East Japan Earthquake Disaster Research Articles

Changes in the Commercial Structure of an Area Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster: The Case of Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture

Changes in the Commercial Structure of an Area Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster: The Case of Yamada Town, Iwate Prefecture

Recording Events Surrounding the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster as a Reference for Other Regions and the Future

堤防を越えた津波（上）：発災要因として，広範囲・大規模に押し寄せた津波が重要である．第一説明者による岩手県宮古市撮影動画分析から，閉伊川河口では，引き波で地震発生31分後に約1 m水面が低下して川底の一部がみえていた．その後，押し波は，宮古湾から閉伊川を遡って水位を徐々に増加させ，地震発生37分後に3.5 m高の堤防（天端高約5 m (TP)）を越え，当時の市庁舎周辺の市街地を浸水させはじめた．津波は，市街地にさらに流れ込み，地震発生42分過ぎに最高水位（写真中央の堤防上で約7 m (TP)，写真左側の建物付近で約6 m (TP)）に達した．（宮古市，2011年3月11日撮影）

Psychological Distress in Responders and Nonresponders in a 5-year Follow-up Health Survey: The RIAS Study.

People with poor health or mental conditions are generally unwilling to participate in the health examinations, and no studies have directly examined the relationship of psychological distress among disaster survivors with participation status to date. The present study thus examined psychosocial differences according to the respondent status in a 5-year follow-up survey among participants in the prospective health surveys on survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster study in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. We analyzed data from 10,203 Japanese survivors aged ≥18 years (mean age, 65.6 years; 38.0% men) and who underwent health examinations at baseline in 2011. Participants were classified into responders and nonresponders according to their 2015 health examination participation status. Psychological distress was evaluated using the Kessler 6 scale and categorized as none, mild, and severe. Multinominal logistic regression was used to examine the risk of psychological distress in relation to participation status. In the 2015 survey, 6,334 of 6,492 responders and 1,686 of 3,356 nonresponders were analyzed. The most common reasons for nonparticipation in the survey were participated in other health examinations, examined at a hospital, and did not have time to participate. Nonresponse in males was associated only with mild psychological stress, whereas nonresponse in females was associated with mild and severe psychological distress. Nonresponders in the follow-up survey had a higher risk of psychological distress than responders. Continuous monitoring of the health of nonresponders and responders may help to prevent future health deterioration.

Idols, celebrities, and fans at the time of post-catastrophe

ABSTRACT This article explores the ways in which activism was performed and negotiated by Japanese celebrities and idols after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster that occurred in March 2011. Post-catastrophe, humanitarian works, particularly visits to the affected areas, by celebrities and idols such as AKB48 were widely reported by the mainstream media. At the same time, there had been a social tendency within Japanese showbusiness to keep celebrities silent from making public anti-nuclear claims. While most celebrities kept their ‘neutral’ stance, there were a few instances where celebrities expressed clear anti-nuclear messages. Comparing idols’ politically ‘safe’ humanitarian work with other cases of celebrity activism, my article aims to examine the ways in which the nature of idols impacts the form of their activism. Aligning with the notion of ‘celebrity citizenship,’ ‘affective intimacy’ shared among celebrities/idols and fans plays a crucial role in identifying celebrity/idol activism. I argue that idol activism in particular mirrored the existing characteristics of the relationship between idols and fans.

Disaster Museums in Japan: Telling the Stories of Disasters Before and After 3.11

Japan has an established tradition of museums commemorating its long history of disasters, which memorialize lives lost and convey the scientific mechanisms of natural hazards, disaster history, and people’s experiences during and after disasters. The first part of this paper provides an overview of seven modern disaster museums in Japan established before 3.11, starting from the museum of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. These seven museums commemorate disasters of different types, time, and scales of damages. Considering their shared commonalities and individual characteristics, it describes the components and approaches of exhibits that these museums use to convey experiences and stories of disasters, passing on local knowledge toward future disaster risk reduction. The second part of the paper provides an overview of new museums and exhibit facilities established to commemorate the 3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster of March 11, 2011. The scale of the devastation of 3.11, as well as an explosion of interest and support for activities of memorialization, documentation, and exhibition, has resulted in a variety and decentralization of new museums and exhibit spaces throughout the area affected by the 3.11 disaster. Spanning various combinations and types of exhibit facilities, this paper concludes by considering emergent trends compared to pre-3.11 disaster museums and potential future developments.

Linking geomorphological features and disaster risk in a school district: The development of an in-service teacher training programme

The dimension and degree of a disaster can depend on the vulnerability of the location, the people and the community. One of the key lessons learnt from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake disaster was that schools should prepare a school contingency plan in advance. To do so, they should fully understand their school’s disaster risk in the worst-case scenario in order to protect children’s lives at the school. Therefore, schools are required to customise their preparedness measures according to the school’s locality. The training programme, ‘Understanding disaster risk based on geographic features of a school district’ was developed and implemented in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, which was severely affected by the 2011 tsunami. The training programme was a spin-off of a school-based disaster education programme implemented in Ishinomaki City and was expected to support the customisation of schools’ disaster manuals according to the school district’s disaster risk. In order to strengthen teachers’ map-reading skills, the training was organised in three steps. The first step was to enable teachers to acquire basic map-reading skills and read a contour map to understand the geomorphological features of their school district. The second step was to have teachers compare these maps to hazard maps (for tsunamis, floods and landslides) to understand the links between geomorphological features and disaster risk. The third step was to have them identify emergency evacuation sites and evacuation shelters for each hazard type in their school district. It was found that the training helped to increase the participants’ confidence in understanding these maps.

Impact of east Japan earthquake disaster with massive tsunami for prevalence of Takotsubo syndrome – a multicenter regional registry before and after east Japan earthquake disaster

Abstract Background Previous studies demonstrated Takotsubo syndrome (TS) was easy provoked by earthquake disaster. However, a previous other regional report demonstrated TS was not increased after 2011 east Japan earthquake disaster. The purpose of this study was to clarify incidence of TS after the earthquake disaster in Iwate prefecture during long term period. Method Consecutive hospitalized TS patients were registered during 8 years between 2009 and 2016 in our medical university and five Iwate prefecture hospitals. Moreover, patients were divided into two groups, i.e., those with the inland and those with tsunami-stricken area groups. Prevalence of TS were calculated by standard incidence ratio (SIR) before and after the earthquake disaster. Moreover, long-term prognosis in the both groups was compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results A total of 112 TS (male 25 and female 87) were registered from acute coronary syndrome registry in each hospital (n=4,163). Averaged age was 75.3 year-old. A total number of TS just after the two months of the earthquake (March and April 2011) was nine and significance monthly variation was observed comparing with the other months (p=0.029). SIR before and after the disaster is as following Figure. There were no significant differences for long-term prognosis between the two groups (p=0.20). Conclusion Incidence of TS was increased in acute phase after east Japan earthquake disaster. However, significance increases were maintained during long-term period, although number of TS was decreased after acute phase. TS is increased not only acute but also chronic phase after the serious earthquake disaster. Standard incidence ratio Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Takuya Tsujiuchi et al. Human Science of Disaster Reconstruction: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Holistic Health Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Takuya Tsujiuchi et al. Human Science of Disaster Reconstruction: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Holistic Health Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

INVESTIGATING COST-EFFECTIVE POLICY INCENTIVES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY IN JAPAN: A RECURSIVE CGE APPROACH FOR AN OPTIMAL ENERGY MIX

The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred in 2011 gave a sharp reminder to Japan’s energy security to reconsider the reduction of nuclear power dependence with a better energy mix. We use a recursive CGE model based on Japan’s renewable energy input–output model to analyze the energy composite of power generation and consumption to investigate cost-effective policy incentives to achieve an optimal energy mix to reduce the nuclear power dependence to less than 5% within 10 years. Moreover, we create scenarios of: (1) nuclear power decommission, (2) renewable energy promotion and (3) virtual power plant (VPP) implementation with public R&D expenditure and power infrastructure investment. The simulation results show that renewable energy could gradually replace nuclear power with capital-use subsidies. Under the direction of nuclear power decommission, the VPP installation could reduce the fiscal cost of wind power by 13%, solar energy by 8% and the social cost by 36%. We provide empirical evidence that the implementation of VPP should be promoted in addition to the renewable policy promotion policy to facilitate power allocation and overcapacity problems better.

Impact evaluation of a school-based disaster education program in a city affected by the 2011 great East Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster

This study evaluated the impact of a disaster education program implemented by the fourth-grade students at an elementary school affected by tsunami one year after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. Called the “Reconstruction Mapping Program”, it applied a town-watching and map-making approach to disaster education in the disaster reconstruction phase. Emphasizing positive aspects of reconstruction in consideration of the disaster affected children's mental care, the aim of the Program was set as developing children's attitudes towards contributing to the community. The study used mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative analyses to examine the fourth-grade children's responses to the Program before and after the implementation in 2013 and 2014, and 2018. The study found that the Program was a promising approach for the students who had experience disaster because even after walking around the community that was destroyed by the 2011 tsunami, children kept their affection for their community and they became motivated to contribute to the community's reconstruction. The study also found that the ninth-grade students in 2018 who participated in the Program in 2013 perceived the Program experience positively because they thought that working in groups and keeping records of reconstruction were important. The Program experience impacted the ninth-grade students' willingness to contribute to the community for the longer term. However, not much impact was seen for their disaster preparedness and mitigation behavior. The Program helped to foster children as “agents of change” to make a disaster-resilient community.

Analysis of Necessary Support in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster Area.

Altogether, 1588 dietitians were dispatched from the Japan Dietetic Association (JDA) to a disaster area for the first time on a nationwide scale following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Various studies have been conducted based on the activity reports, but the support that the disaster area requested was not documented. The purpose of this study is to identify the support that was needed in the disaster area. Therefore, we investigated the necessary support desired by dietitians who lived in the disaster areas. Questionnaires were sent to 1911 dietitians who were members of the JDA and lived in 3 affected prefectures in August 2012. In total, 435 dietitians (22.8%) completed the questionnaire. Among the questions on the questionnaire, we analyzed answers to the open-ended question: “Please write freely about the support that you wanted at the time of the disaster” (n = 332). Using qualitative descriptive analysis, we extracted data from the answers and categorized and labeled them into similar groups. These groups were divided into four categories: (1) “goods,” (2) “establishing a system in advance of a large-scale disaster,” (3) “information,” and (4) “human resources.” To provide “goods,” “information,” and “human resources” to the disaster area smoothly, it is important to plan a “system” in advance of large-scale disasters.

A Study on Disaster Medical Response During the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster Based on the Emergency Support Function – Nine Days at Iwate Prefecture from Hyperacute to Subacute Phase –

During the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster, the medical team’s responses in the Iwate Prefecture Emergency Operation Center (EOC) experienced many difficulties, especially in the first nine days after disaster occurrence. In this paper we proposed to objectively reveal problems of response activities at the viewpoint of information processing by the After Action Review (AAR), focusing on the activity logs in the time series (chronologies). By using the Emergency Support Function (ESF) as a framework of our analysis, we clarified the gap between the task that should be performed and actual conditions in the operation of the Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) from the hyperacute phase to the subacute phase of medical responses.

Future perspective of restoration policy in Fukushima after 10 years From the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster

Future perspective of restoration policy in Fukushima after 10 years From the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster

Analysis of Listening and Study on Narratives of Survivor's Disaster Experience as Inquiry Based Learning by Middle School Students: Case of Disaster Tradition Activity of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster in Hashikami Junior High School

Analysis of Listening and Study on Narratives of Survivor's Disaster Experience as Inquiry Based Learning by Middle School Students: Case of Disaster Tradition Activity of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster in Hashikami Junior High School

Study on Disaster Medical Response During the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster Based on Essential Elements of Information – Nine Days at Iwate Prefecture from Hyperacute Phase to Subacute Phase –

During the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster, the medical team’s responses in Iwate Prefecture Disaster Emergency Operations Center experienced various difficulties, especially during the first 9 days. In this paper, we propose to objectively reveal problems of response activities from the viewpoint of operational information processing by the After Action Review, focusing on the activity logs in the time series (chronologies). By using Essential Elements of Information (EEI) as a framework of our analysis, we clarified the gap between the task that should be performed and the actual conditions in the operation of Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), from the hyperacute phase to the subacute phase of medial responses.

Changes in Public Risk Perception after a Large Disaster: Evidence from the Housing Market

The unprecedented damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster greatly altered people’s awareness of risk not only in directly affected areas but also in unaffected areas as well. This study focuses on the relationship between earthquake risk and real estate prices in unaffected areas before and after the earthquake in order to explore how large-scale natural disasters influence people’s perception toward disaster risk. We use large-scale property transaction data covering periods both before and after the earthquake, together with the earthquake risk indexes by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to estimate a hedonic model. Our empirical findings are summarized as follows. First, we found that after the 2011 earthquake house prices are dropped more in relatively risky areas than in safer areas. In comparison, we could not find any evidence that housing rents are decreased more in risky areas as compared to safer areas. These results suggest that changes in risk perception are found for prospective homebuyers, rather than for tenants. Second, post-quake price drops are particularly eminent for properties built under the new earthquake resistance standards, those located on upper floors, and those with three- or more bedrooms. Third, we found that significant post-quake price discounts can be observed for three to five years following the earthquake, after which price levels return to their pre-quake baseline.

Archive of Academic Research on the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster

Archive of Academic Research on the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster

Origin Effects of Made-in Japan Food Products on the Korean Retail Market

This empirical study exmaines how the anxiety felt by Korean consumers regarding the perceived risk associated with buying potentially radioactively contaminated Japanese food products influenced purchase intentions. The aim of the current study is to investigate how the anxiety felt by informed Korean consumers about the perceived risk associated with buying potentially radioactively contaminated food after the occurrence of the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster on March 11, 2011 influenced purchase intentions. The study uses structural equation modeling using data obtained from an online survey on informed respondents to examine the relationships between radioactive knowledge, food image, country of origin, perceived risk, and purchase intentions. The study results suggest that food image, which is based on the country of origin, and perceived risk influence the purchase intentions of informed Koreans.

Special Issue on Disaster and Big Data Part 4

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster taught us many lessons. Many new findings, insights, and suggestions have been made and implemented in damage determination and in disaster observation, sensing, and simulation. The challenges in terms of mitigating damage from future catastrophic natural disasters, such as the expected Metropolitan Tokyo Earthquake and Nankai Trough Earthquake and Tsunami, are how we share the visions of the possible impacts and prepare to mitigate loss and damage, how we enhance society’s disaster resilience and the ability of society and social systems to prepare well, how we respond promptly and effectively to natural disasters, and how we apply lessons learned to future disaster management. In recent years, a huge amount of information known as “disaster big data,” including data related to the dynamic movement of a large number of people, vehicles, and goods as IoT, has been obtained to understand how our society responds to natural disasters, both inside and outside the affected areas. The key question is how to utilize disaster big data to enhance disaster resilience. Researchers with various areas of expertise are working together in a collaborative project called JST CREST: “Establishing the Most Advanced Disaster Reduction Management System by Fusion of Real-Time Disaster Simulation and Big Data Assimilation.” The project aims to identify possible disaster scenarios caused by earthquakes and tsunamis that occur and progress in a chained or compound manner, as well as to create new technologies to lead responses and disaster mitigation measures that help societies recover from disasters. Since 2016, we have published three special issues entitled “Disaster and Big Data,” and now we will publish a fourth one which includes 10 research papers and 1 report. These aim to share the recent progress of the project as a sequel to Part 3, published in March 2018. As a guest editor of this issue, I would like to express our deep gratitude for the insightful comments and suggestions made by the reviewers and members of the editorial committee. It is my hope that the fruits of everyone’s efforts and outcomes will be utilized in disaster management efforts to mitigate damage and losses from future catastrophic disasters.

Rewriting the Disaster: Body-Bagged Earthworks, Postmortem Landscapes, and the De-Scription of Fukushima

This photo essay is inspired by Blanchot’s (1995) The Writing of the Disaster, especially the book’s sensitivity to the self-effacing double movement of writing as a violent inscription that brutally “de-scribes,” and Derrida’s (2010) Athens, Still Remains, which revolves around a series of photographic stills or snapshots and the polysemic phrase “nous nous devons à la mort” (we owe ourselves, or we owe one another, or we owe each other to death; or else up until death; or even to Death personified). The photo essay de-scribes (sic), through ill-said words and ill-seen images, my experience of Fukushima Prefecture in the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster (often dubbed Japan’s 3/11), and the remedial redescription thereafter, during a journey through the Prefecture in July 2017.