ブックタイトルRecommendations to prepare for future mega-disasters in Japan

概要

Recommendations to prepare for future mega-disasters in Japan

? There are tools for information sharing, such as Virtual OSOCC 9 , that are used as aninformal network among international disaster responders. However, the Governmentwas not proactive in leveraging these tools, with a view to communicate with foreign aidcommunity about the unfolding situation and the Government’s position.Note: It is assumed that media reports grew, the shortage of accurate informationand lack of swift messaging by the Government of Japan led to exacerbate aidproviding countries’concerns about the disaster-affected communities and how theGovernment of Japan was handling the situation.f. Issues in terms of accountability on assistance received from the international community? The types and amount of assistance received were widely publicised, and theGovernment of Japan expressed its gratitude to them at various levels. However, itwould be difficult for the Government of Japan to deny potential criticism against itselfentirely, as it has not fully demonstrated its accountability as a recipient of internationalaid. This is because the Government has not conducted objective monitoring of theusages of the assistance received as well as an comprehensive evaluation of theiroutcomes.(3) In-depth analysis of the causes of the issues identified aboveAs part of the Government of Japan’s response to the GEJE, it received internationalassistance. However, the Government had not put in place specific standards and concreteframeworks for this purpose adequately before the disaster struck. Those responsible fordomestic disaster response lacked understanding of the frameworks and guidelines related tointernational humanitarian assistance, and tailored training and qualified personnel foraccepting incoming international assistance were missing as an institutional gap.a. Lack of knowledge and cooperation among Japanese disaster response actors aboutinternational humanitarian assistance? In Japan, organisations and experts responding to domestic disasters differ from thoseresponding to disasters occurred in foreign countries. Accordingly, very few officials ofthe central government and local authorities have sufficient understanding offrameworks related to international humanitarian assistance such as UNDAC, INSARAG,OSOCC 10 , and Reception and Departure Centre (RDC) as well as guidelines including theOslo Guidelines 11 and IDRL 12 . They lack knowledge of qualifications, capability andequipment of international relief actors including rescue teams, medical teams, andforeign armed forces, as well as experience in collaborating with them. This seems tohave made them difficult to make appropriate judgement about which typesofinternational assistance could be utilized most effectively to meet what part of the9 The Virtual On-Site Operations and Coordination Centre (Virtual OSOCC) is a website managed by OCHA thatenables national disaster responders to exchange opinions globally.10 On-Site Operations and Coordination Centre (OSOCC) is established by an UNDAC team in a disaster-affectedarea to facilitate coordination among international disaster response teams in consultation with thedisaster-response headquarters of the affected country.11 The Oslo Guidelines govern the use of foreign military and civil defense assets in disaster relief, stipulating basicpolicies on accepting foreign armed forces in response to natural disasters. They are not legally binding but arewidely accepted by international humanitarian organisations, NGOs and others. The Government of Japan alsoparticipated in their drafting. The Guidelines define the acceptance of foreign armed forces as a“last resort.”12 International Disaster Response Laws (IDRL.) For more details, see References.10