The 3.11 Disaster of Japan: Vulnerability, Loss and Social Transformation

February 02, 2013
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The 3.11 Disaster of Japan: Vulnerability, Loss and Social Transformation
25 – 26 January 2013
Leong Hall Auditorium
 
In 2011, the 3.11 disaster of Japan, the Tohoku Earthquake and earthquake-induced disasters, revealed vulnerability of a first-world country, and becamea landmark that showed human beings were now faced with the intensifying severity of disaster risk. Disasters occur at the interface of environment, society, and technology. They are not only biophysical events but also inevitably situated in the social and cultural contexts. The important issues of disasters are often the issues of societies. From this understanding, 13th International Conference on Japanese Studies “The 3.11 Disaster of Japan: Vulnerability, Loss and Social Transformation,” organized by the Japanese Studies Program, School of Social Sciences, attempted to elucidate the 3.11 disaster as the social process of Japan.
 
Gathering more than 200 participants, the conference was held on 25 and 26 January 2013 at Leong Hall. Among the speakers, Prof.Satoshi Tanaka of Fuji Tokoha University provided the overview with the detailed data of the disasterand explored recovery and reconstruction of local society while Dr.Hendrik Meyer-Ohle of the National University of Singapore discussed retailing as a life line in the post-disaster situation. Dr. David Slater of Sophia University focused on the emergence of new forms of social capital and strategies generated in the disaster response through the digital network. Prof. Takefumi Terada of Sophia University elucidated the responses of the Filipinio community and the role of the religious network in Japan. Six other presenters explored topics such as medical responses, volunteerism in recovery, the experiences of Filipino students in the affected areas, food heritage preservation and tourism in post-disaster, the Fukushima-related disaster waste, and trade and economic implications of the disaster to the Philippines. After the sessions, the speakers joined the Marikina City tour to observe the LGU’s disaster preparedness.