Japan’s high exposure to a variety of geographical, meteorological and man-made risks ranks it third in the world. Major emergencies over the past three decades — including the 1995 Kobe earthquake and the 11 March 2011 triple disaster — have taken tens of thousands of lives and required hundreds of billions in recovery costs.
Despite persistent challenges, including over-reliance on technology, a trust deficit and excessive confidence in physical infrastructure, policy-driven disaster risk reduction practices stand out. These policies — not cultural factors — explain much of Japan’s success in keeping residents safe. The two most important involve a bottom-up engagement with disaster preparedness and response, and improvement over time. And, because these approaches are not solely rooted in culture, they can be exported to countries around the world, both developing and developed.
Continue reading on the East Asia Forum
