Great East Japan Earthquake Research Articles

Decision-making support utilizing real-time tsunami inundation and damage forecast

In the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, tsunami inundation caused devastating damage over a wide area along the coast of the Tohoku region. Since then, hazard maps for tsunami flooding have been prepared or updated nationwide. These maps assume flooding in the event of a tsunami of the extreme class (L2) with a recurrence interval of 1000 years, in which the top priority is to protect lives. However, once an earthquake occurs, the situation of inundation differs depending on the earthquake rupture mechanisms and its magnitude, so the area of unexpected damage needs to be grasped as soon as possible. Therefore, a forecast of tsunami inundation and damage needs to be provided immediately after the disaster to support disaster responders’ decisions. In this paper, we propose a framework to utilize a tsunami inundation and damage forecast. Specifically, we introduce “recovery levels”, which allow areas that need immediate response to be more easily recognized to allocate human and physical resources. We evaluated their usefulness from the viewpoint of disaster responders by surveying users in a local government through a disaster response drill and an explanatory meeting. Consequently, it was found that the recognition and understanding of the tsunami forecast advanced, and many positive opinions were obtained about utilizing the forecast in the initial activity of disaster response.

Covering the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the Recovery Olympics After Fukushima

This article examines how major Japanese national newspapers - t he Asahi Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Sankei Shimbun - discussed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the “Recovery Olympics” in relation to radioactive materials as a key post-Fukushima environmental contamination issue. Although many scholars have critically examined the concept of the Recovery Olympics in the context of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, this study employs Beck’s risk society and Boykoff’s celebration capitalism theories to distinguish between the recovery discourses of the earthquake and tsunami versus the Fukushima disaster. It then explores the media’s depiction of the Recovery Olympics in relation to radioactive contamination. Using Fairclough’s dialectical-relational approch to critical discourse analysis, this study demonstrates that the leading Japanese national newspapers localized the issue of post-Fukushima environmental contamination within Fukushima Prefecture, thereby obscuring broader impacts for the Olympics. Additionally, it uncovers how these newspapers emphasized safety standards, transforming post-Fukushima environmental contamination below such standards into a symbol legitimizing the Recovery Olympics.

Natural time analysis together with non-extensive statistical mechanics shorten the time window of the impending 2011 Tohoku [formula omitted]9 earthquake in Japan

Applying natural time analysis (NTA) to the Japanese seismic data, we have found that the system enters the critical stage upon the occurrence of M=4.2-5.0 earthquakes from 08:36 to 13:14 local time (LT) on 10 March 2011, i.e., almost one day before the M9 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. In addition, here, we find that just after this period the entropy change ΔS under time reversal of NTA along with the Tsallis entropy of non-extensive statistical mechanics (NESM) show distinct simultaneous changes. This simultaneous appearance enables the shortening of the time window of the impending mainshock to several hours. Furthermore, upon the occurrence of the M7.3 foreshock at 11:45 LT on 9 March 2011, the following fact emerged: The Tsallis entropy of NESM exhibited a scaling behavior with a characteristic exponent 1/3 that conforms to Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner theory for phase transitions as had been also observed in NTA for the fluctuations of the entropy change ΔS under time reversal upon a M7.8 earthquake occurrence in Japan on 22 December 2010. The latter obeyed the form A(t−t0)c where c is approximately equal to 1/3 and the pre-factors A are proportional to the scale i (number of events) while t0 is almost 0.2 days after this M7.8 earthquake.

Constraint on the focal mechanism of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake from the radial modes

Different from other normal modes of the Earth's free oscillation that depend on all the six components (Mrr, Mtt, Mpp, Mrt, Mrp, and Mtp) of the centroid moment tensor, the amplitudes of the radial modes depend on the Mrr component (e.g., scalar moment (M0), dip (δ), and slip (λ)) and hypocenter depth of the focal mechanism, and hence can be easily used to constrain these parameters of the focal mechanism. In this study, we use the superconducting gravimeter (SG) records after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake to analyze the radial modes 0S0 and 1S0. Based on the solutions of the focal mechanism provided by the GCMT and USGS, we can obtain the theoretical amplitudes of these two radial modes. Comparing the theoretical amplitudes with the observation amplitudes, it is found that there are obvious differences between the former and the latter, which means that the GCMT and USGS focal mechanisms cannot well represent the real focal mechanism of the 2011 event. Taking the GCMT solution as a reference and changing the depth and the three parameters of the Mrr moment, the scalar moment (M0) and the dip (δ) have significant influences, but the effects of the slip (λ) and the depth are minor. After comparisons, we provide a new constraint (M0 = 5.8 ± 0.09 × 1022 N·m, δ = 10.1 ± 0.08°, λ = 88°, and depth = 20 km) for the focal mechanism of the 2011 event. In addition, we further determine the center frequency (1.631567 ± 2.6e-6 mHz) and quality factor (2046.4± 50.1) of the 1S0 mode.

Patterns in firms’ inventories and flexibility levels after a low‐probability, high‐impact disruption event: Empirical evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake

How do firms respond after being exposed to a low‐probability, high‐consequence (lp‐hc) disruption event? This study examines inventory and flexibility patterns in manufacturing firms in the years following an lp‐hc event, the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We find patterns suggesting that most firms exposed to the event began to increase their raw material inventories (RAW) over the longer term and increased their volume flexibility for a shorter period. Furthermore, we found that firms increased their RAW mainly when inventories were already at high levels, while the opposite is true for volume flexibility. Firms that were classified as risk‐averse before the event show stronger swings after the event. Preliminary explorations suggest that the performance of firms that have engaged in these inventory shifts is significantly impeded. This study provides insight into a previously unexplored phenomenon, namely, the longer‐term responses of firms to exposure to lp‐hc events. It opens the possibilities of new research regarding causality, economic consequences, and mechanisms of the identified patterns. Increased efforts in this direction should enable our discipline to provide improved normative guidance both socially and operationally.

Layers of reconstruction: the planning history of disaster-prone Kamaishi

ABSTRACT Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture has suffered devastating damage on several occasions, including the 1896 Meiji Sanriku tsunami, the 1933 Showa Sanriku tsunami, the 1945 naval bombardment during W.W. II and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Each time, the city has recovered. This paper explores the history of reconstruction planning and urban development in Kamaishi and how the city’s landscape and urban space have been shaped by disaster and reconstruction. In the Kamaishi area in modern times, temples, shrines and public facilities have been moved and new infrastructure has been developed repeatedly, after each disaster. The accumulated reconstructions have generated a landscape in which the city is centred on wide streets that form a vertical axis connecting the coast and the highlands. The need to evacuate has been woven into the urban space of Kamaishi through repeated experiences of disaster and reconstruction. In the reconstruction that took place after the Great East Japan Earthquake, new layers and facilities were added for commercial recovery and residential reconstruction, but the underlying intention was to build a network of evacuation routes.

Introduction of business continuity plan for small and medium-sized local construction companies and restoration activities in Japan in the event of natural disasters

In recent years, Japan has suffered significant damage due to natural disasters such as major earthquakes and flood Construction companies are expected to play an important role during natural disasters and respond quickly and restore infrastructure. The first author runs a small local construction company in Okayama, Japan. During a flood in 2011 at Okayama, the embankment restoring site turned extremely dangerous for workers. At this juncture, the first author, in the capacity of a company manager, identified the safety and administrative issues, and in 2013, the company began to implement BCP. When there was heavy flooding in Okayama in 2017, they supported the administration in recovery operations based on their BCP. The impact of BCP is to be acknowledged as the emergency operations were safer and timelier. BCP of the company has been continuously improved, and they were invited to join infrastructure recovery activities in the disaster area of Great East Japan Earthquake in 2019. The area is not the usual business region of the company, but 1,000 km away. There is a high requirement for human resources and equipment for emergency and recovery activities immediately after a disaster. Most of the construction companies are small and locally based in Japan, and several resources available at the construction site itself for initial recovery activities. It is desirable to prepare a plan so that the affected companies themselves can respond. The main tasks are the training of personnel to provide guidance and support for BCP, and the development of systems and laws that can actively support activities. By capturing accurate information on resources of local construction companies, their capability and response speed during an emergency can be improved. It is also necessary to create a system to receive support from other companies or organizations in case self-help is difficult or insufficient.

Evacuation Decisions during the Great East Japan Earthquake

We analyse evacuation decisions with data from a survey among 10,384 survivers of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. The decisions of individuals and families to evacuate or stay are influenced by the Tsunami warning system as well as the behaviour of the surrounding population which is modelled as the percentage of persons evacuating from a city. We formulate binary choice models with “field effects” where we try to control for the endogeneity with a 2-stage model approach. Our results quantify the field effect and suggest that with each minute the Tsunami warning arrives later, on average 3% less of the population are evacuating and surviving. We also show the importance of other variables, in particular the preparedness measures such as signage and evacuation drills.

Reconciling the conflicting extent of overriding plate deformation before and during megathrust earthquakes in South America, Sunda and northeast Japan

SUMMARYWe aim to better understand the overriding plate deformation during the megathrust earthquake cycle. We estimate the spatial patterns of interseismic GNSS velocities in South America, Southeast Asia and northern Japan and the associated uncertainties due to variations in network density and observation uncertainties. Interseismic velocities with respect to the overriding plate generally decrease with distance from the trench with a steep gradient up to a ‘hurdle’, beyond which the gradient is distinctly lower and velocities are small. The hurdle is located 500–1000 km away from the trench for the trench-perpendicular velocity component, and either at the same distance or closer for the trench-parallel component. Significant coseismic displacements were observed beyond these hurdles during the 2010 Maule, 2004 Sumatra–Andaman, and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes. We hypothesize that both the interseismic hurdle and the coseismic response result from a mechanical contrast in the overriding plate. We test our hypothesis using physically consistent, generic, 3-D finite element models of the earthquake cycle. Our models show a response similar to the interseismic and coseismic observations for a compliant near-trench overriding plate and an at least five times stiffer overriding plate beyond the contrast. The model results suggest that hurdles are more prominently expressed in observations near strongly locked megathrusts. Previous studies inferred major tectonic or geological boundaries and seismological contrasts located close to the observed hurdles in the studied overriding plates. The compliance contrast probably results from thermal, compositional and thickness contrasts and might cause the observed focusing of smaller-scale deformation like backthrusting.

Nonlinear time-domain soil-structure interaction analysis of a mid-rise building benchmarked against earthquake recordings: A case study of the BRI's annex building

Performing soil-structure interaction (SSI) analysis under strong shaking scenarios using the direct method is becoming more prevalent in engineering practice. However, given the pronounced nonlinearity in soil, structure, and foundation response, the robustness of current methodologies is open to question, and benchmarking these methodologies against instrumented case histories is needed to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the approach. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) Nonlinear (NL) Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) analysis methodology in the time-domain code LS-DYNA is benchmarked against the actual recordings for a mid-rise building. The well-instrumented Building Research Institute (BRI) Annex Building (ANX) in Tsukuba City northeast of Tokyo, Japan, which features an adjacent free-field geotechnical downhole array, is used for this case study. A Finite Element (FE) three-dimensional 3D SSI model of the site, including the BRI ANX building, that considers both material and geometric nonlinearities is first developed. Two events are applied to the model: the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake main shock (Mw9.1), referred to as the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), and the 2002 Southern Ibaraki Prefecture earthquake (Mw4.9), selected from the BRI strong motion network due to the relatively wide amplitudes recorded at the site. The former event induced maximum shear strains in the soil of 1.6%, while the latter event induced maximum shear strains of 0.08%. For both horizontal and vertical components of shakings, the predicted response of the structure and adjacent free-field downhole array are compared with the corresponding recordings. The results show that the structural response is significantly affected by the accuracy of the predicted free-field ground surface response, especially at the structural fundamental period as opposed to the site period. In addition, results indicate that the fixed-base and flexible-base structural models’ responses are substantially different, mainly attributed to the SSI effects that cannot be captured in the fixed-base model. Finally, a comprehensive discussion on the minimum amount of data required to adequately capture nonlinear structural response using the proposed SSI methodology is provided in this case study.

Optimal probabilistic placement of facilities using a surrogate model for 3D tsunami simulations

Abstract. This study proposes a framework for utilizing results obtained from advanced numerical simulations and performing probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment for investigating optimal facility placement. A set of numerical simulations of the tsunami off the Pacific coast caused by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake are performed considering uncertainties in fault parameters. Both inundation depths and tsunami forces acting on buildings are numerically simulated and defined as tsunami hazard indices. Proper orthogonal decomposition is then applied to numerical results for extracting characteristic spatial modes, which can be used to construct surrogate models. Monte Carlo simulations (MCSs) were performed at a low computational cost using surrogate models. The optimal placement of facilities was probabilistically investigated with the help of genetic algorithms using the MCS results along with the concept of system failure probability. The results indicate that the proposed framework allows determining the optimal placement of facilities by applying different strategies at low computational costs while effectively reflecting the results of advanced tsunami simulations.

Newspaper reports and the peaceful use of nuclear power from 1945 to 1963: an analysis of Japan’s Asahi and Yomiuri Shimbun

ABSTRACT As a country with few natural resources, Japan has to maintain a varied energy supply to ensure its energy security. However, since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, nuclear power generation, which was promoted as a national policy in the past, has been facing decommission. This study analyzed newspaper reports on Japan’s nuclear policy following World War II, as well as the mutual relationship between the media and policymaking to investigate the development of the country’s post-war nuclear policy and citizens’ safety concerns surrounding nuclear power. The findings demonstrated that by conducting a pro-nuclear power media campaign and using its chairman’s political connections, the newspaper Yomiuri succeeded in swaying public opinion in favor of nuclear power development in Japan. The emphasis on the benefits of the peaceful use of nuclear power by newspaper reports during this period consequently hindered the debate on the development of nuclear power.

Urban structure reinforces attitudes towards tsunami evacuation

Evacuation is a critical life-saving action, especially in devastating natural hazards such as near-field tsunamis. However, the development of effective evacuation measures remains challenging to the extent that a successful example has been referred to as a ‘miracle’. Here we show that urban structures have the potential to reinforce attitudes towards evacuation and significantly influence the success of tsunami evacuation. Agent-based evacuation simulations revealed that a distinctive root-like urban structure formed in ria coasts reinforces positive evacuation attitudes by effectively gathering evacuation flows and leads to higher evacuation rates compared to typical grid-like urban structures, which can explain the regional differences in the number of casualties in the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. Although a grid-like structure reinforces negative attitudes under low evacuation tendencies, with leading evacuees, its dense feature helps to propagate positive attitudes and drastically improve evacuation tendencies. These findings pave the way for making successful evacuation inevitable through harmonised urban and evacuation plannings.

Effects of disaster-related traumatic events on worry about radiation and COVID-19: A decade after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

Community residents exposed to nuclear power plant (NPP) accidents have long-term worry about the effects of radiation. After the 2011 Fukushima NPP accident, those who experienced traumatic events during the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) tended to have greater worry about radiation. Along with the prolonged worry about radiation, there may also be cognitive changes caused by the traumatic events. We hypothesized that if there were cognitive changes underlying the prolonged worry about radiation, those who experienced the traumatic events would tend to have greater worry about other issues unrelated to radiation. We examined the effects of the traumatic events during the GEJE on community residents’ worry about radiation and COVID-19 a decade after the Fukushima NPP accident. Using the data of a longitudinal questionnaire survey following a random sample of 4900 community residents outside the evacuation zone in Fukushima, this study analyzed 774 responses (15.8%). The traumatic events consisted of (1) injury, (2) injury or death of a family member, and (3) the loss of a house or other property. We developed a mediation model drawing paths from the traumatic events to worry about radiation and COVID-19, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) as a mediator, using structural equation modeling. The traumatic events directly affected worry about radiation. Although it did not directly affect worry about COVID-19, it did so indirectly through worry about radiation and PTSS. Traumatic events can increase trauma-related worry independently of PTSS and increase trauma-unrelated worry indirectly through trauma-related worry and PTSS.

Abrupt water temperature increases near seafloor during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

We investigated temperature records associated with seafloor pressure observations at eight stations that experienced the 2011 Mw 9 Tohoku earthquake near its epicenter. The temperature data were based on the temperature measured inside the pressure transducer. We proposed a method to estimate ambient water temperature from the internal temperature using an equation of heat conduction. The estimated seafloor water temperature showed remarkable anomalies, especially increases several hours after the Mw 9 earthquake. A station of P03 (sea depth of 1.1 km) showed an abrupt temperature increase of + 0.19 °C that occurred ~ 3 h after the earthquake, which lasted for several hours. At stations of GJT3 (sea depth of 3.3 km) and TJT1 (sea depth of 5.8 km), there were abrupt temperature anomalies of + 0.20 °C and + 0.10 °C that began to occur 3–4 h after the earthquake. These anomalies both decayed to their original levels over a few tens of days. During the decay processes, only TJT1 showed several intermittent temperature rises. A water temperature anomaly within + 0.03 °C was found up to ~ 500 m above TJT1 2 weeks after the earthquake. There was no significant anomaly at the other five stations. Processes to cause these seafloor temperature anomalies were discussed. The temperature anomaly of P03 was reasonably caused by a tsunami-generated turbidity current, as also suggested by a previous study. Meanwhile, we proposed a scenario that the abrupt temperature anomalies of GJT3/TJT1 and the intermittent anomalies of TJT1 were caused by warm water discharges from the subseafloor. The pathways of the warm water were probably composed of the branch normal fault between GJT3 and TJT1, the reverse fault near TJT1, the backstop interface, and perhaps reverse faults at the frontal prism. The proposed scenario was almost compatible with other studies based on epicentral observations. We estimated the heat properties of the initial temperature anomalies of GJT3/TJT1. The estimated heat source might be explained by that most of the geothermal fluids trapped in those fault pathways were discharged to the seafloor immediately after the earthquake. The onsets of the subsequent intermittent anomalies of TJT1 were possibly activated by low or falling ocean tidal loading.

Evacuation at Home Delayed the First Medical Intervention in Minamisanriku Town after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

In Japan, evacuation at home is expected to increase in the future as a post-disaster evacuation type due to the pandemic, aging, and diverse disabilities of the population. However, more disaster-related indirect deaths occurred in homes than in evacuation centers after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). The health risks faced by evacuees at home have not been adequately discussed. This study aimed to clarify the gap in disaster health management for evacuees at home compared to the evacuees at the evacuation centers in Minamisanriku Town, which lost all health care facilities after the 2011 GEJE. This was a retrospective cross-sectional and quasi-experimental study based on the anonymized disaster medical records (DMRs) of patients from March 11 through April 10, 2011, that compared the evacuation-at-home and evacuation-center groups focusing on the day of the first medical intervention after the onset. Multivariable Cox regression analysis and propensity score (PS)-matching analysis were performed to identify the risk factors and causal relationship between the evacuation type and the delay of medical intervention. Of the 2,838 eligible patients, 460 and 2,378 were in the evacuation-at-home and evacuation-center groups, respectively. In the month after the onset, the evacuation-at-home group had significantly lower rates of respiratory and mental health diseases than the evacuation-center group. However, the mean time to the first medical intervention was significantly delayed in the evacuation-at-home group (19.3 [SD = 6.1] days) compared to that in the evacuation-center group (14.1 [SD = 6.3] days); P <.001). In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, the hazard ratio (HR) of delayed medical intervention for evacuation-at-home was 2.31 with a 95% confident interval of 2.07-2.59. The PS-matching analysis of the adjusted 459 patients in each group confirmed that evacuation at home was significantly associated with delays in the first medical intervention (P <.001). This study suggested, for the first time, the causal relationship between evacuation at home and delay in the first medical intervention by PS-matching analysis. Although evacuation at home had several advantages in reducing the frequencies of some diseases, the delay in medical intervention could exacerbate the symptoms and be a cause of indirect death. As more evacuees are likely to remain in their homes in the future, this study recommends earlier surveillance and health care provision to the home evacuees.

A Crisis is an Opportunity for Human Resource Development

Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic also raged in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Moreover, it forced a response to the medical crisis just as much as the disaster. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, disaster response system development progressed in Fukushima Prefecture. The relationship between the DMAT and the Prefectural Medical Health and Welfare Department was becoming more assertive.Method:However, as the disaster response members became fixed, there was an urgent need to develop new young human resources.Results:Meanwhile, flood damage caused by Typhoon No. 24 occurred in September 2018. It was the first time since the Great East Japan Earthquake that a disaster countermeasures headquarters was set up within the prefectural office. In that response, we discovered young talents. Furthermore, they nurtured in response to the medical crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion:In recent years, the main elements of disaster response required support for continuing medical care and securing public health. Unfortunately, however, these things are insufficient both as medical education and as postgraduate education. Therefore, few human resources are interested in disaster medicine and taking action. In addition, it is also a fact that, like surgical operations, if disasters are not responded to, they will not come to fruition. The response to this pandemic is genuinely an opportunity for human resource development. Taking advantage of this crisis to develop new human resources can be a blessing.

A Disaster Medicine Education Program for Undergraduate Medical Students in Tohoku

Introduction:In Tohoku, the northeastern part of the main island of Japan, students entered medical school following the Great East Japan earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011. Such students wished to volunteer at the time of disaster, however, the undergraduate medical curriculum was inadequate to enable the practice of disaster medicine. Thus, the Tohoku Disaster Medical Assistance Student (DMAS) holds workshops for undergraduate students to acquire disaster medicine knowledge.Method:Tohoku DMAS offers Peer Learning Education. In the DMAS course, students learned disaster medicine through lectures and simulations under the supervision of disaster medicine experts. The workshops vary in length between 3–8 hours. Tohoku DMAS’s goal is to support disaster management headquarters and shelters. Students are expected to provide logistical support that includes recounting the chronology of events at disaster management headquarters and helping with managing evacuation shelters.Results:According to the activity reports and roster of the course, there were only three students initially when the course was formed in 2018, however, the group continued to grow, and 165 students currently belong to the Tohoku DMAS. Those students include medical students, nursing students, and paramedics students at various universities and colleges. The DMAS has held 30 training sessions since 2018. The total number of training participants was 1,308. The DMAS has held tabletop simulation exercises and lectures on various topics such as shelter management, disaster triage, and nuclear disasters. Furthermore, some members have participated in emergency drills for each prefecture. The current challenge of the program was obtaining adequate insurance coverage for students and financial support during the activity at the disaster scene.Conclusion:The DMAS plays a role in disaster medicine education for undergraduate medical students in the Tohoku region. The program continues to grow and faces opportunities and challenges.

Utilization of Regular Ships as Hospital Ships in a Disaster Situation: A Trial Report from Japan

Introduction:Japan is an island nation surrounded by the ocean. Seventy percent of the country is mountainous, and there is no abundance of habitable flat land. Japan is a disaster-prone country, with an average of 25 typhoons per year occurring near Japan and 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude six or greater occurring in Japan. The Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) destroyed many medical facilities in coastal areas. The government is seeking ways to continue medical services using ships in preparation for future Nankai Trough Earthquakes. This study introduces the current status of studies for installing hospital ships in Japan.Method:Based on materials on hospital ships published by the Cabinet Office and reports on training exercises conducted by various organizations, this report summarizes the current status of studies on introducing hospital ships in Japan.Results:In 1991, a committee was established to gather domestic experts to study a multi-purpose ship, and various studies have been conducted intermittently. The current policy focuses on utilizing existing resources such as Self-Defense Force cargo ships, civilian car ferries, etc. The demonstration training for a hospital ship with the Self-Defense Force's field surgery system and the Red Cross Emergency Response Unit has been conducted. Other studies are underway to provide medical support to remote islands by ocean tugboats. Future issues for utilizing existing ships include 1) maintaining medical personnel and medical equipment and materials in times of disaster, 2) utilizing and maintaining ships during peacetime, and 3) establishing access to ships that are unable to dock at a port.Conclusion:Hospital ships in Japan are considered to utilize existing vessels rather than building new ones. However, there are unresolved issues, such as how to operate the ships during disasters, the cost of maintenance, and transporting patients from land.

Development of the “Conductor Type Human Resources Development” program for Disaster Medicine and Health Care by Tohoku University and Fukushima Medical University

Introduction:On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake with a 9.0 magnitude struck the northeastern coast of Japan. The death toll reached 15,892 and 2,576 people were reported missing. Tohoku University and Fukushima Medical University, both of which are located in the affected prefectures, responded massively to the disaster.Method:To deal with the next disaster, both universities established the “Conductor type Human Resources Development” (CHRD) program for Disaster Medicine and Health Care in 2019, not only for doctors, but also other medical professionals (such as dentists, nurses, pharmacists, etc.) supported by the Japanese government. The main course of CHRD program, “Disaster Management course,” which is also a certification program at Tohoku University, comprises 14 practical educational contents (seven practical trainings and seven lectures) based on the work experience of both universities in collaboration with various organizations.Results:To date, 59 students have enrolled in the Disaster Management course, two students are enrolled in the board-certified physician in public health and social medicine acquisition course, three students are enrolled in the master's course, a Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine course, and two students are enrolled in the doctoral course. Until October 2022, a total of 17 people were certified to have completed the "Disaster Management course," and one person completed the board-certified physician in public health and social medicine acquisition course. A total of 68 practical trainings and lectures were held until 2021, the total number of times this program was attended by students until 2021 was 916. Average comprehension rate and satisfaction rate with practical trainings and lectures by students are 97.2% and 98.3%, respectively.Conclusion:All the students who complete the CHRD program are believed to acquire comprehensive skills related to disaster health and medical care and will be able to respond effectively in all phases.