RYOSUKE AOTA

In Japan, with the national government's initiative, efforts are being made to establish disaster case management systems throughout the country. The definition of disaster case management is "an effort to understand the damage situation and living conditions of each disaster victim through individual consultations, and then provide continuous support to resolve those issues, in cooperation with relevant parties with specialized skills as necessary, so that disaster victims can become independent and rebuild their lives." However, disaster victims have a wide range of issues, so it is not easy to build and coordinate a support network with supporters and experts. And there are still challenges to find or foster a coordinating organization. This study analyzes a disaster case management effort centered on the private sector, and extracts knowledge about the results and challenges obtained. We focus on “the Aichi Prefecture Disaster Victim Support Center”, which was established by Aichi Prefecture to support disaster victims from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The following are its main characteristics. 1) This center has created a public-private cooperation system. While the prefecture established the center, its operation has been entrusted to NPOs, a co-op and a social welfare council. 2) The status of the center is a prefecture organization, which facilitates to get personal information of the victims. 3) Based on such information, the center easily provides support to meet each individual victim. 4) A group of experts has been established to explore solutions to complex problems faced by the victims. 5) Based on past disaster support experience, the contracted parties played the role of connecting victims, experts, prefectures, municipalities, local caseworkers, business operators and citizens, as an intermediate support organization. Support activities are still ongoing. The authors have compiled a report on the trajectory of the center from its establishment in June 2013 to the present. We identify nine characteristics of the Aichi Model, and six elements for implementing this model, as well as its challenges in the future In proposition by the government, a network of experts is envisioned with the social welfare council (semi-public) at its core. In response to this, this study examines the secrets of the unique informal mechanism by private sector, such as the proactive attitude and flexible network organization, which can lead to preparations for future mega-disasters.

It took more than 3 months from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. Although many local governments has given support to affected municipalities, it is difficult for affected victims to draw their roadmaps for housing reconstruction and livelihood recovery. I clarify the gap between the affected governents and people, and seek for the solution to solve the problem, which is related to self help, mutual and public support. We will face with many disasters in the future. Countermeasures in this disaster can be a turning point for DRR in depopulated and aged society. Keywords : Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Roadmap for affected victims, Gap between government and people, a turning point, depopulated and aged society