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Community-Based Disaster Management in Super Aging Society: How Age and Gender Interacted to Shape Disaster Response in 2011 Tohoku Disaster
Substantial population aging had occurred in the coastal areas of Tohoku that were devastated by the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami. About two thirds of those killed in the 2011 disaster were older than 60 years of age. While elderly persons as a group are one of the most vulnerable population groups, they are key to community-based disaster management in Japan.
Community organizations for disaster management (jishubousaikai) are conventionally established under each residents’ association (jichikai) or neighbourhood association (chounaikai). Men in their 60’s and 70’s, retired but active, are the main members of jishubousaikai. Women of the same generation also participate in activities of jishubousakai, but they are seldom engaged in decision-making because of strict gender divisions of labour that characterize this generation. Younger generations with more egalitarian gender attitudes are generally not very interested in disaster management activities.
After the disaster, jishubousaikaimanaged shelters and distributed relief goods in many affected areas. The national government for the first time issued requests to each affected local governments to consider diverse needs of affected women and care-giving families in shelters; however, the requests were not recognized as important in many affected areas.
This paper investigates how age and gender interacted and shaped response processes in 2011 Tohoku Disaster though the analysis of data collected in two studies: 1) interviews with people engaged in disaster response and recovery during the 2011 Tohoku Disaster, most of who were also affected by the disaster themselves and 2) an action research project with three jishubousaikai, aimed at incorporating gender and diversity sensitivity in their activities in Shizuoka Prefecture, where another gigantic Tokai Earthquake is predicted to occur.