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This chapter focuses on the experiences and processes of earthquake recovery to discuss the general state of disaster recovery in Japan. In this way, it is expected that the outcome and discussion can provide effective insights for both domestic and international disaster-related efforts. First, the characteristics of natural disasters in Japan are summarized using statistical data. Quantitative and qualitative methods are flexibly used to analyze published data, materials, and semistructured interview data. Published data and materials are collected from various sources. Interview data were gained from diverse interviewees. Then, four case studies of earthquake recovery are introduced and the application of their recovery experiences to future disaster risk reduction is proposed. Finally, conclusions have been drawn from these case studies to show the practical influence of disaster-recovery experiences to regions that are currently experiencing or are likely to experience natural disasters in the future. More specifically, the chapter illustrates what challenges and influences past earthquakes can have on our present preparedness against a Nankai Trough Earthquake, which is predicted to occur in the near future.

Metro Manila, composed of 13 cities and 4 municipalities, is the home of more than 11 million people, and is vulnerable to different types of hazards, including earthquakes and flooding. This chapter focuses on the legal and institutional framework of Metro Manila, and analyzes the effectiveness of local governance in reducing the impacts of earthquake risk in the community level. Although most of the cities are faced with different barriers and challenges with regard to institutional and legal aspects, it is required to mobilize communities and utilize appropriate community leadership to enhance actions at the local level. In case of Manila, barangay or the lowest government body plays a key role in implementing risk reduction measures at community levels, and barangay captain (elected local representative) plays a crucial role in facilitating implementation. A combination of public help, mutual help, and self-help will be able to develop risk reduction strategies at local level.

Drawing on a case study in Hitachi City, Ibaraki prefecture, this chapter aims to analyze the relationship between community support and the behavior of residents after the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake in the regions affected by the disaster. The chapter will examine residents’ behavior and the community’s roles by way of the following process: (1) We will review Japan’s natural disaster prevention regimes; (2) we will examine the result of a field survey conducted in Hitachi City detailing the city’s natural disaster prevention procedures and the operation of some neighborhood evacuation sites; (3) the behavior of residents following the earthquake is analyzed. In this part, questionnaires were sent to 2000 households, of which 492 (24.6%) were collected and used for this analysis. The earthquake and tsunami destroyed lifelines such as water supply for several days in the city. According to the city, a total of 65 buildings were judged to be in dangerous condition, 251 as requiring care, and 478 were only partially damaged. The most serious damage was found mainly in the city’s coastal areas, where a total of 85 houses were entirely or partly damaged, and 483 houses were flooded above the floorboards by the tsunami. On March 11, a total of 69 evacuation sites opened, and 13,607 residents rushed into them. After the disaster, residents initially tried to go back to their homes. Depending on the damage done, they either stayed there or moved to a relative’s or friend’s house, or to a neighborhood evacuation site. Due to the failure of the lifelines, transportation systems, and the damage caused by the disaster, most residents had to stay within an area more limited than usual, around which they could walk or ride by bicycle. Residents had only the human and physical resources of their neighborhoods. Therefore, the characteristics of their local communities affected how residents behaved during and after the earthquake.

Schools play an important role in Japan by becoming evacuation centers after disasters. Depending on the nature of disaster, the school can be occupied for several days to several months. Therefore, schools play a crucial role in disaster risk reduction and can contribute to very strong bonding with the local communities. This chapter describes the experiences of six cities with the roles of schools during disasters. Kamaishi, Kesennuma, and Natori, three cities affected by the tsunami, have shown the important role that schools played in the time of disaster. Although some schools were destroyed in these three cities, people spent significant time in other schools as evacuees. Pre-disaster preparedness of schools and communities helped a lot in this regard. Taking the experiences from the East Japan disaster, Saijo, Owase, and Oobu cities in West Japan demonstrated their preparedness for future disaster. The chapter also shows that school-centered disaster preparedness before the disaster leads to an effective role during the disaster and also facilitates post-disaster recovery with schools as the center.

Disasters shape the development of communities and societies not only physically but also socially. This chapter provides some quantitative evidence to this effect by examining changes in social capital in communities affected by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China.

A two-wave, longitudinal household questionnaire survey data set was used for analysis. The baseline data were obtained in January, 2009, around 8 months after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, adopting a stratified sampling method within a county severely disrupted by the earthquake. A ­follow-up survey with the same households was conducted in the summer of 2012. Finally, 415 household questionnaire surveys from nine communities within the county were collected for analysis.

Overall, it can be concluded that social capital was strengthened in the post-disaster recovery process in the survey area. Social capital was measured according to three dimensions: (1) affiliation with organizations, (2) the degree of available social support, and (3) the degree of social cohesion within communities. It was found that the average degree of social capital increased during the recovery process, with a decrease of social capital inequalities between different families. More specifically, although informal personal networks were found to be the most prominent sources of social support, the support provided by formal organizations played a relatively more important role immediately after the catastrophe, given that most of the personal networks were also affected. Community cohesion was also found to have increased, with a decrease of standard deviation in the recovery process. This chapter suggests that disasters could generate positive effects rather than negative ones alone. Stronger and more tightly knit communities could be built in the disaster recovery process, if appropriate policies and methods are implemented.