World Bosai Forum/ IDRC 2017 in Sendai
TDA for Building Societal Resilience to Disasters

Effort of transdisciplinary approachby Japan Academic Network for Disaster Reduction

Prof. Masako Yoneda, Keio University
Council Member of Science Council of Japan
Director of Japan Academic Network for Disaster Reduction

Four Roles of Science Council of Japan (SCJ)
Representative organization of Japanese scientist community
Policy recommendations
to government and publicInternational
activities

Promotionof scientific
literacy

Establishment of networks
among scientists
In academic world, specialization has been progressed and integration has been weakened.

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Japan Academic Network for Disaster Reduction (JANET-DR)
Established on January 9, 2016

Members of SCJ and 56 academic societies proceed JANET-DR which covers
social sciences, life sciences, natural sciences and engineering.
TsunamiEarthquake
VolcanoFire

Storm Flood

Earth
Observation
Meteorology

Geology

Science Councilof Japan

EconomyAdministration

EnergyCity-Planning
Water

Society
HistoryEngineering
Emergency
evacuation

Medical Care
Public Health2

56 academic societies are such as
Architectural Institute of Japan,
Atomic Energy Society of Japan,
Geographic Information Systems Association of Japan,
Geological Society of Japan,
Japan Association for Earthquake Engineering,
Japan Emergency Management Association,
Japan Geoscience Union,
Japan Society for Natural Disaster Science,
Japan Society of Civil Engineers,
Japan Society of Disaster Nursing,Japanese Association for Disaster Medicine,
The City Planning Institute of Japan,
The Japan Association for Regional Economic Studies,
The Robotics Society of Japan
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History
the Great East Japan Earthquake
March 11, 2011
May 2011-Dec. 2015
“Academic Society Liaison Association Corresponding to
the Great East Japan Earthquake” (30 academic societies )January 9, 2016 for natural disasters in general
Japan Academic Network for Disaster Reduction(JANET-DR)(47 academic societies )(55 academic societies)4

47 Academic Societies and members of Science Council of Japan

Representatives of 47 Academic Societies andmembers of Science Council of Japan, January 9, 2016

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The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake on April 16
The Kumamoto earthquake happened about three months after JANET’sstart. M 6.5 earthquake occurred on 14 April 2016, in Kumamoto . Then,the strongest M 7.3 earthquake occurred on 16 April which was called themain shock of “the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake.

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Kumamoto earthquake was caused by the displacement offaults. Surface earthquake fault in Mashiki town.

[source:The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan]

7Damage in Mashiki town, caused by seismic intensity 7, twice

Kumamoto earthquake victims
50 deaths, 174 related deaths,
2677 wounded,
189079 houses collapsed or damaged（March, 2017）8

Landslides in Minamiaso village and collapse of Aso-Ohashi bridge.

Mt. Aso erupted from October to December 2016.
Land made of volcanic ash is fragile with heavy rain.
Complex disaster are concerned.

[source:Kokusai Kogyo Co.Ltd]

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Emergency joint press conference on April 18

SCJ & JANET-DR held a joint press conference on 18 April. Representatives of eight academic
societies explained about the Kumamoto earthquake and answered many questions from 43
10media companies.

Urgent report meeting of Kumamoto earthquake on May 2

On 2 May, the " Urgent report meeting" was held and 17 academic societies announced
interim reports of urgent investigation and relief activities.

11Three-month report meeting on July 16.

On 16 July, "Three-month report meeting" was held and representatives of
23 academic societies presented.
This series of report meetings helped to convey accurate information fromacademia to society. In lots of articles on newspapers and televisionprograms cited the presenters' comments of these report meetings.
12One-year report meeting in Kumamoto Prefectural Office
April 15, 2017

In addition to the presentations of 30 academic societies,
Kumamoto prefecture and Kumamoto city reported their current
status and their plans. It is necessary to understand the situationof the affected site for contributing to future recovery anddisaster prevention.
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The survey of active faults in Mashiki town on 16 April 2017

On the day after the report meeting, 70 researchers inspected the affected areas of theKumamoto earthquake. This is the survey of active faults in Mashiki town.

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The damage of Kumamoto castle

We inspected the collapse and damage of Kumamoto castle
and its restoration work
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Group Activities of Several Academic Societies
 Disaster medicine + Seismology + Civil andbuilding engineering + Transportation.
 Space satellite technology + Geographicalinformation + Evacuation plans.
 Volcano explosion + Earth observation +Landslide + City planning.
 Earthquake engineering + Huge urban cities
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Conclusion
JANET-DR works well for promoting transdisciplinary approachand social implementation of research, for the 2016
Kumamoto earthquake.
In academic world, specialization has been progressed andintegration has been weakened. More transdisciplinary
collaboration is required.
Many natural disasters occur in Asia. I also consider what wecan do to promote collaboration among academies in Asian
countries with a view to the future.
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