Share Japan's knowledge and skills on disaster preparedness

By Ayumi Takita

As humanity is faced with an unending series of catastrophic disasters around the world, it has become even more important for Japan to share its knowledge and skills internationally.

Japan has accumulated a wide range of specialized knowledge that can be useful in preparing for future disasters, painfully learned through the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 and other devastating natural disasters. Voluminous records, analyses, research and surveys from various angles were conducted to understand the damage, recovery and reconstruction processes.

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Cognizant of the importance of sharing lessons learned more widely, Japan has also accumulated a wealth of wisdom and knowledge on how to educate the next generation to prepare for future disasters. One well-known example is the story “A Fire on the Hill” (“Inamura no Hi”) read out in classrooms over generations to convey lessons from the Ansei Nankai Earthquake and Tsunami of 1854, in which a mayor set fire to his own rice paddies to alert his villagers about the impending tsunami.

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Japan has also learned a lot through exchanges in many ways. The American Red Cross in the earthquake- and fire-prone Los Angeles area has had to grapple with the task of educating the public, especially children, about disaster preparedness. In their efforts to attract the attention of children, they worked in tandem with Walt Disney Co. to launch the Pillowcase Project, teaching children how to create their own emergency supply kit by packing essential items in a pillowcase illustrated with Disney characters. When the children go home and share their kits with their families, it leads to greater disaster resilience of the families and community as a whole. This was a valuable suggestion to the visiting Japanese experts.

There are differences in responses to different disasters in different environments. However, disaster preparedness is a pressing and common need, as is the challenge of incorporating the mindset of disaster preparedness into daily life. Although specific methods and approaches may differ, learning about different cultures and values, and cooperating beyond national boundaries to share globally both the knowledge and skills of disaster preparedness as well as lessons about how best to reach out to and educate the public, will enhance the resilience of the international community as a whole in coping with natural disasters.