which evaluates the operational capability and capacity of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams and has achieved the highest “Heavy” reclassification in November 2022. Two nurses participated in the IER process as part of the medical unit of JDR Rescue Team. In addition, ten registered nurses cooperated as Exercise Control (EXCON).Method:Summarize the JDR Rescue Team and medical unit and make observations on what nurses did in the IER.Results:The JDR Rescue Team is dispatched by the Government of Japan in response to large-scale disasters overseas. The task force team has 75 members from various specialties, including the rescuer, and medical unit. The medical unit consists of one medical manager, 2 doctors, and two nurses. There are currently about 50 registered medical unit members in our team, and of these, a total of 23 nurses are registered. The role of nurses during the IER process, includes a 36-hour non-stop scenario-based exercise. The team nurses are involved in various roles, such as Confined Space Medicine (infusion for patients, assisting on-site amputation), caring or treating injured rescuers and search dogs, providing health and welfare monitoring and operating a decontamination system. The EXCON nurses were involved in managing the simulation. One of their key roles was to play as a victim realistically so as to provide a sense of tension for the simulation.Conclusion:The JDR Rescue Team has more medical unit members than those in other countries. In particular, teams with so many nurses are rare. nurses played a vital role in this IER. The contribution of nurses is identified in order to make the international USAR team more strong and more flexible.

Diamond Princess Cruise Ship. COVID-19 Medical Operation by the National EMT, Japan DMAT.

Introduction:The Diamond Princess cruise ship (DP) arrived in Yokohama, Japan, on February 3, 2019, with a confirmation of the Polymerase Chain Reaction test (PCR) positive for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a passenger who disembarked at Hong Kong. Japan National Emergency Medical Team (N-EMT), and Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), were dispatched and measures to prevent the spread of viruses were taken for 3,711 (2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members) on board.Method:Japan DMAT was dispatched and managed the medical operation for DP passengers and crew members. The records of communication logs for the DMAT were evaluated. In this study, evaluation of DMAT medical operations in the DP was conducted to find any positive effectsResults:472 (157 doctors, 123 nurses, 161 medical logisticians, 31 pharmacists) members responded. Among them, 283 (97 doctors, 66 nurses, 91 medical logisticians, 29 pharmacists) worked inside the DP, and 189 (60 doctors, 57 nurses, 70 medical logisticians, two pharmacists) operated outside mainly for patient transport. DMAT conducted a strategic operation and developed categorization for medical care and patient transport. Eventually, DMAT constructed flow to provide rapid medical care and prescription distributions for passengers and crew members.Conclusion:DMAT has been required to respond to unforeseen disasters in the framework since the Fukushima Nuclear Plant accident in 2011. All the past several types of disaster response were contributed to managing medical operations at the DP. These operations are thought to reduce preventable deaths from COVID-19.

Collation of best practices for preparedness: lessons from disasters in Pakistan and Japan

PurposeThis study aims to compare the humanitarian supply chains and logistics of two countries in earthquake preparedness by modifying and using a previously established preparedness evaluation framework.Design/methodology/approachA European flood emergency management system (FEMS) is a seven-dimensional framework to assess a country’s preparedness for flood emergencies. The FEMS framework was modified to apply to earthquakes. Leveraging a multiple explanatory case study approach with data analysis, the authors reconstructed the events of the earthquakes in Pakistan (2005) and Japan (2011) with an applied grading (1–5). Findings were evaluated within the adopted FEMS framework. From a practitioner’s perspective, the framework is applicable and can accelerate support in the field.FindingsPakistan lacked emergency plans before the 2005 earthquake. In contrast, Japan possessed emergency plans before the disaster, helping minimise casualties. Overall, Japan demonstrated considerably better emergency management effectiveness. However, both countries significantly lacked the distribution of responsibilities among actors.Originality/valuePractical factors in the humanitarian supply chain are well understood. However, synthesising individual factors into a comprehensive framework is difficult, which the study solves by applying and adopting the FEMS framework to earthquakes. The developed framework allows practitioners a structured baseline for prioritising measures in the field. Furthermore, this study exemplifies the usefulness of cross-hazard research within emergency management and preparedness in a real-world scenario.

A framework to estimate a long-term power shortage risk following large-scale earthquake and tsunami disasters.

While power shortages during and after a natural disaster cause severe impacts on response and recovery activities, related modeling and data collection efforts have been limited. In particular, no methodology exists to analyze long-term power shortages such as those that occurred during the Great East Japan Earthquake. To visualize a risk of supply shortage during a disaster and assist the coherent recovery of supply and demand systems, this study proposes an integrated damage and recovery estimation framework including the power generator, trunk distribution systems (over 154 kV), and power demand system. This framework is unique because it thoroughly investigates the vulnerability and resilience characteristics of power systems as well as businesses as primary power consumers observed in past disasters in Japan. These characteristics are essentially modeled by statistical functions, and a simple power supply-demand matching algorism is implemented using these functions. As a result, the proposed framework reproduces the original power supply and demand status from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake in a relatively consistent manner. Using stochastic components of the statistical functions, the average supply margin is estimated to be 4.1%, but the worst-case scenario is a 5.6% shortfall relative to peak demand. Thus, by applying the framework, the study improves knowledge on potential risk by examining a particular past disaster; the findings are expected to enhance risk perception and supply and demand preparedness after a future large-scale earthquake and tsunami disaster.

The German Energy System: Analysis of Past, Present, and Future Developments

The scientific and public debate centers on the specific policies that make up the energy transition policy, as well as issues surrounding how they interact and fit into the European context. The Federal Government of Germany came to a conclusion to change the existing structure of the country's energy supply system by ending nuclear energy conversion and strongly promoting the development of renewable energies. It is been seen that briefly after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, it is seen the Federal Government of Germany came to a conclusion to change the existing structure of the country's energy supply system by ending nuclear energy conversion and strongly promoting the development of renewable energies. This paper aims at reviewing the past, present, and future of energy in Germany. It provides an overview of the historical trends of energy in Germany under energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita), fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total), renewable energy development, and evolution of renewable energy patents. The requirements of such a system are not satisfied by policy approaches or recommendations that target short-term effects or that are perceptions of problems extrapolated from individual sectors. By collecting information from the literatures, it analyses current energy issues in Germany and the future of energy in Germany. This paper tends to bring to understanding the state of energy in Germany.

Divine Biopower: Sovereign Violence and Affective Life in the Yuki Yuna Is a Hero Series

ABSTRACT This article investigates the presentation of state power and affective life in the anime series Yuki Yuna Is a Hero. Juxtaposing the portrayal of the recruitment of female bodies and affects into the defense of the sovereign with the historical context of Imperial Japan, this article elaborates how the series captures the sovereign violence that creates biopolitical subjects in everyday life. It then illustrates how the series appropriates and subverts the genre conventions of the magical girl (mahō shōjo) anime through Giorgio Agamben’s idea of bare life and the state of exception. This subversion offers an opportunity to rethink the politics of disaster in contemporary Japan. Finally, this article probes into the utopian potential of the series by elucidating its affirmation of the relationality of life in an enchanted world.

Concomitant downregulation of neuropeptide genes in a marine snail with consecutive sexual maturation after a nuclear disaster in Japan.

Consecutive sexual maturation (CSM), an abnormal reproductive phenomenon of a marine snail, Reishia clavigera, has occurred since 2017 in the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the nuclear disaster there. We hypothesized that alterations in animal physiology mediated through genetic/epigenetic changes could sensitively reflect environmental pollution. Understanding the mechanism of this rapid biological response should enable us to quantitatively evaluate long-lasting effects of the nuclear disaster. To determine the molecular basis for CSM, we conducted transcriptome profiling in the ganglia of normal and CSM snails. We assembled the short-read cDNA sequences obtained by Illumina sequencing, and succeeded in characterizing more than 60,000 gene models that include 88 kinds of neuropeptide precursors by BLAST search and experimental curation. GO-enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes demonstrated that severe downregulation of neuropeptide-related genes occurred concomitantly with CSM. In particular, significant decreases of the transcripts of 37 genes among 88 neuropeptide precursor genes, including those for myomodulin, PentaFVamide, maturation-associated peptide-5A and conopressin, were commonly observed in female and male CSM snails. By contrast, microseminoprotein precursor was the only exceptional case where the expression was increased in CSM snails. These results indicate that down-regulation of neuropeptide precursors is a remarkable feature of CSM. We also found that factors involved in epigenetic modification rather than transcription factors showed altered patterns of expression upon CSM. Comprehensive expression panels of snail neuropeptide precursors made in this study will be useful tools for environmental assessment as well as for studying marine reproductive biology.

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: The highest casualties and largest reconstruction funds—Characteristics of major disasters and future challenges in developed countries

AbstractThe 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake was a disaster that led to the greatest number of casualties related to any form of natural disaster seen in developed countries since World War II. Furthermore, this earthquake occurred in an area where tsunami countermeasures had been prioritized. This disaster, therefore, led to the question “Is it impossible to reduce the number of victims of huge catastrophes, even in cases in which advanced disaster prevention measures have been taken?” Part of the reason this particular earthquake caused the largest number of deaths was because the tsunami that followed—which exceeded the “design load” of the seawall—hit the urban area. In addition, the tsunami, which also exceeded the “estimated loads” of the established disaster prevention plan, caused many “evacuation failures.” Another factor that contributed to the deaths was that the disaster prevention measures, up to that point, had relied primarily on the recognition that disasters could be prevented by the development of “hard,” or tangible, disaster prevention facilities in addition to “soft,” or intangible, measures, such as issuing warnings, without imposing space restrictions. Another characteristic of the Great East Japan Earthquake was that the largest reconstruction budget associated with any disaster in postwar Japan was compiled for it. Although the reconstruction project was over‐specified for the disaster‐afflicted area in terms of scale, cost, and duration of reconstruction, many unused land areas were also created in the new urban areas created during the reconstruction project. Furthermore, the reconstruction projects undertaken with the huge reconstruction budget were not based on the “choice to rebuild the lives” of the disaster‐afflicted areas and the victims, but were rather implemented while simultaneously “marginalizing” said victims and areas as a whole. The over‐specified reconstruction projects and the associated marginalization of disaster victims tend to exist in a mutually regulated relationship. Therefore, there are concerns about the future sustainability of the noted disaster‐afflicted areas, which are already suffering from a severe population decline. Based on the previously presented discussion, it is possible to highlight various issues associated with disaster measures implemented in developed countries. First, regardless of how advanced disaster measures are, a “surge in disaster damage” can occur, which can lead to a “black swan” event. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate disaster prevention measures based on the assumption that such crises will occur in the future. Second, it is necessary for developed countries to determine how best to formulate reconstruction policies to avoid marginalizing disaster victims as well as to prevent over‐specified reconstruction. In examining these two issues, the common problem that arises is how to conduct “risk assessment and enable its acceptance” most calmly immediately after a disaster and then formulate disaster prevention measures based on such assessment. Finally, the future of disaster sociology is detailed in this work. More specifically, in order for disaster sociology to escape its “marginal” status in sociology, it is necessary to consider “disaster” in the context of both a social structure and a social change—similar to how risk theory views the issue.

An Analysis of Companion Animal Protection in Case of Disaster in Japan by Applying the CAUSE Model: Based on the Evacuation with Companion Animals Policy

This study examines the case of Japan, which has systematically established policies related to companion animal protection measures, and derives policy implications. Companion animal protection measures in the case of a disaster in Japan are investigated, and the policy establishment process of evacuation with companion animals is analyzed step-by-step using the CAUSE model. The results showed that the formation of credibility established coexistence with companion animals as a basic attitude through continuous administrative measures after a large-scale disaster. In the risk awareness and understanding stages, the need for companion animal protection measures is recognized in accordance with social changes, and evacuation with companion animals is officially announced. The agreement stage of the solution and the implementation stage of the enactment were essentially based on the subjective responsibility of the partner. The administration provided support for what residents could not do, and the roles of the administration and residents for companion animal protection measures in the event of a disaster were clearly distinguished. This process clarified that the main feature was to enable the partner to demonstrate self-efficacy.

Emulating Rainfall-Runoff-Inundation Model using Deep Neural Network with Dimensionality Reduction

Abstract Predicting the spatial distribution of maximum inundation depth (depth-MAP) is important for the mitigation of hydrological disasters induced by extreme precipitation. However, physics-based rainfall-runoff-inundation (RRI) models, which are used operationally to predict hydrological disasters in Japan, require massive computational resources for numerical simulations. Here, we aimed at developing a computationally inexpensive deep learning model (Rain2Depth) that emulates an RRI model. Our study focused on the Omono River (Akita Prefecture, Japan) and predicted the depth-MAP from spatial and temporal rainfall data for individual events. Rain2Depth was developed based on a convolutional neural network (CNN), and predicts depth-MAP from 7-day successive hourly rainfall at 13 rain gauge stations in the basin. For training the Rain2Depth, we simulated the depth-MAP by the RRI model forced by 50-ensembles of 30-year data from large-ensemble weather/climate predictions. Instead of using the input and output data directly, we extracted important features from input and output data with two dimensionality reduction techniques (principal component analysis (PCA) and the CNN approach) prior to training the network. This dimensionality reduction aimed to avoid overfitting caused by insufficient training data. The nonlinear CNN approach was superior to the linear PCA for extracting features. Finally, Rain2Depth was architected by connecting the extracted features between input and output data through a neural network. Rain2Depth-based predictions were more accurate than predictions from our previous model (K20), which used ensemble learning of multiple regularized regressions for a specific station. Whereas the K20 can predict maximum inundation depth only at stations, our study achieved depth-MAP prediction by training only the single model Rain2Depth.

Gender, Culture, and Disaster in Post–3.11 Japan by Mire Koikari

Reviewed by: Gender, Culture, and Disaster in Post–3.11 Japan by Mire Koikari Margherita Long (bio) Gender, Culture, and Disaster in Post–3.11 Japan. By Mire Koikari. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. xii, 196 pages. $120.00, cloth; $39.95, paper; $35.95, E-book. One of the most satisfying things this book does is reclaim feminism from a government policy called danjo kyōdō (男女共同), or gender coparticipation. Originally included in the Danjo Kyōdō Sankaku Kihonhō (Basic Act for Gender Equal Society, 1999), the concept gained new relevance after 3.11 when the Abe Shinzō administration adopted its principles to promote Japan as a champion of "gender and resilience whose expertise benefits other nations in Asia and the Pacific" (p. 45). Author Mire Koikari, a senior scholar of sociology and women's studies, performs close readings of disaster manuals for women issued by An-an magazine, Kurowassan magazine, trade presses, and the Tokyo municipal government. She shows how, far from promoting gender equality, the "risk management" and resilience (kyōjinka) discourses that proliferated after 3.11 call on women to embrace traditionally gendered care work and hold themselves, not the state, responsible for keeping families safe. Particularly powerful is Koikari's critique of a set of 2014 pamphlets issued by Abe's Gender Equality Bureau in English ("Learning from Adversity") and Japanese ("Danjo kyōdō sankaku [End Page 145] no shiten no bōsai, fukkō no torikumi shishin"). The pamphlets argue that, as the "chief agents" of resilience building, women must "share leadership roles in all aspects of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) process" (pp. 44, 62). If women hold at least 30 per cent of leadership roles, the pamphlets maintain, then sanitary napkins and infant items won't be forgotten from stockpiled supplies, and childcare, eldercare, and sexual assault prevention won't be forgotten at evacuation shelters. Koikari points to the slippage between the terms "equality" and "coparticipation," noting that the former is missing from the substance of the policies and guidebooks and that the latter "sanctif[ies] maternal duties and obligations" (p. 65). Her point is that feminism should open spaces for thought and action outside neoliberalism and neoconservatism, rather than accept them as the status quo. She quotes David Harvey on the perverse cycle in which neoliberalism and neoconservatism reinforce each other, because atomization, individualism, and competition in a neoliberal economy create instability, insecurity, and disorder, and these in turn lead to nationalist calls for morality, solidarity, and tradition (p. 20). Reading calls for care work by women as calls for just this sort of nationalism and tradition, Koikari traces Abe's post–3.11 policy to a June 2011 symposium convened by women instrumental in crafting the 1999 Danjo Kyōdō Sankaku legislation. During and after the 2011 symposium, all advocated "gender coparticipation" in disaster recovery, all pressed the government to adopt their ideas, and all, according to Koikari, "consider their mobilization a successful instance of women's and feminist activism" (p. 69). Readers get a glimpse of what might have prompted Koikari to write her book when we read about organizations set up by these same figures. Launched after the success of the 2011 symposium, their groups Women's Network for East Japan Disaster: Rise Together! and Japan Women's Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (JWNDRR), became "conspicuous presences" (p. 69) at international events hosted by, for instance, the United Nations. They also "actively pursu[ed] partnerships with the University of Hawai'i, the University of Delaware, United Nations University, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)" (p. 69). What must it have been like for Koikari, a professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Hawai'i, to have been asked to partner with the JWNDRR? It is an interesting question for feminist academics on the left these days when feminist discourses, in Koikari's words, are "increasingly appropriated to enable, rather than obstruct, the entrenchment of dominant political, economic and cultural dynamics" (p. 71). If indeed an offer of collaboration was made, I think we can assume Koikari declined it. When we...

Annual prevalence of non-communicable diseases and identification of vulnerable populations following the Fukushima disaster and COVID-19 pandemic

Disasters, pandemics, and their response measures can have secondary effects on the physical and psychological health of affected populations. Using health insurance receipt data from 2009 to 2020, we assessed changes in the prevalence of major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and mental disorders, among affected populations before and after the Fukushima disaster and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Japan. Furthermore, age and sex groups with the largest increases in prevalence after these events were identified. The participants of this study were employees of large companies and their dependent family members who were insured by health insurance societies (HIS). The dataset was provided by JMDC Inc. The annual age-adjusted prevalence of each disease belonging to the HIS scheme was used to calculate the ratio of disease prevalence before and after the events. After the Fukushima disaster, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes generally increased over a 9-year period in Fukushima Prefecture. The increase in the prevalence rate of these three NCDs and mental disorders was the highest among females aged 40–74 years compared to males and the other age groups. The prevalence of all four diseases increased after the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan, with a marked increase in males aged 0–39 years. Changes in prevalence ratios of NCDs after the COVID-19 outbreak among the areas affected by the Fukushima disaster were lower than in the whole of Japan. It is important to provide tailor-made public health support among populations in accordance with the type of disasters and pandemic.

The Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Health Emergency and Disaster in Japan

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the importance of health emergency and disaster risk management (EDRM) to reduce the risks and impacts of infectious disease outbreaks. We investigated Japan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on changes made to the current health EDRM. Findings from document analysis and semi-structured interviews with six experts were integrated to provide insights into Japan’s health EDRM to improve outcomes in future health emergencies. Relevant information was extracted from COVID-19 policy documents published by the Japanese government, and the interviews validated and expanded on the data already collected. Challenges faced in the country’s response to COVID-19 and the changes made to the health EDRM framework are summarised. Findings were grouped into human resource topics (including essential health EDRM positions and safety of personnel), health service delivery topics (including public health and hospital primary care services), and logistical topics (including vaccination, personal protective equipment, patient transport, and telecommunications). These responses to the pandemic could serve as an example of good practice for other countries developing strategies for future health emergencies and disasters.