Multi-Location Recovery Planning in Japan

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011 was Japan’s first multi-location disaster event in modern times, resulting in over 16,000 deaths, severe economic and physical damage across Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, as well as the release of radioactive material from a damaged nuclear reactor. This paper analyses how recovery planning was structured in response to this event. The recovery plans emphasise three main themes: ensuring safety, rebuilding lives, and expanding technology and resource-based industries. One year after the disaster, all major infrastructure systems had been restored, though debris management remained a challenge. Funding efforts had begun to address housing, land use, economic recovery, and safety concerns. A hybrid model of municipal and prefectural proposals with central ministry oversight emerged, supported by the creation of a central government recovery agency. While partial strategies were developed for the nuclear accident, substantial challenges persist for achieving long-term stability.