Plenary Symposium at the 23rd Annual Conference of Japan Society of International Development: “The Great East Japan Earthquake and Vulnerable People: Lessons for International Development Cooperation”
Saturday, 1 December 2012, 16:30 - 18:00 Idemitsu Sazo Memorial Rokkodai Auditorium, Kobe University (Rokkodai Campus)

*Please note that this event is open to the public, but the rest of the conference is not.*

The Great East Japan Earthquake was an unprecedented disaster in terms of its scale and characteristics, exerting enormous impacts, both home and abroad. As a result of the nuclear disasters caused by the earthquake, the scope of the consequences became more extensive and unpredictable. One important issue that has arisen is that of protecting vulnerable parts of the population who lack the capacity or resources to be able to cope with such disasters. The earthquake, which caused widespread death, injury and displacement, demonstrated than even developed countries like Japan still have major problems related to issues of social inclusiveness and human security.

The symposium will be held in Kobe where the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake took place. While a number of vulnerable people became victims in the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, we have to examine how lessons from this case could be applied to protecting vulnerable people in rebuilding after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Program:

Chair: TOYODA Toshihisa, Former President of JASID and Professor Emeritus, Kobe University

Presentations:

YAMANAKA Shigeki, Senior Researcher and Professor, Institute for the Research of Disaster Area Reconstruction, Kwansei-Gakuin University and Former Chief Editor, Asahi Newspaper “From Hanshin-Awaji to East Japan: How Lessons of the Protection of the Vulnerable Could be Utilized?”

KANEKO Yuka, Professor, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies “Ownership of Reconstruction: Towards Institution Building to Facilitate the Vulnerable-first Approach”

SAKAMOTO Kumiko, Associate Professor, Utsunomiya University, Vice-Chair of the Study Group of Reconsidering Development After the Nuclear Disaster in the Great Earthquake “Hidden Victims by the Nuclear Disaster and Lessons for International Development Cooperation.”
　　
Commentators:
GODA Katsuaki, Former Head, International Cooperation, Fire and Disaster Management Agency NAGAMI Kozo, Tohoku Branch, Japan International Cooperation Agency HOBSON Christopher, Research Associate, Institute for Sustainability and Peace, United Nations University

The symposium is co-organized by the Japan Society for International Development, Kobe University, and the Institute for Sustainability and Peace, United Nations University.

For more information, please check:

http://www.org.kobe-u.ac.jp/jasid23/eg/info.htm

http://www.org.kobe-u.ac.jp/jasid23/eg/symposium_eg.pdf

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Dr. Christopher Hobson
Research Associate
Institute for Sustainability and Peace
United Nations University
5-53-70 Jingumae
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-8925
Japan

Email: hobson[at]unu.edu
Web: http://unu.edu/faculty/christopher-hobson
Tel: +81-3-5467-1329