Disaster In Japan Research Articles

Disruption of Child Environments and Its Psychological Consequences After the Fukushima Disaster: a Narrative Review Based on the Ecological Systems Model.

A high prevalence of clinically significant mental health problems was found in children affected by the Fukushima disaster in Japan. We reviewed the literature on child mental health to examine how disasters impacted children in Fukushima. Children's environments, such as family and peer systems, were disrupted by radiation concerns and evacuation. As children struggled with less resources at home and school, they also had to deal with discrimination. Various interventions were implemented, ranging from government financial assistance to several mental health services provided by local care resources to families and children. In addition to organizing such interventions discretely in each microsystem, a collaborative approach involving various intervening entities across multiple levels was deemed necessary for providing comprehensive support to the affected children and their families. To promote the healthy psychological development of children, it is necessary to provide multidimensional support for their families, particularly parents, through multidisciplinary collaboration between professionals involved in child and family care.

한일 양국의 재난안전정보 다국어지원 현황 연구

In this thesis, the current status of multilingual emergency disaster information in Korea and Japan is examined for ways that foreigners residing in Korea can more accurately understand ‘emergency disaster information’ in a situation of disaster that needs to be responded to urgently. In the case of Korea, the scope of multilingual support services and information delivery media has been expanded based on the multilingual support measures established and implemented at the Government level so far, and there have been tangible results ranging from local governments and private sector activities. However, the type and degree of services provided differ by each institution and local government, and the focus was mainly on marriage immigrants and foreign workers. Therefore, international students, foreign nationals, refugees, seasonal workers who are short􋹲term residents, tourists, etc. still can’t get information in case of a disaster. So, the problem of blind spots needs to be solved. In contrast, in the case of Japan, they are preparing a plan to provide the disaster safety information in a timely manner to protect them, not only for foreign migrants and workers, but also for all foreign residents including international students and tourists. For the purpose, a system that can effectively deliver information to foreigners is being established by utilizing “Foreigner support information coordinator in the event of a disaster” and establishing a “Disaster Multilingual Support Center.” In the future, with reference to Japan's disaster information provision policy, etc., it seems that measures should be prepared to protect them by expanding the scope of policy targets, so that any foreigner residing in Korea, regardless of the purpose of their stay or institution, can obtain the disaster safety information without being alienated. In addition, the establishment of a multilingual service support institution should be promoted to integrate and systematize multilingual disaster safety information produced and distributed separately through a conservative approach in each case of a major disaster so far.

Visualizing drivers of gender health disparities: Ongoing participatory action research following the 2011 disaster in Japan

As part of an ongoing participatory action research project initiated following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster to improve disaster policies and responses, this study examines social factors and processes that affect women's well-being in and after disasters. Using PhotoVoice methodology, the project has engaged women affected by the Great East Japan Disaster in participatory assessment and analysis over the last ten years. Begun in three sites in June 2011, the project is currently operating in seven locations: four in the coastal areas affected by the tsunami in the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures; two in Fukushima Prefecture; and one in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, where the largest number of out-of-prefecture evacuees reside. Participating members, recruited in collaboration with local NGOs, are women affected by the disaster aged from in their 20s to over 70 years. They take photographs of their lives and attend facilitated group discussions on an ongoing basis. Participatory analysis of their photographs and narratives by members and group facilitators (including the author) uses the analytical approach of grounded theory's open and focused coding with constant comparison. The analysis identifies various ways the disaster affected women, compromising their livelihood, safety, and well-being. It reveals an interconnection between the evacuation of children and women of reproductive age, loss of employment in the female-dominated occupational sectors, and increased dependent care responsibilities, which in turn compromises women's financial and emotional well-being. The analysis also elucidates the gendered division of labor in private and public spheres, shortages of maternal and infant health care, and gender-based violence in the post-disaster context. Notably, many of these issues and connections correspond to known social determinants of health disparities. The study findings add a valuable but often neglected local perspective and call for increased policy attention to eliminating gender disparities in disasters.

An Extended Model for Disaster Relief Operations Used on the Hagibis Typhoon Case in Japan

This paper presents a generalization of a previously defined lexicographical dynamic flow model based on multi-objective optimization for solving the multi-commodity aid distribution problem in the aftermath of a catastrophe. The model considers distribution of the two major commodities of food and medicine, and seven different objectives, and the model can easily be changed to include more commodities in addition to other and different priorities between the objectives. The first level in the model is to maximize the amount of aid distributed under the given constraints. Keeping the optimal result from the first level, the second level can be solved considering objectives such as the cost of the operation, the time of the operation, the equity of distribution for each type of humanitarian aid, the priority of the designated nodes, the minimum arc reliability, and the global reliability of the route. The model is tested on a recent case study based on the Hagibis typhoon disaster in Japan in 2019. The paper presents a solution for the distribution problem and provides a driving schedule for vehicles for delivering the commodities from depots to the regional centers in need for humanitarian aid.

How Does Residential Property Market React to Flood Risk in Flood-Prone Regions? A Case Study in Nagoya City

To quantify the flood risk awareness of real estate market participants and residents, previous studies analyzed the effect of flood risks on residential property values. However, most studies focused on the impact of recent flood events and the publication of new flood risk information; the behavior in flood-prone regions in which repeated damages occurred and lessons learned consequently has not been the focus of analysis. Moreover, there is a growing national concern in Japan about an increase in future flood risks due to climate change, although their effect on property values has not been discussed. In this study, we analyzed residential property values in Nagoya City (Aichi Prefecture, Japan), a megacity that has experienced significant flood damage in major historical and recent floods. The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of past and recent flood experiences and the increasing concerns about flood risks on recent residential property values. The results revealed that historical flood damage had the largest impact on residential property values in Nagoya City, and devaluation increased due to growing concerns about natural disasters in Japan. The disclosure of flood risk information also had an impact on property values, increasing devaluation after disclosure. On the contrary, the occurrence of recent floods did not have an impact on property values, suggesting that flood risk awareness had already been strong in the target area. These findings are different from those of many previous studies. The observed trends in residential property values in the target area are likely a characteristic response in flood-prone regions, where flood risk awareness is enhanced due to repeated flood damage.

Conjunctures: Who Counts, What Circulates, and the Politics of Children

Conjunctures: Who Counts, What Circulates, and the Politics of Children

Playing through the Apocalypse: Preparing Children for Mass Disasters in Japan and Chile

AbstractThere is a growing trend to prepare children for future disasters. A Japanese nonprofit organization has developed an event called Iza! Kaeru Caravan, which includes games that teach children and their families how to survive disasters, from earthquakes to floods. Many disaster experts and government officials from other countries have now implemented the Caravan in their own contexts. Based on ethnographic research in Japan and Chile, this article shows how playful methods in disaster preparedness orient children, and by proxy their families, to accept an apocalyptic future, helping the neoliberal state buy time. Advocates of disaster preparedness in Japan and Chile accept that state actors will not come immediately to the rescue. Playful methods mobilize children and their families to take responsibility for their own survival through the subjunctive work of the “as if.” Ambiguously positioned between fun and education, playful methods of preparedness command attention from children and adults—what I call “attentive play”—as they frame and reframe the games to figure out, “Is this play?” Ultimately, the article shows that attentive play buys time for the state to temporarily defer its responsibilities to citizens, but the ambiguity of play can also exceed its ideological effects.

Validation of Unit 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during its Accident

Ten years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) that occurred on March 11, 2011. The earthquake and tsunami caused significant loss of lives and widespread disaster in Japan. Several reports have been published on the nuclear accident; however, the original data released at the beginning of the accident were written in Japanese, and some of these documents are no longer accessible. Some of the scenarios pertaining to the accident have become standardized theories, and these scenarios may be passed down to future generations with different descriptions, which may not fully describe the actual occurrences. To prevent future nuclear accidents, the accident at Fukushima Daiichi must be properly understood and analyzed.

Socio-psychological Recovery in Post-nuclear Fukushima, Japan: Affective Reactions to Media Portrayal in Photographs

After the 2011 Great East Japan disaster, residents of Fukushima were inundated with media photographs that painted a dire picture. As emotionally triggering photographs have been established as a potential barrier to recovery from trauma, there is a need to better understand their impact on the socio-psychological recovery of disaster survivors. Drawing from media system dependency theory and cognitive neuroscience, the affective circumplex model and an adaptive photo-elicitation interview technique offer unique understandings of affective responses to photographs. Results indicate that although impactful media photographs can act as recurring stimuli to the experienced disaster, over time they can also interrupt negative thought processes and encourage post-traumatic growth.

Maladaptation, fragmentation, and other secondary effects of centralized post-disaster urban planning: The case of the 2011 “cascading” disaster in Japan

Previous studies have documented the negative impacts and unexpected secondary effects of post-disaster housing development. Here, we build on this tradition to explore how post-disaster urban planning and risk mitigation measures affect internal migrations after a major disaster. In the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the Japanese government put forward significant efforts to provide safe housing and land in more than 20 cities. We used GIS spatial analysis to identify urban footprint changes, which proved to be reliable indicators of internal migration. Our results reveal the secondary effects of planning interventions, and more specifically, how the maladaptation measures triggered rapid urban sprawl and increased risks of landslides and vulnerabilities in mountainous areas. We also find increased urban fragmentation, both socially and spatially. Maladaptation, urban fragmentation, and rapid changes in urban footprints emerged as the consequences of centralized government-mandated planning and housing development. We conclude that the uncertainty surrounding dynamic recovery processes requires incremental adaptive action. Planners and local authorities must recognize and remain attentive to the cascading effects of centralized planning decisions.

‘Staying in the Nationalist Bubble’

‘Staying in the Nationalist Bubble’

SPATIAL ANALYSIS ON OCCURRENCE FACTORS OF MULTIPLE SLOPE FAILURES USING TOPOGRAPHIC AND RAINFALL INDICES WITH HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTIONS

In this study, the spatial characteristics of the factors influencing the occurrence and scale of multiple slope failures in areas with smaller grid sized than the unit size for the current emergency alert system for sediment disasters in Japan were investigated by using high-resolution data for the spatial distribution of topography and rainfall. The study areas were located in southern Hiroshima Prefecture and southeastern Ehime Prefecture of Japan, where multiple slope failures occurred due to heavy rainfall in July 2018. With an increase in slope gradient, the frequency of smaller-scale slope failures increases significantly in southeastern Ehime Prefecture, whereas this tendency is not as noticeable in southern Hiroshima Prefecture. This indicates that other indices (e.g., geological feature, large total precipitation) also influence the occurrence of slope failure. A slope-facing direction is not seem to affect the occurrence of slope failure in both study areas. Total precipitation (i.e., long-term rainfall index) influence the frequency of the occurrence of slope failure in southern Hiroshima Prefecture. Whereas, maximum hourly precipitation (i.e., short-term rainfall index) relatesto the occurrence of slope failure in both study areas. These indicate that the occurrence of slope failures depend on different rainfall indices in each study area. Combining the topographic indices (e.g., slope gradient) and rainfall indices (e.g., hourly precipitation, total precipitation) may lead to a highly accurate estimation of the occurrence of slope failure on a smaller grid size than the unit size for the current system.

Beyond the Fence: Constructed and Found spaces for children's outdoor play in natural and human-induced disaster contexts – Lessons from north-east Japan, and Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan

Play is part of the nature of childhood and affirmed as important internationally in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is therefore an anomaly that play is not a pillar of humanitarian aid and this is of particular concern because children are displaced and become refugees disproportionately compared to adults, as a result of both natural and human-induced disasters. Play can help children deal with some of the traumas resulting from a disaster and thus contribute to their health and well-being Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) and help prepare them for education Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). Using the theoretical framework of constructed and found spaces for children's outdoor play the paper explores these in two contexts: after the triple disaster in north-east Japan and Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan. The results indicate that in the temporary housing areas of these disaster contexts children play in found spaces which are proximal, associated with temporary housing, and distal, beyond the temporary housing. New constructed spaces were stand alone or associated with safety/educational facilities for children but there were differences in this provision between the two contexts, with more provision in the bounded refugee camp than in the geographically dispersed disaster area in Japan. This difference in provision is suggested as being the result of several factors but may also reflect the fact that provision for children's play is not a pillar of humanitarian aid, which it should be in order to protect the child's right to play in such traumatic situations.

Performance evaluation of a Terry GS-2 steam impulse turbine with air-water mixtures

• A Terry GS-2 turbine was tested under gas mass fractions from 1.00 to 0.05. • Terry turbine performance degrades with decreasing gas mass fraction. • Results demonstrate capabilities for extended use in nuclear plant systems. Terry steam turbines are widely used in various industries because of their robust design. Within the nuclear power generation industry, they are used in the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System to remove decay heat during reactor isolation events. During the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station disaster in Japan in 2011, the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling System and associated Terry turbine operated for over 70 hours in Unit 2; this runtime is well beyond the expected operating duration. Theories suggest the turbine was subjected to a two-phase inlet flow, which could degrade the turbine performance. In this work, an experimental test rig was constructed to test a full-scale Terry model GS-2 steam turbine under two-phase air/water flows. Steady-state efficiency and torque performance maps of the turbine were developed over a range of turbine inlet pressures (1.38–4.83 bar or 20–70 psia), air mass fractions (0.05–1.0) and rotational speeds up to 4000 RPM. Turbine performance followed expected trends with torque varying linearly and efficiency varying quadratically with rotational speed. In addition, high-speed images of the two-phase flow entering the turbine were also analyzed to understand how changes in inlet pressure and air mass fraction affect the flow regime and homogenization. The present tests with air–water two-phase mixtures are an important step towards providing an understanding of the full-scale Terry turbine’s behavior and performance curves under two-phase conditions. The results of this work will be combined with air/water and steam/water data gathered using a small-scale Terry ZS-1 steam turbine in order to understand the scaling relationship between large and small size Terry turbines and fluid pairs. The combined data set will enable further development of analytical models over a wide range of conditions and may be used to provide technical justification for expanded use of the Terry turbines in nuclear power plant safety systems and other systems.

Application of Soil Water Index to landslide prediction in snowy regions: sensitivity analysis in Japan and preliminary results from Tomsk, Russia

Soil Water Index (SWI) represents the conceptual water stored in the soil and is calculated using a three-layer tank model with hourly precipitation. In Japan, landslide disasters are likely to occur when SWI in an event exceeds the maximum value of the past 10 years; however, snowmelt-driven landslide disasters have not been considered yet. Using the tank model that simultaneously calculates SWI and runoff, we implemented the snowfall-accumulation-snowmelt processes into the original SWI and applied the modified SWI to meteorological data in Tomsk, Russia, in spring 2010 when severe flood and landslide disasters had occurred. We conducted a sensitivity analysis of hourly precipitation in snowy region in Japan considering that meteorological data in Russia are available every 3 h. When we input the average of the three-hourly accumulated precipitation to calculate SWI, the result was almost identical to that of the observed hourly precipitation being given. We then estimated the hourly temperature by linearly interpolating the data every 3 h, and set the threshold of liquid/solid precipitation. The degree-hour method was employed to calculate the snowmelt. The modified SWI predicted the occurrence of snowmelt-driven landslide disasters in Japan when the calculated SWI exceeded the maximum value in the snowmelt season (March–May) for the past 10 years. When applied to meteorological data in Tomsk, the modified SWI and calculated runoff captured the timing of snowmelt-driven flood and landslide disasters in spring 2010. We demonstrated that by focusing on the maximum value of SWI in the snowmelt season for the past 10 years, we can predict snowmelt-driven landslide disasters.

Observation on How COVID-19 Affected the Securitization Market in Japan

Despite the pandemic-related slowdown in economic activities, the securitization market in Japan has remained open. The sudden change in the workstyle of securitization professionals at the beginning of the year 2020 did not prevent securitization transactions from closing, nor were there any disruptions or noticeable slowdowns. This article takes a closer look at the impact of COVID-19 on the Japanese economy and the Japanese securitization market and compares this to massive natural disasters of the past. <b>TOPICS:</b>Fixed income and structured finance, developed markets, financial crises and financial market history <b>Key Findings</b> ▪ Despite the abrupt change in the working practice of the securitization professionals at the beginning of 2020, new deals kept flowing to the market. ▪ Because the pandemic is not a financial crisis, its impact on the Japanese asset securitization market differs from what was observed during the Great Financial Crisis of 2007–2009. ▪ I note some resemblance of my recent experience to my experience during the major disasters in Japan’s recent past.

Comparative analysis of CNN coverage of weather-related disasters in USA, Japan, and India

Previous research studies have investigated news media coverage of weather-related disasters. However, little is known about how CNN, a broadcast enterprise with global reach, has covered and framed weather disasters happening in a Western country and an Asian country. Thus, the present study used a qualitative method to analyze how CNN covered and framed weather-related disasters in the USA, Japan, and India. Five news frames provided the theoretical framework. The findings show that CNN used responsibility and morality frames differently in its coverage of weather-related disasters in the three countries. This suggests that CNN might have different expectations about audiences. In frame building, factors like audience expectations influence media frames. There were no differences in the economic consequences and human interest framing of weather-related disasters in the three countries. Conflict framing was not present in CNN coverage of weather-related disasters in any of the three countries. The study recommends that CNN in particular and news media in general provide more coverage and in-depth analysis on the audience so that they can have a deeper understanding of weather-related disaster issues.

Peritraumatic reactions, PTSD symptoms, and pain : A study of train disasters in Japan.

Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between peritraumatic reactions, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and pain in people injured in train disasters. Methods : The participants were injured in a train crash in Japan that left more than 100 dead. There were 218 participants in the analysis, with a mean age of 37.50 ± 14.67 years. Peritraumatic reactions were assessed using the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory. PTSD symptoms were evaluated using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised Japanese-language version. Pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale. Results : Peritraumatic reactions did not directly affect PTSD symptoms but were found to be associated via latent variables. Regarding pain and PTSD symptoms, intrusive memories were more associated with pain than other symptoms were. There was an associative path from intrusion to pain, but no such path from pain to intrusion. Conclusions : Our results suggest that a therapeutic approach to intrusion may be effective in ameliorating the pain caused by injury. Future research should examine integrated treatment approaches for both PTSD and pain, rather than just for aspects of PTSD. J. Med. Invest. 68 : 85-89, February, 2021.

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF RADIATION RISK PERCEPTION.

to determine the subjective and psychophysiological characteristics of the perception of radiation risk,to identify destructive individual-typological personality traits, as well as factors that can be the basis of psycho-logical compensation for victims of various radiation disasters and accidents. A comparative analysis of psychometric and neurophysiological parameters of hypertrophiedperception of radiation risk in the following groups was carried out: liquidators (clean-up workers) of the conse-quences of the Chornobyl accident and evacuees from the Chornobyl exclusion zone (CEZ) - 317 people total, par-ticipants in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) - 101 people, and control group - 85 people. We used psychodiagnos-tic and neurophysiological (computerized electroencephalography) techniques. In the groups of liquidators and evacuees from CEZ there are significantly more people with hypertrophiedperception of radiation risk compared to the control group and the comparison group (liquidators - 71.88 %, liqui-dators-evacuees - 80.0 %, evacuees 76.92 %, ATO participants - 33.78 %, control group - 35.0 %). Among therespondents with hypertrophied perception of radiation risk radiation factors, and, most of all, diseases associatedwith ionizing radiation, hold the first rank places among 31 evaluated factors in all groups. The respondents withadequate perception of the radiation risk are primarily concerned about social stress and environmental factors.Correlation analysis showed that there are no correlation between hypertrophied perception of radiation risk andactual documented radiation dose. Hypertrophied perception depends on gender, level of education, family incomeand level of knowledge about ionizing radiation. It affects perception of one's health, makes you feel helpless,increase the level of distress from the Chornobyl disaster and the Fukushima-1 disaster in Japan, and is also associ-ated with the Revolution of Dignity. Hypertrophied perception of radiation risk contributes to disorders of psycho-somatic health and deformation of personality traits. Comparative analysis of the parameters of bioelectrical activ-ity of the brain of persons with hypertrophied perception of the radiation threat showed an increase in brain's delta-,theta- and beta- activity with suppression of alpha-activity and dominant frequency. In all examined groups a significant percentage of people with hypertrophied perception wererevealed. The key role in the process of perception of a radiation risk is played not by the real danger of the situa-tion and the documented dose of radiation, but by its perception and awareness. Hypertrophied perception of theradiation risk contributes to psychosomatic health disorders and deformation of personality traits, which is con-firmed by neurophysiological studies.

Study on the factors hindering improvement in the success rate of dental identification in disasters in Japan

Study on the factors hindering improvement in the success rate of dental identification in disasters in Japan