Japan: Disaster the mother of emergency innovation, Sendai U.N. expo shows

Japan boasts a flourishing industry that is devising innovative ways to cope during disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes, writes Elaine Kurtenbach for the Japan Times.

From custom-made handles designed for easily hustling wheelchairs over debris and up hills, to the Opticure Splint that hardens into a light but strong and supple cast when exposed to LED light for immobilizing broken limbs or whole infant bodies - inventive, practical solutions for such challenges as quickly getting people out of harm’s way. These were just some of the products on display at the exhibition on the sidelines of the recent UN world conference on disaster risk reduction in Sendai.