Reconstruction Of Japan Research Articles

Short-term outcomes after liver resection with vascular reconstruction: Results from a study with the National Clinical Database of Japan.

Although curative resection with vascular reconstruction improves the prognosis of blood-invading locally advanced hepatobiliary tumors, the mortality and morbidity of the procedure remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the risk factors associated with mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing liver resection with vascular reconstruction. This retrospective observational study included 1215 patients undergoing hepatectomy of more than one section with vascular reconstruction, except for left lateral sectionectomy registered in the National Clinical Database (NCD) between 2015 and 2019. The rates of surgical mortality and relevant clinical factors were evaluated. Among the four types of vascular reconstruction, portal venous reconstruction was frequently performed in 724 patients (59.6% of the enrolled patients). Surgical mortality was 8.1%. Patients with hepatic artery reconstruction had the highest surgical mortality rate of 15.8%. In other types of reconstruction, surgical mortality was 9.1% in the portal vein, 5.2% in inferior vena cava, and 4.9% in hepatic vein. Factors significantly associated with surgical mortality include age, sex (male), preoperative comorbidity (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade >3, respiratory distress, diabetes, preoperative pneumonia, weight loss, and obstructive jaundice), poorer liver functional reserve (indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min and prothrombin time/international normalized ratio >1.1) and accompanying biliary reconstruction. The NCD revealed the detailed status of liver resection combined with vascular reconstruction in Japan. Based on the results of this analysis, understanding the factors that influence the outcome and postoperative course of each procedure will provide patients with accurate information and opportunities to improve future outcomes.

Current status of pre- or subpectoral breast reconstruction in Japan.

Breast reconstruction using silicone breast implants (SBIs) has been performed for many patients in Japan under the initiative of the Japan Oncoplastic Breast Surgery Society (JOBSS) since SBIs were first covered by insurance in 2013. A change in the lineup of available SBIs owing to the Allergan crisis caused a decrease in the availability of SBIs appropriate to Japanese breast contours. Recently, the number of immediate implant-based breast reconstructions (IBRs) was approximately 4,000 in one year and was slightly decreasing. The SBI is generally placed under the pectoralis major muscle. Because the number of patients with one-stage, implant-based operative indications is small, an acellular dermal matrix is not available in Japan, and the complication rate in one-stage, IBR is high, most immediate, IBRs are performed in two stages. The prevalence of immediate, one-stage, IBRs is approximately 10%. Fat grafting by injection using Coleman's technique is performed in many hospitals under the JOBSS initiative as a surgery combined with SBI insertion. Complications after SBI placement may be less common in Japan than those in other countries. Japanese breast reconstructive surgeons undertake preventive measures to lessen these complications according to guidelines and experts' opinions, which may contribute to the low complication rate after SBI placement. The total reported number of patients with breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma is four, and no patients have died because of this disease. In Japan, procuring informed consent and diagnosing and treating this disease are performed according to the JOBSS guidelines.

Digital Psychological Support Systems for Post-Disaster Reconstruction in Japan: Empirical Study on the Effectiveness of the me-fullness® Application

Introduction:Asia is one of the regions most affected by natural disasters such as major typhoons. In Japan, recovery from natural disasters is said to take more than 10 years, and local government officials are primarily responsible for this recovery. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of the me-fullness® smartphone application in maintaining the well-being of local government employees involved in recovery efforts.Method:We conducted a survey of 35 employees of the town of Shichigahama, one of the areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 Items (DASS-21) were used as survey instruments. 22 of the 35 employees used the me-fullness application on their smartphones for one month. During the month the application was in use, there was a heavy rain warning and an election for the House of Counselors, which the Shichigahama town employees had to cope with in parallel with the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.Results:The percentage of insomnia indicated by an AIS score of four or higher was 53.5% (7/13) before and 30.8% (4/13) after the use of the me-fullness application. The percentage of stress was 38.5% (5/13) before and 7.7% (1/13) after the use of the me-fullness application.Conclusion:This study showed that the me-fullness® application could improve the sleep and stress of local government employees and maintain their well-being for a long time during the recovery efforts.

Case of Lower Eyelid Reconstruction with the Reverse Facial Artery Flap for Incomplete Eyelid Closure After Maxillectomy and Radiotherapy

Different methods have been used to reconstruct the lower eyelids. Herein, we report a case of lower eyelid reconstruction using a reverse facial artery flap. A 66-year-old woman underwent a partial maxillectomy that included the orbital floor and received radiotherapy for maxillary sinus cancer. The lower eyelid gradually atrophied, resulting in incomplete closure. Thus, lower eyelid reconstruction was performed using a reverse facial artery flap, which was applied for nose and lip reconstruction. However, to date, there have been no reports on lower eyelid reconstruction in Japan. The reverse facial artery flap was a good match for the lower eyelid in terms of color and texture. A relatively large flap was harvested, and the lower eyelid was reconstructed as a unit. The flap was thick, which was favorable for correcting the eyelid depression. Cheek contracture was observed after maxillectomy; therefore, cutting the mimetic muscles to elevate the flap was not considered a newly identified complication. Thus, the application of the reverse facial artery flap may be limited. However, this can be an option for lower eyelid reconstructions.

Protocol for a multicentre, prospective, cohort study to investigate patient satisfaction and quality of life after immediate breast reconstruction in Japan: the SAQLA study

IntroductionThe aim of breast reconstruction (BR) is to improve patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Therefore, measuring patient-reported outcomes (PROs) would clarify the value and impact of BR on a...

Development of the US Plans for Post-War Japan during World War II

Signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945 had formally ended the most destructive and bloody war in the history of mankind. Even before that a new balance of power on the international arena began to form, that would persist for almost half a century. At the same time, it was obvious from the outright that the Allies had very different views on how the post-war world order should look like. Traditionally, both Russian and foreign academic literature focused on their disputes regarding the German question. This paper provides a brief overview of the US Department of State planning and recommendation process for the post-war reconstruction of Japan in 1939–1945, which had eventually led to the formation of the socalled San Francisco subsystem of international relations. The first section of the paper outlines the challenges faced by the State Department when it came to planning the post-war architecture of the Far East. In that regard, the author pays particular attention to the staff shortage, which forced the Department of State to strengthen partnership with private research organizations and involve them in long-term planning.The author emphasizes that if before the United States entered the war the US planners adopted a rather tough stance on Japan, after the attack on Pearl Harbor their approaches paradoxically changed. The second section examines the contradictions and tensions between those politicians and experts who believed that in the establishment of the post-war order in the Far East the US should cooperate with China, and those who promoted rapprochement with Japan. These groups were unofficially referred to as the ‘Chinese team’ and the ‘Japanese crowd’ accordingly. The paper shows that as the end of the war approached, these contradictions gradually faded into the background. The needs to promote the interdepartmental cooperation and to reconcile the positions of the State Department, the Military and Naval Ministries on the future of Japan came to the fore. This work resulted in a series of memoranda, which laid the foundation for the US post-war policy towards Japan. In conclusion the author provides a general assessment of the strategic decision-making process in the United States during wartime and emphasizes its consistency, thoroughness and flexibility. As a result, it enabled the US to achieve what seemed impossible: to turn Japan from an ardent adversary of the United States in the Pacific into one of its most reliable allies, and it remains such today.

Tourism Policy and Regional Reconstruction in Japan – Focusing on Japanese Version of DMO (Destination Management/Marketing Organization) Project –

최근 일본에서는 로컬 아베노믹스 전략 및 관광입국 정책 하에 지역의 인바운드 관광정책이 적극적으로 추진되고 있다. 이 글은 최근 일본 지역관광 정책을 통한 지역의 재구성 현상을 ‘일본판 DMO(Destination Management/ Marketing Organization)’ 정책을 중심으로 분석해보고자 하였다. 이를 위해 첫째, 지방소멸 및 지방창생 담론 속에서 일본판 DMO 정책이 추진되어 온 과정을 고찰하였고, 둘째, 실제 지역에서 일본판 DMO 사업이 추진되면서 나타나는 다양한 문화정치적 경합을 지역경계 재편, 지역 관광 거버넌스의 재편, 지역관광 이미지 변화로 나누어 살펴보 았다. 일본판 DMO 정책은 로컬 아베노믹스 전략의 연장선에서 추진되고 있으나, 한편 각 지역마다 다양한 양상을 지니며 전개되고 있으므로, 향후 다양한 스케일의 정치가 넘나드는 지역관광의 재편을 주목할 필요가 있다.Recently, inbound tourism policies are being actively promoted in Japan under the local Abenomics strategy and tourism-oriented nation strategy. This article is aimed to analyze the recent regional reconstruction through Japan’s regional tourism policy, focusing on the Japanese version of DMO(Destination Management/ Marketing Organization) project. For this purpose, first, the DMO project was examined in the discourse of the local extinction and regeneration. Second, the diverse cultural-political competition which occurred in the progress of DMO project, were analyzed in accordance with the reorganization of local boundaries, rearrangement of local tourism governance, and change of destination images. While the Japanese version of DMO project are being promoted as extension of local Abenomics strategy, it is also necessary to note that regional tourism has reconstructed with various aspects, as scales of politics has occurred.

“Creative Reconstruction” and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games: How Does the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Influence Japan's Neoliberal Social Reform?

This article critically examines the vision of Japanese society expressed in the idea of a legacy for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games primarily for an internal, domestic audience. This legacy is consistent with the national reconstruction policy adopted after the Great East Japan earthquake of 11 March 2011. The specific issue I focus on here is the centrality of the term “creative reconstruction” to the legacy discourse on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. By interweaving discussions about three places—the Tohoku disaster area, the Tokyo Olympic venue, and Japanese society—this discourse creates an apparently mutual interdependence between the three. Here I assess the idea of this ideological Olympic legacy where these relationships of interdependence are represented as a blueprint for restructuring the system of capital accumulation in Japan. The structure of the article is as follows. First, I provide an overview of creative reconstruction in Japan in comparison with other terms recently used to assess sports mega‐events such as the Olympics. Next, I briefly outline the political transformation of the social integration system from the mid‐1990s, when the phrase creative reconstruction was first used to the present. In the following three sections I discuss the way that each of the key terms in the discourse—Tohoku, Tokyo, and Japan—has been deployed. This article concludes with reflections on the social and political implications of this discourse for Japanese society in the build up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

A study on the riverside greenbelts plan in the post-war reconstruction in Japan

A study on the riverside greenbelts plan in the post-war reconstruction in Japan

Abstract P4-13-12: Immediate one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction without an acellular dermal matrix in Japanese breast cancer patients

Abstract Background. In immediate one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction, acellular dermal matrix (ADM) has been usually used due to cover the outside part of the pectoralis major muscle in the world. Unfortunately, ADM is not approved in Japan yet. Therefore we have performed safety one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction without ADM according to several unique technics in our institution and obtain the excellent results. We report single institution experience using the retrospective medical data. Methods. We chose the surgical method of immediate breast reconstruction (autologous and prosthetic) according to patient's preference, breast volume and cancer condition in early breast cancer patients (pts). Two hundred fifty four early breast cancer pts underwent immediate artificial breast reconstruction from January 2014 to March 2017 in our institution. Thirty seven pts were excluded in this analysis because of preplanned the expander insertion. ALLERGAN Natrelle 410 series were used as the silicon breast implant (SBI). We performed three unique steps to determine the one-stage SBI cases as follow. ICG fluorescence imaging to confirm the blood flow state of the chest skin after mastectomy is used as standard method. If there is a defective contrast region, we remove these area. And then, serratus anterior muscle/fascial and external oblique fascial flap is elevated to completely cover the SBI together with the pectoralis major muscle so that the between mastectomy field and the SBI insertion section are isolated. We used sizer to confirm the skin tension and form of breast. After confirming these steps, we adopted cases whether SBI insertion can be safety done. We evaluated the total cosmetic finding based on three categories of inframammary fold position, balance of both breast size and form at half year after operation. If the difference between both inframammary fold positions was under 1cm, if compensatory pad is not necessary with underwear, if the protrusion of the lower pole is sufficient compared with the contralateral side, we gain the point one on each categories in each cases. The total cosmetic evaluation was classified as three categories. Good, fair and poor were defined as gained 3 points, 2 points and 0/1 points, respectively. Results. Among 217 planned immediate prosthetic breast reconstruction pts, 186 pts (85.7%) were succeed one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction. Among 186 pts, the median age was 47 years old (23-75), median body weight was 53kg (35-84), median body mass index was 21.08 kg/m2(16.20-29.41), removed breast volume was 240g (56-522) and implant volume was 220cc (90-425). Implant removed in one case because of complications and infection was occurred in five cases. The revision surgery was performed in one cases because of malposition. Among all pts, the good, fair and poor of total cosmetic evaluation is 84.3%, 13.5% and 2.2%, respectively. Conclusions. Immediate one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction without ADM may be useful and safe procedure according to our unique technics in early breast cancer patients who hope the immediate prosthetic breast reconstruction in Japan. Citation Format: Okumura S, Tatibana S, Narita C, Hyodo I, Sawaki M, Hattori M, Yoshimura A, Ishiguro J, Kotani H, Gondo N, Adati Y, Iwata H, Kamei Y. Immediate one-stage implant-based breast reconstruction without an acellular dermal matrix in Japanese breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-13-12.

KAISAR AMERIKA DI NEGERI SAKURA : PERANAN DOUGLAS MACARTHUR DALAM REKONSTRUKSI JEPANG PASCA PERANG DUNIA II

The main purpose of this research is to describe the Role of Douglas MacArthur in the Reconstruction of Japan after World War II in 1945-1951. Historical method is being used in this research paper, the method consists of : heuristic, critic, interpretation, and historiography. While the main topic of this research is how is the role of Douglas MacArthur in the reconstruction of Japan after World War II. Since he was appointed as SCAP in Japan by president Truman, with the supreme authority more than the Emperor himself, the U.S military officer made many reconstructive policies for Japan which was U.S main enemy of the Pacific War. With so many critics threw upon him from the Western countries, MacArthur rebuilt Japan from the political and economical sector with some changes especially liberalism and democratic view. The purpose of the reconstruction in to make Japan as the same side with the United States in the middle of Cold War with Soviet Union.

KAISAR AMERIKA DI NEGERI SAKURA : PERANAN DOUGLAS MACARTHUR DALAM REKONSTRUKSI JEPANG PASCA PERANG DUNIA II

The main purpose of this research is to describe the Role of Douglas MacArthur in the Reconstruction of Japan after World War II in 1945-1951. Historical method is being used in this research paper, the method consists of : heuristic, critic, interpretation, and historiography. While the main topic of this research is how is the role of Douglas MacArthur in the reconstruction of Japan after World War II. Since he was appointed as SCAP in Japan by president Truman, with the supreme authority more than the Emperor himself, the U.S military officer made many reconstructive policies for Japan which was U.S main enemy of the Pacific War. With so many critics threw upon him from the Western countries, MacArthur rebuilt Japan from the political and economical sector with some changes especially liberalism and democratic view. The purpose of the reconstruction in to make Japan as the same side with the United States in the middle of Cold War with Soviet Union.

Drugs Targeted for Price Cutting in Japan: The Case of Price Revisions Based on the Divergence of Official Versus Delivery Prices.

Official drug prices have been set by the government and revised every other year in Japan. However, most drug prices are revised based on the price divergence rate of official and delivery prices every other year. This paper overviews how the drug price revision process works and reveals factors associated with price cutting, based on the price divergence rate. Drugs approved as new molecular entities from 2005 to 2014 were selected for price cutting analysis, based on the price divergence rate. Logistic regression assessed the determinants of whether drugs were targeted for price cutting in 2016. Additionally, generic drugs approved from 2009 to 2013 and their off-patent drugs were also analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis to reveal determinants related to price divergence rates. From the targeted on-patent drugs, 90% were targeted for price revision based on the price divergence rate. Of these drugs, 23% were targeted for price cutting. Drugs whose characteristics are larger sales, lower cost/patient, being followers, and being longer in the market were more likely to be targeted for price cutting. The number of generic manufacturers is directly proportional to the price cutting of both generic and off-patent branded drugs. As drug price revision policy is under reconstruction in Japan, the characteristics of drugs targeted for price cutting shown in this study should be considered for establishing drug price revision policies that reflect market conditions adequately.

The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan. By J. Charles Schencking . New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. xxii, 374 pp. ISBN: 9780231162180 (cloth; also available as e-book). - Imaging Disaster: Tokyo and the Visual Culture of Japan's Great Earthquake of 1923. By Gennifer Weisenfeld . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. xv, 393 pp.

The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan. By J. Charles Schencking . New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. xxii, 374 pp. ISBN: 9780231162180 (cloth; also available as e-book). - Imaging Disaster: Tokyo and the Visual Culture of Japan's Great Earthquake of 1923. By Gennifer Weisenfeld . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. xv, 393 pp.

When a Seawall Is Visible: Infrastructure and Obstruction in Post-tsunami Reconstruction in Japan

The triple disaster of March 11, 2011 posed a formidable challenge for Japanese society in general, and for affected coastal communities in particular. In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophe, there was widespread support for the construction of high seawalls to protect communities. However, many communities began questioning this approach. In Maehama, the question of land reconstruction and protection gave rise to a set of complex responses. The government aimed to put in place even higher seawalls; however, the local community proposed instead to mark the boundary of high water with trees and stakes. These solutions instantiate different ways of infrastructuring the post-tsunami environment for safety; they carry different assumptions about infrastructure itself. Whereas the seawall solution was technical and quantitative, centering on the question of height, the boundary markers embedded qualitatively different assumptions about what makes a workable infrastructure. In particular, this difference centered on issue of visibility. On the one hand, the seawall was meant to slowly become unremarkable, whereas the boundary markers were specifically intended to maintain community memory. On the other hand, the seawall would make the sea itself invisible, whereas keeping the sea in sight is very important to villagers. However, the opposition between these forms of infrastructuring the environment was not total. A solution was gradually negotiated in which the sea wall and the boundary markers could complement each another. This situation highlights the intricate, transformable relation between visible and invisible forms of infrastructure.

A Testimony from the Postwar Period (2008)

A Testimony from the Postwar Period (2008) Nakai Kōichi Translated by Kim Mc Nelly (bio) From Wartime to the Postwar Period—The Rebirth of Advertising Before speaking of the situation within the postwar advertising industry, let me touch on the state of things during the war. With the wartime paper shortage, newspapers became single-page collotypes. I was at the battlefront by then, so I only heard about this later. Evidently, with the war and shortages, there was no room for newspapers to waste on advertising. However, corporations still had publicity managers. Arai Seiichirō and Imaizumi Takeji, who were working for Morinaga and Marumiya at the time, were saying we can't just sit around and do nothing: we should be working for our country.1 So they called on their fellow advertising managers and in 1940 formed the Society for the Study of Media Technology (Hōdō Gijutsu Kenkyūkai).2 Even the government realized their need for a news media outlet and created a Media Department (Hōdōbu). Hanamori Yasuji, who later became the publishing editor of the magazine Notebook of Everyday Life (Kurashi no techō, 1948-present), became their external civilian liaison. In making him the liaison, first Arai and Imaizumi, then later Yamana Ayao, Itō Kenji, Maekawa Kunio, Hara Hiromu, Fujimoto Michio, Takada Shōjirō and other advertising managers cooperated in the war.3 After the end of the war, the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Tōkyō Shōkō Kaigisho) asserted that the reconstruction of Japan was to begin with the restoration of commerce and industry. Today we have the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Dōyūkai), but at the time it was the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce that served this role. At the chamber's request, Arai and Imaizumi called upon their wartime associates and formed a new advertisement research society in the postwar period, which would become a forerunner to the later Tokyo Art Director's Club (Tōkyō Āto Direkutāzu Kurabu, ADC). [End Page 118] During the war, the government also created the Japanese Advertising Association (Nihon Kōkokukai). Led by Sugiura Hisui, it was made of designers gathered from across the country. After the war, and prompted by the Chamber of Commerce, this organization reformed as a new design group in 1947 while retaining the same name, and continued its activities for seven years. Sugiura was someone whose studies had centered on art nouveau. Japanese modern design began, then, with people like Sugiura and Hashiguchi Goyō, of art nouveau; the person who brought the movement to Japan, however, was Kuroda Seiki. He had a remarkable eye for judging his apprentices and divided them by artistic form: "You'll become a painter," or "You're well suited for design." That's how Sugiura became a designer. The Japan Advertising Association grew out of the art nouveau movement, and that's why it emerged with an old-fashioned disposition. Moreover, after losing the war, new groups appeared. While Japan was at war, new concepts emerged one after another around the rest of the world. Stating how much they loathed belonging to the old-fashioned Japan Advertising Association, Yamana Ayao, Kamekura Yūsaku, Hayakawa Yoshio, Hara Hiromu, Yamashiro Takaichi, and Ōhashi Tadashi formed the Japan Advertising Artists Club (Nihon Senden Bijutsukai, known as Nissenbi). Itō Kenji was also part of this group. When Nissenbi came together in 1951, those in the Japan Advertising Association moved to the Tokyo Commercial Artists Association (Tōkyō Shōgyō Bijutsuka Kyōkai [TCAA], today the Tokyo Graphic Designers Club [Tōkyō Gurafikku Dezaināzu Kurabu]). The root of this divide was Tōgō Seiji, who formed the Nika Association's Commercial Art Section (Nikakai Shōgyō Bijutsubu, hereafter Nikakai), which is why after the war, the design world was separated into three groups—TCAA, Nissenbi, and Nikakai—which continues to this day. Tōgō was politically extremely powerful and became the central figure in boosting the whole Nikakai organization after the war. A design department (dezainbu) and photography department (shashinbu) were created, at the same time, within it. I have asked the famous photographer Akiyama Sh...

A Decade After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: The Progress in Disaster Preparedness and Future Challenges in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the most devastating tsunamis in world history. The tsunami caused damage to most of the Asian and other countries bordering the Indian Ocean. After a decade, reconstruction has been completed with different levels of tsunami countermeasures in most areas; however, some land use planning using probabilistic tsunami hazard maps and vulnerabilities should be addressed to prepare for future tsunamis. Examples of early-stage reconstruction are herein provided alongside a summary of some of the major tsunamis that have occurred since 2004, revealing the tsunami countermeasures established during the reconstruction period. Our primary objective is to report on and discuss the vulnerabilities found during our field visits to the tsunami-affected countries—namely, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Maldives. For each country, future challenges based on current tsunami countermeasures, such as land use planning, warning systems, evacuation facilities, disaster education and disaster monuments are explained. The problem of traffic jams during tsunami evacuations, especially in well-known tourist areas, was found to be the most common problem faced by all of the countries. The readiness of tsunami warning systems differed across the countries studied. These systems are generally sufficient on a national level, but local hazards require greater study. Disaster reduction education that would help to maintain high tsunami awareness is well established in most countries. Some geological evidence is well preserved even after a decade. Conversely, the maintenance of monuments to the 2004 tsunami appears to be a serious problem. Finally, the reconstruction progress was evaluated based on the experiences of disaster reconstruction in Japan. All vulnerabilities discussed here should be addressed to create long-term, disaster-resilient communities.

Design Charrette as Methodology for Post-Disaster Participatory Reconstruction: Observations from a Case Study in Fukushima, Japan

Although there has been a growing body of literature on post-disaster participatory reconstruction, a shared understanding on a participatory approach is insufficient. A design charrette is a participatory planning that is particularly suitable for situations in which multidisciplinary professionals and non-professional stakeholders collaborate to accomplish target tasks in a short period of time. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of design charrette as a methodology in the context of post-disaster reconstruction in Japan. This will be achieved through a participatory observation on a design charrette in Minamisoma City, Japan, after the Fukushima accident. The charrette includes the participation of multiple stakeholders in intercultural, intergenerational and interdisciplinary exchanges. The contributions and constraints of the charrette are analyzed on the basis of the authors’ observation, and a strategy to improve post-disaster reconstruction charrette is thereby proposed. This study shows that the charrette is a useful method for communication and collaboration in the post-disaster context. Furthermore, it also demonstrates that assuring the participation of all key stakeholders, improving the training of participants and introducing resource analysis during the charrette’s preparatory stage are the essential conditions for the legitimacy and policy compliance of the final result.

The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan by J. Charles Schencking (review)

Reviewed by: The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan by J. Charles Schencking Gregory Smits (bio) The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan. By J. Charles Schencking. Columbia University Press, New York, 2013. xxii, 374 pages. $50.00, cloth; $49.99, E-book. As Japan’s most deadly seismic disaster by far, the September 1, 1923, Great Kanto Earthquake has received much attention over the years in Japanese. It has also been the subject of numerous journalistic accounts in English of varying quality.1 Scholarly treatments of this event in English have often focused on the lawlessness following the shaking and fires.2 Recently, the Great Kanto Earthquake has come in for a new round of study by scholars of Japan. One example is Gennifer Weisenfeld’s monograph analyzing the visual culture connected with the catastrophe.3 Now, J. Charles Schencking has produced a meticulous study of the social and political history of the earthquake and its aftermath. These books constitute part of a growing body of academic literature in English on Japanese earthquakes.4 Their broader intellectual context includes studies of earthquakes in other regions of the world and a large multidisciplinary literature on natural disasters.5 [End Page 505] Although The Great Kantō Earthquake makes an important contribution to the literature on Japanese earthquakes and on natural disasters, much of the book is a close analysis of politics during the 1920s. In other words, Schencking uses reactions to the 1923 catastrophe as a lens through which to bring sociocultural debates and the political process into sharper relief. With respect to natural disasters, Schencking argues convincingly that despite the rhetoric of change and renewal that modern catastrophes inevitably generate, even events as dramatic and destructive as the Great Kanto Earthquake lack the power to bring about a fundamental alteration of society. A related argument with respect to Japanese politics during the 1920s is that the state was neither a democracy nor an autocracy. No single entity in the field of political power in that era possessed sufficient power to force significant change. Moreover, mediating or coordinating structures and practices were weak. It was a perfect configuration for blunting bold initiatives and fostering indecisiveness. This structural situation and the inevitable differences in priorities among the various political actors resulted in intense political battles and the collapse of utopian reconstruction plans. The new Tokyo that slowly emerged from the charred rubble of the earthquake was indeed an improved version of the capital, but only incrementally. The organization of the book works well. An introduction sets the stage by summarizing the major issues, with some attention to the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami disaster. The first chapter takes on the difficult task of narrating the event itself in a way that describes the nature and scope of the disaster without overwhelming the reader and conveys a sense of the perceptions of those who experienced it. Such an undertaking is more an art than a science, and Schencking’s narrative, use of quoted passages, and selection of photographs does the job well. The next chapter focuses on immediate postdisaster chaos, relief, and the discourses of fear and uncertainty to which the calamity gave rise. Not surprisingly, the human response in particular shocked many commentators. The murderous anarchy that swept through many parts of the devastated city revealed an apparent deficiency in society, one that amplified a tragedy initially caused by seismic waves and flames. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with the processes that imparted meaning to the catastrophe in the months that followed. Newspapers were the most important communications medium, and their work in reporting the earthquake and soliciting donations transformed it, at least rhetorically, from a local disaster into a national tragedy. Although Schencking does not discuss this point, newspapers played similar roles in earlier earthquakes such as the 1896 Meiji Sanriku earthquake and tsunami and the 1891 Nōbi earthquake. Indeed, one could make the case that print media began the process of transforming earthquakes from regional disasters into nationwide events as early as the 1830 Kyoto earthquake. Although it is possible to find commentary [End Page 506] on Tokugawa...

J. Charles Schencking. The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan.

J. Charles Schencking. The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan.