Restoration of Communities Following the Great East Japan Disaster: The Transformation of Mutual Help Networks Through the Eyes of the Victims

Abstract

The earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011, not only caused extensive direct damage to the population but also triggered a nuclear power plant accident that brought the terror and reality of radiation. The restoration of communities in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures presents enormous problems. People from the radiation-contaminated areas have faced numerous ordeals since resettlement after the accident. Through personal interviews with victims, this chapter investigates what happened in the regional societies and how community consciousness changed as a result of the combined natural and manmade catastrophes. The study focuses on the restoration of community from social bonds through mutual help networks as a spontaneous social order. As the result of interviewing, some propositions were developed concerning the transformation of mutual help networks. The stronger the outside assistance from volunteers whom the victims came to trust and rely on, the weaker inside communal help becomes. Inventorying and clarifying the particular problems of conflict in stricken communities such as the loss of confidence in neighbors, the possibilities of rebuilding communities are explored, especially indicating how to cope with the social demise of communities that local people had formed and occupied all their lives.

Citation

Onda, M. (2017), "Restoration of Communities Following the Great East Japan Disaster: The Transformation of Mutual Help Networks Through the Eyes of the Victims", Recovering from Catastrophic Disaster in Asia (Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management, Vol. 18), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 61-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-726220160000018010