Aftermath Of The 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake And Tsunami
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The aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami included both a humanitarian crisis and massive economic impacts. The
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
created over 300,000 refugees in the
Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...
of Japan, and resulted in shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel for survivors. 15,900 deaths have been confirmed. In response to the crisis, the Japanese government mobilized the Self-Defence Forces, while many countries sent search and rescue teams to help search for survivors. Aid organizations both in Japan and worldwide also responded, with the
Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters i ...
reporting $1 billion in donations. The economic impact included both immediate problems, with industrial production suspended in many factories, and the longer term issue of the cost of rebuilding which has been estimated at ¥10 trillion ($122 billion USD). A further serious impact of the tsunami was the critical damage done to the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Ōkuma and Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The ...
, resulting in severe releases of radioactivity and the prospect of a long-term health and
environmental hazard An environmental hazard is a substance, state or event which has the potential to threaten the surrounding natural environment or adversely affect people's health, including pollution and natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes. It can i ...
in need of an expensive clean-up.


Humanitarian crisis

The
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...
caused a large number of displaced people. The number of evacuees, as of 26 January 2012, was 341,411. Some earthquake survivors died in shelters or in the process of evacuation. Many shelters struggled to feed evacuees and were not sufficiently equipped medically. Fuel shortages hampered relief actions. In the first week after the earthquake, supplies of food, water, and medicine were held up due to a fuel shortage and weather conditions. Food was limited for some unevacuated people, and as of late March, some were given one meal a day. There was a need for temporary housing, as the Japanese government are trying to remove evacuees from large shelters, where there have been reports of poor sanitary conditions. As of late March, 8,800 temporary units were planned in Iwate, 10,000 in Miyagi, and 19,000 in Fukushima. At the end of July 2011, the number of evacuees in Japan stood at 87,063. Of those, 12,905 were residing in public shelters and 19,918 were staying in inns or hotels. 46,081 units of temporary housing, about 88 percent of the number planned, had been erected. Evacuees had moved into 73 percent of the temporary housing available. Kyodo News,
87,000 still in limbo five months after quake
, '' Japan Times'', 12 August 2011, p. 1.


Nuclear accidents

Following the earthquake, tsunami, and failure of cooling systems at
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture **Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan *** Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...
and issues concerning other nuclear facilities in Japan on 11 March 2011, a nuclear emergency was declared. This was the first time a nuclear emergency had been declared in Japan, and 140,000 residents within of the plant were evacuated. Explosions and a fire have resulted in dangerous levels of radiation, sparking a stock market collapse and panic-buying in supermarkets. The UK, France and some other countries advised their nationals to consider leaving Tokyo, in response to fears of spreading nuclear contamination. The accidents have drawn attention to ongoing concerns over Japanese nuclear seismic design standards and caused other governments to re-evaluate their nuclear programs. As of April 2011, water is still being poured into the damaged reactors to cool melting fuel rods. John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK's National Nuclear Corporation, has said that it "might be 100 years before melting fuel rods can be safely removed from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant". Problems in stabilizing the Fukushima I plant have hardened attitudes to
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...
. As of June 2011, "more than 80 percent of Japanese now say they are
anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
and distrust government information on radiation". The ongoing Fukushima crisis may spell the end of nuclear power in Japan, as "citizen opposition grows and local authorities refuse permission to restart reactors that have undergone safety checks". Local authorities are skeptical that sufficient safety measures have been taken and are reticent to give their permission – now required by law – to bring suspended nuclear reactors back online.


Economic impact


Japan

Following the earthquake some analysts were predicting that the total recovery costs could reach ¥10 trillion ($122 billion); however, by 12 April 2011 the Japanese government estimated that the cost of just the direct material damage could exceed ¥25 trillion ($300 billion). Japan's real gross domestic product contracted 3.7% for the quarter of January to March 2011. The northern Tōhoku region, which was most affected, accounts for about 8% of the country's gross domestic product, with factories that manufacture products such as cars and beer, as well as energy infrastructure. It includes northern Miyagi prefecture, where Sendai is, about northeast of Tokyo. The Miyagi area includes manufacturing and industrial zones with chemical and electronics plants. It is estimated that Miyagi accounts for 1.7% of Japan's gross domestic product. An estimated 23,600 hectares of farmland, mostly rice paddies, were damaged by the tsunami. Salt left in the soil by the seawater could adversely affect rice crops for years. The affected area accounts for as much as 3%–4% of Japan's rice production. An estimated 4.37 million chickens in northeast Japan died following the earthquake as a result of disruptions in the supply of feed from overseas suppliers.''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...
'', "The Small Print", 16–29 March 2012, No. 938, p. 4.
An estimated 90% of the 29,000 fishing boats in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures were rendered unusable by the tsunami. Miyagi Prefecture's fishing industry was almost completely destroyed. Twelve thousand of 13,000 registered fishing boats in the prefecture were destroyed or damaged. At least 440 fishermen were killed or missing. The damage to the prefecture's fishing industry was estimated at ¥400 billion (US$5 billion). The total damage to Japan's fishing industry, in seven affected prefectures, was estimated at ¥1.26 trillion (US$11.29 billion). The earthquake and tsunami have had significant immediate impacts on businesses such as
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, Nissan and
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
, which completely suspended auto production until 14 March 2011. Nippon Steel Corporation also suspended production,
Toyo Tire & Rubber Company , commonly known as Toyo Tires, is a tire and rubber products company based in Itami, Japan. History The company started in 1945. In 1966, the company expanded to the United States as ''Toyo Tire USA Corporation''. In 1999, ''Nitto Tire Nor ...
and Sumitomo Rubber Industries shuttered their tire and rubber production lines, while
GS Yuasa is a Kyoto-based Japanese company specializing in the development and production of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries, used in automobiles, motorcycles and other areas including aerospace and defense applications. History Yuasa In 1909, ...
closed its automotive battery production. This was expected to hinder supply availability for automakers. Tokyo Electric Power Company,
Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...
, East Japan Railway Company and
Shin-Etsu Chemical is the largest chemical company in Japan, ranked No. 9 in Forbes Global 2000 for chemical sector. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon, and photomask substrates. The company was named one ...
were suggested as the most vulnerable companies as a result of the earthquake.
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
also suspended production at all its six plants in the area, while
Fuji Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...
discontinued production at most of its factories in the
Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...
and the
Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the ...
s. Other factories suspending operations include Kirin Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline,
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...
and
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
amid power cuts. The factory shutdowns, power cuts and the consequent presumed impact on consumer confidence could hurt the national GDP for several months, although economist
Michael Boskin Michael Jay Boskin (born September 23, 1945) is the T. M. Friedman Professor of Economics and senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He also is chief executive officer and president of Boskin & Co., an economic consulting com ...
predicted "only minimal impact on the Japanese economy overall". Following threats of further nuclear leaks, Blackstone Group LP, Continental AG and BMW were said to be moving their staff outside Japan. Toyota planned to recommence hybrid vehicle production, including the
Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, th ...
,
Lexus HS The Lexus HS (Japanese: レクサス・HS, ''Rekusasu HS'') is a dedicated hybrid vehicle introduced by Lexus as a new compact executive car sedan in 2009. Built on the Toyota New MC platform, it is classified as a compact under Japanese reg ...
, and
Lexus CT The is a hybrid electric automobile produced by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota, as a premium compact hatchback. The CT, consisting of a single model called the CT 200h is a luxury hybrid based on the Toyota Prius drivetrain and Toyota MC p ...
, on 28 March 2011. Honda said that their two Japanese factories will remain closed until 3 April. On 24 March, Nissan said it may move some engine production to the United States due to earthquake damage in Japan. Also on 24 March,
IHS Inc. IHS Markit Ltd was an information services provider that completed a merger with S&P Global in 2022. Headquartered in London, it was formed in 2016 with the merger of IHS Inc. and Markit Ltd. History IHS Information Handling Services (IHS) "wa ...
automobile analyst Paul Newton predicted U.S. plants could experience parts shortages by mid-April and that automobile production worldwide could drop by 30%. Toyota expected some shutdowns in North America, but these would be temporary since many needed parts were shipped before the earthquake. Chief economist for Japan at Credit Suisse, Hiromichi Shirakawa, said in a note to clients that the estimated economic loss may be around $171 billion–$183 billion just to the region hit by the quake and tsunami. On 14 March, the Bank of Japan, in an attempt to maintain market stability, injected 15 trillion yen into the
money market The money market is a component of the economy that provides short-term funds. The money market deals in short-term loans, generally for a period of a year or less. As short-term securities became a commodity, the money market became a compon ...
s to assure financial stability amid a plunge in stocks and surge in credit risk. After it set up an emergency task force to ensure
liquidity Liquidity is a concept in economics involving the convertibility of assets and obligations. It can include: * Market liquidity, the ease with which an asset can be sold * Accounting liquidity, the ability to meet cash obligations when due * Liq ...
in the aftermath of the disaster, governor
Masaaki Shirakawa is a Japanese economist, central banker and the 30th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), and professor at Aoyama Gakuin University. He is also a Director and Vice-Chairman of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Early life Shirakawa ...
and the bank's board also enlarged a programme to buy government bonds to exchange-traded funds to the tune of 10 trillion yen. The BOJ chief told reporters cash injections will continue as needed. However, following the further nuclear leaks, its actions were read by the market as insufficient despite 8 trillion yen being pumped into the market. On 15 March, the
Topix , commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's Prime market division. It is calculated and published by the ...
index fell again marking a two-day plunge not seen since 1987 as Japan's default risk surged after Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned of further leaks from the damaged nuclear power plant. Commodities were also significantly lower. Residents of Tokyo were reported to have gone on panic shopping sprees as daily necessities were sought after and gasoline was stocked up with the increasing risk of radioactivity releases. Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yukio Edano is a Japanese politician who served as the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from its formation in 2017 until 2021. A member of the House of Representatives in the Diet since 1993, he served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and ...
said that Japan's government will convene on 13 March to gauge the economic effects of the catastrophe. He told NHK Television that about 200 billion yen that was remaining from the budget for the concurrent fiscal year that would end on 31 March would be used to fund the immediate recovery efforts. Additional measures could also hurt Japan's
public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...
(which is already the highest in the world). This additional spending could hurt demand for government bonds.
Silicon wafer In electronics, a wafer (also called a slice or substrate) is a thin slice of semiconductor, such as a crystalline silicon (c-Si), used for the fabrication of integrated circuits and, in photovoltaics, to manufacture solar cells. The wafer serv ...
production has been suspended at factories owned by
Shin-Etsu Chemical is the largest chemical company in Japan, ranked No. 9 in Forbes Global 2000 for chemical sector. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon, and photomask substrates. The company was named one ...
and
MEMC Electronic Materials SunEdison, Inc. (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials) is a renewable energy company headquartered in the U.S. In addition to developing, building, owning, and operating solar power plants and wind energy plants, it also manufactures high purity p ...
, which together account for 25% of the global silicon wafer production. The suspension is expected to drastically impact semiconductor production, which is contingent on wafer availability. Some economic analysts consider that, ultimately, the catastrophe will improve Japan's economy, with increased job availability during restoration efforts. An analyst at
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
, citing the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
and the Southern California
1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately 1 ...
, noted that natural disasters "do eventually boost output". An analyst at
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...
anticipated that Japan's economy will decline in March 2011 but will revive powerfully in subsequent months. After the
Kobe earthquake The , or Kobe earthquake, occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST (January 16 at 20:46:53 UTC) in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and h ...
, industrial output dropped 2.6%, but increased by 2.2% the next month and 1% the following month. Japan's economy then accelerated substantially through the next two years, at more than its former rate. Others are of the opinion that the catastrophe will harm the economy. Some analysts have argued that those who predict that the reconstruction effort could help Japan's economy have fallen prey to the
broken window fallacy The parable of the broken window was introduced by French economist Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay " That Which We See and That Which We Do Not See" ("") to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is not ...
. On 24 March, an executive of Bank of Japan's
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
branch said he expected "a big decline in production, eading toan adjustment in the economy initially with exports and inventories falling and imports rising... Demand created by reconstruction projects will emerge after that." The government said that reconstruction in the ongoing year could raise GDP by 5 trillion yen to 7.75 trillion yen. By the end of July 2011, 47 percent of the 22.63 million tons of debris in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures had been removed. By 11 July 2011, 73.7% of farming businesses affected by the quake and tsunami in eight prefectures had resumed operations while 35.5% of fishing entities had returned to business, according to the Japanese agricultural ministry. The ministry excluded Fukushima from the results because of the ongoing nuclear crisis. The reconstruction of damaged areas in Tōhoku beginning in 2011 produced a boom in construction jobs and business in the area. As a result, cities like Sendai benefited from an increase in residents and wages for construction-related jobs rose. By March 2012, 644 companies in Japan had been forced into bankruptcy by the disaster. The companies included 157 service companies, 150 manufacturers, and 113 wholesalers. The companies left behind liabilities of ¥925.4 billion (US$8 billion) and had employed 11,412 people.


Global financial impact

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Japan's '' Nikkei'' stock market index saw its futures slide 5% in after-market trading. The Bank of Japan said that it would do its utmost to ensure financial market stability. On Tuesday, 15 March, news of rising radiation levels caused the ''Nikkei'' to drop over 1,000 points or 10.6% (16% for the week). Other stock markets around the world were also affected; the German
DAX Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...
lost 1.2% within minutes. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 1.8%, while South Korea's Kospi index slumped by 1.3%. By the end of trading on the day of the earthquake, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index had dropped by 1.8%. Major U.S. stock market indexes rose between 0.5% and 0.7%. Oil prices also dropped as a result of the closure of Japanese refineries, despite the ongoing violence in Libya and expected demonstrations in Saudi Arabia. US crude dropped as low as US$99.01 from $100.08 by lunchtime, with
Brent Crude Brent Crude may refer to any or all of the components of the Brent Complex, a physically and financially traded oil market based around the North Sea of Northwest Europe; colloquially, Brent Crude usually refers to the price of the ICE (Intercon ...
falling $2.62 to $112.81. In Hong Kong, Financial Secretary
John Tsang John Tsang Chun-wah, GBM, JP (; born Mui; born 21 April 1951) is a Hong Kong former senior civil servant and government official who was the longest-serving Financial Secretary in the Special Administrative Region period to date. Born in ...
warned investors to "take extra care" as the earthquake may have a short-term impact on local stock markets. The share prices of the biggest
reinsurance Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...
companies
Munich Re Munich Re Group or Munich Reinsurance Company (german: Münchener Rück; Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a German multinational insurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world's leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Muni ...
and
Swiss Reinsurance Company Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,
Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re") ...
fell following the earthquake on speculation that they may face losses "somewhere in the $10 billion range" even after certain costs were absorbed by Japan's primary insurers and the government. The
Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...
soared against most major currencies following the earthquake and reached a post-World War II high of 76.25 yen to the US dollar on speculation that Japanese investors would repatriate assets to pay for rebuilding. Since Japan relies heavily on exports, the strong yen could dampen its economy further. The financial markets' instability prompted the G7 to meet on 17 March, resulting in an agreement on joint forex intervention to sell yen against the dollar; it was the first such move since 2000. Peter Bradford, a former member of the United States'
Nuclear Regulatory Commission The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...
, said that the impact on the nuclear power plant was "obviously a significant setback for the so-called
nuclear renaissance Since about 2001 the term nuclear renaissance has been used to refer to a possible nuclear power industry revival, driven by rising fossil fuel prices and new concerns about meeting greenhouse gas emission limits. In the 2009 ''World Energy ...
. The image of a nuclear power plant blowing up before your eyes on a television screen is a first."


Response in Japan


Government

Then Prime Minister
Naoto Kan is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from June 2010 to September 2011. Kan was the first Prime Minister since the resignation of Junichiro Koizumi in 2006 to serve for m ...
announced that the government had mobilized the
Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...
in earthquake disaster zones. He asked the Japanese public to act calmly and tune into media for updated information. He reported that numerous nuclear power plants were automatically shut down to prevent damage and releases of radioactivity. He set up emergency headquarters in his office to coordinate the government's response. Evacuation shelters faced a shortage of potable water, food, blankets and bathroom facilities, as the government arranged these necessities to be delivered to where they were needed from areas of Japan and abroad. Dropping temperatures, due to the disruption in electrical and gas lines, caused further problems at shelters. , 336,521 people in Japan had been displaced from their homes and were residing elsewhere, including in 2,367 shelters. A Japanese
urban search and rescue Urban search and rescue (abbreviated as USAR or US&R) is a type of technical rescue operation that involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in an urban area, namely structural collapse due to natu ...
team sent to New Zealand following the February
2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
was recalled. On 27 March 2011, Japan's
National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of E ...
reported that 14 of its officers had died in the line of duty in the disaster and a further 16 were missing. The government in Japan committed to cleaning up the damage from the disaster, an effort forecast to cost a total of ¥1 trillion (US$8 billion). The government set up an advisory panel of intellectual figures on 14 April 2011, named the and chaired by Makoto Iokibe, President of the National Defense Academy of Japan. The Council submitted the first set of recommendations to the government for the third supplementary budget for full-fledged reconstruction measures on 25 June. The government struggled to produce a plan for the clean up of the 2.8 million tons of debris in Fukushima Prefecture, as much of it is radioactive. Many seaside communities in Japan have reexamined their tsunami defenses and reaction plans in response to the disaster. The public and companies were encouraged to conserve electricity in the 2011 summer months ( Setsuden). In March 2012 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government passed the Metropolitan Tokyo Ordinance on Measures for Stranded Individuals requiring employers to stockpile food, water and emergency supplies at their places of business. It came into effect on 1 April 2013. Japanese media reported in 2012 that up to 25% of special funds allocated by the government for disaster recovery and relief were being used outside the disaster area on projects unrelated to the earthquake and tsunami. The projects included ¥500 million (US$4 million) for road construction in Okinawa, ¥330 million (US$3 million) for repairs to
National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
, ¥10.7 million (US$95 thousand) in subsidies for nuclear research, ¥30 million (US$269 thousand) for power shovels for prisons in Hokkaido and Saitama, and ¥2.3 billion (US$20 million) to combat the
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...
. In the meantime, in October 2012 the damaged towns in Tōhoku reported that they were still struggling to recover from the disaster.


National Diet Library

Efforts by the
National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
were deployed toward the preservation of archival material related to the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 10 May 2011, a panel of experts published its
Seven Principles for the Reconstruction Framework
', with the first principle pressing the need to construct permanent memory of the natural disaster. In response, many municipal government put in place disaster archives. In July 2011, the Japanese government published its
Basic Guidelines for Reconstruction in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake
' and made a commitment in providing full access to its collected disaster records. This commitment led to the creation of the ''National Diet Library Great East Japan Archives'', otherwise known a
HINAGIKU
in March 2013. The database is the main repository for archival material related to the 2011 disasters and is also a hub for disaster records collected by various other municipalities and for records relating to other Japanese natural disasters. It provides access to more than 3,7 million records related to earthquakes and other natural disasters in Japan (notably the Kumamoto Earthquake). The records consist of reports, photographs, scientific papers, and many others. However, the content hosted by HINAGIKU might partly be in jeopardy. Indeed, considering the fact that many of the disaster archives that were built during the early months succeeding May 2011 entirely depended on temporary funds, many of those archives might close someday. This would mean that disaster records would have to be taken in charge by the National Diet Library or another archival repository in order to keep them available; however it is unsure how this would be done at the moment. Another pressing issue is
metadata Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
harmonization, whereas not all archival repositories curate their disaster records with the same standards. This might hinder findings in HINAGIKU.


Citizens

There was a notable lack of disorder immediately following the earthquake. This was attributed to Japanese forbearance, an attitude sometimes referred to as
gaman Gaman ( hi, गमन, English:Departure) is a Hindi film released in 1978, starring Farooq Sheikh and Smita Patil in the lead roles and introducing Nana Patekar in a supporting role. It is the directorial debut of Muzaffar Ali, who went on to m ...
, and to laws that encourage honesty and a strong police presence. One source reported that the three main clans of
Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...
gangs were enforcing order in their territories. A Mark MacKinnon wrote in ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' wrote, "As one catastrophe piled on top of another, a very Japanese deference to authority emerged, as well as a national desire to see civility prevail, no matter the circumstances." Some people devastated by the quake began, however, to question the government's effort in providing food, clothing, electricity, heat, and phone service. Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yukio Edano is a Japanese politician who served as the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan from its formation in 2017 until 2021. A member of the House of Representatives in the Diet since 1993, he served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and ...
later said, "In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and provided it faster." Some ten days after the quake, reports began to emerge of incidents of
looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
and theft in quake and tsunami-hit areas. By 20 March 2011, 250 thefts, with ¥4.9 million (US$43 thousand) in merchandise stolen from stores and ¥5.8 million (US$52 thousand) in cash, were reported to the Miyagi Prefectural Police. Witnesses reported thieves stealing cash and bank books from smashed houses, looting goods from stores, and siphoning gas from abandoned or damaged vehicles. Around ¥40 million (US$358 thousand) was reportedly stolen from a bank in Kesennuma, Miyagi. Between 11 March and the end of June 2011, a total of ¥684.4 million (US$6 million) was stolen from ATMs and convenience stores in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. Of the money stolen, ¥477 million (US$4 million) from 34 ATM thefts took place in Fukushima Prefecture, 80% of that in the 20-km evacuation zone around the Daiichi nuclear plant. The number of thefts from homes and stores during the same period in those three prefectures stood at 1,233, about 1.5 times the number from the same period in 2010. Of them, 194 were in the nuclear evacuation zone, 19 times the number from 2010. The rumors which had spread immediately after the quake of rampant rapes by armed gangs proved to be false, as reports of sexual assaults actually fell 35.7 percent to 81 cases. Only one sexual assault was reported occurring in one of the evacuee centers. Throughout Japan, there were 51 reported cases of scams or frauds related to the disaster, with losses amounting to around ¥12.6 million (US$112 thousand). Even though there are no regulations imposed by the Japan government for conservation, many people practised self-restraint by conserving resources and cancelling celebrations, this reaction was attributed by experts as a way of coping with the traumatising scale of losses and the spreading fear of radioactive fallout. As of December 2011, there were 2,439 complaints lodged with the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan concerning earthquake-related scams from throughout Japan. A total of ¥970 million had been paid or lost by those targeted by the alleged scams. The reported scams included exorbitant house and roof repairs, faulty radiation gauges, and water filters touted to remove radioactivity. The government raised the level 7 severity of the nuclear accident after the 2011 Japanese unified regional elections. Non-government organizations, including
Peace Boat is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable de ...
, have assisted in cleaning up the disaster area since the quake.


Non-citizen residents of Japan

Approximately 531,000 non-Japanese residing in Japan departed the country after the quake and tsunami, including approximately 25% of foreigners living in Tokyo. Foreigners living in Japan and the English-language media in Japan coined the term " flyjin" (or fly-jin), a play on the Japanese word
gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: and ...
, as a label for the non-Japanese who fled in the wake of the disaster. 9,720 dependents of United States military and government civilian employees in Japan fled the country, mainly to the United States. The United States spent $11.7 million on chartered aircraft to fly the dependents out of the country. The number of foreign residents in Japan dropped by 55,000 in 2011, with Iwate losing 15.5%, Fukushima 15.1%, and Miyagi 13.2% of their populations of non-Japanese. The total reduction in foreigners nationwide was 2.6% of the pre-quake total.


Media

The former Japanese participant of
Korean Broadcasting System The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...
's ''
Global Talk Show ''Global Talk Show'', also known as ''Misuda'', was a South Korean television program on Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). The show features a panel of foreign women residing in South Korea, usually as international students, who discussed their ...
'' Junko Sagawa criticized the Japanese government for "intentionally ignoring the Japanese citizens during the tsunami and the nuclear crisis" through her personal homepage on 17 March 2011. The earthquake postponed the
analog shutdown The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is conv ...
in the Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. Television stations in these three prefectures shut off their analog signals on 31 March 2012 at noon. Television stations in the Yamagata, Aomori, and Akita prefectures shut down their analog signals on 24 July 2011, along with the rest of Japan.


International response


Request for assistance

Japan specifically requested teams from Australia, New Zealand,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, and the United States; it also requested, via its space agency
JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...
, the activation of the
International Charter on Space and Major Disasters The International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" is a non-binding charter which provides for the charitable and humanitarian acquisition and transmission of satellite data to relief organizations in the event of major disasters. Initiated b ...
, allowing diverse satellite imagery of affected regions to be readily shared with rescue and aid organizations. They needed the help of these countries and organisations to get back on track to help their contry.


World involvement

Japan received messages of condolence and offers of assistance from a range of international leaders. According to Japan's foreign ministry on 19 March 2011, 128 countries and 33 international organizations had offered assistance to Japan. Several countries, including Australia, China, India, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States, sent search-and-rescue teams, and dozens of other countries and major international relief organizations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent pledged financial and material support to Japan. The EU has also been more than ready to offer its support to them: "An earthquake powerful enough to make the world wobble on its axis, a massive tsunami, an emergency in nuclear power stations. Any one of these would be a tragedy. Thousands of people have died and this has turned this tragedy into a catastrophe," said Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council. Twenty
Member States A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...
have offered assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. Australian Prime Minister
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
was the first foreign leader to visit the earthquake site. The Fukushima incident brought the issue of nuclear power to the fore internationally, causing an anti-nuclear demonstration of 50,000 people in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and the cancellation of a pro-nuclear press conference in the United Kingdom. While stepping-up monitoring of radiation levels on its own shores in face of the Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, China, a major supporter in the relief operations in Japan in spite of its own 2011 Yunnan earthquake, current earthquake crisis, had officially begun evacuating its citizens from those worst-hit areas in Japan on 15 March 2011. France had also officially begun evacuation of its nationals from the worst-hit areas, dispatching airliners to assist in the evacuation on 16 March 2011. Also responding to potential danger of radiation exposure, the government of Austria had relocated its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka some away. The U.S. Embassy in Japan had advised evacuation of all American nationals to outside a radius from the Fukushima power plant on 16 March 2011, which is a far greater distance than the evacuation zone the Japanese government had already recommended for all inhabitants of the affected region, but later increased to on 25 March 2011. In many countries, both government and private aid campaigns have been organized to offer money and support to the victims and general populace of Japan. Social buying sites have launched on-line campaigns in which several million dollars were raised for relief organizations working in Japan. As of 3 April 2011, the
Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters i ...
had received over $1 billion in donations in response to the disaster, and dispatched more than 200 emergency relief teams to the disaster zone. However it received criticism from some quarters for not yet having dispensed any cash aid to survivors. The American Red Cross said that it had received $120 million in donations from the US public. The Singapore Red Cross and Japan Association said that, as of 31 March 2011, residents of Singapore had donated Singapore dollar, S$ 3.15 million for disaster relief. As of May 2011, contributors in South Korea had donated ₩56 billion won (US$50 million) to various organizations for the disaster relief effort. By May 2011 the people of Taiwan had donated or pledged 5.9 billion Taiwan dollars (US$216 million). Operation Tomodachi, which means ''Friend'' in Japanese, was the United States military operation to provide assistance and humanitarian aid to Japan. Twenty-thousand US military personnel, including 19 naval vessels and 120 aircraft, were mobilized to provide assistance or move supplies to the disaster area. The US aid efforts were conducted under the direction of Japanese government or military authorities. The ''Yomiuri Shimbun'' reported that the "coordinated relief activities at the disaster sites are expected to deepen the Japan-U.S. alliance." A number of religious groups donated funds, equipment, supplies, or volunteer time. The Hinokishin Brigade of Tenrikyo donated ¥920 million, Sōka Gakkai ¥500 million, Risshō Kōsei Kai ¥500 million, Seicho-no-Ie ¥250 million, Unification Church ¥160 million, Science of Happiness ¥61 million, and various other Buddhist charities ¥340 million.


Information and support

Among several resources offered to help find earthquake survivors and obtain information about people in Japan are: Disaster Message Board Web171 operated by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, the International Committee of the Red Cross, American Red Cross, Google Person Finder, websites of the Australian Embassy, US Department of State, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Honshū Quake wiki operated by the Crisis camp, CrisisCommons volunteer community. On 27 March 2013, Google released street view imagery for the city of Namie within the exclusion zone, following requests from former residents.


Sports

At the time of the earthquake, a Nippon Professional Baseball preseason game between Sendai's Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and the Hanshin Tigers in Akashi, Hyōgo was cancelled after the eighth inning so the Eagles players and personnel could check on the safety of their friends and families in the area. The opening of the 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball season, 2011 season was postponed until April 12, and Rakuten continued to train in the Kansai region because of the damage sustained by Sendai and Kleenex Stadium. In addition to the Eagles holding fund-raising events, all 12 NPB teams played charity games between April 3 to 4 to help raise money for earthquake relief. Rakuten opened the season at QVC Marine Field against the Marines and fans displaced by the earthquake were able to watch the Eagles' come-from-behind win on large screens the team set up at 20 refuge sites in Tōhoku. Days later, they hosted their first "home" game at Koshien Stadium while the restoration work to Kleenex Stadium continued. The earthquake had damaged 47 different parts of the stadium, including its lights and outside walls. Baseball returned to Sendai on April 12, when the Eagles played their first game at their home field. An opening ceremony attended by the Governor of Japan, governor of Miyagi Prefecture Yoshihiro Murai and List of ambassadors of the United States to Japan, United States Ambassador John Roos was held before the game and Rakuten went on to win. To save electricity, a rule was put into place that season that required games to stop three and a half hours after the start of the game. The earthquake also caused the 2011 Japan Series between the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Chunichi Dragons to be delayed into mid-November due to the season opening being delayed. The 2011 World Figure Skating Championships were scheduled to take place from 21–27 March at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo but the International Skating Union decided on 14 March to postpone the event, after the German team announced that it would follow recommendations not to travel to Japan. After Japanese officials announced it would not be possible to host the event in the country, it was moved to late April in Moscow, Russia. The 2011 ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating, scheduled for Yokohama on 14–17 April, was postponed until the following year. The Japanese Olympic Committee denied reports that it had abandoned plans to bid for the 2020 Olympics and said it was still under consideration. In April 2011, Japanese Olympic officials stated they were undecided whether to run but said hosting international sports events was important to helping the country rebuild. In July 2011, Tokyo put forth its Tokyo bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics, bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Following the deadline for bidding, the IOC confirmed that Tokyo was one of the six cities that had entered a bid. The bid has received the full support of the government. On 23 May 2012, the IOC selected Tokyo as one of the three candidate cities for the 2020 Olympics. On 7 September 2013, Tokyo was voted to host the 2020 Summer Olympics with 60 votes to 36 in the final round against Istanbul. The 2011 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix, originally scheduled for 24 April, was moved to 2 October. 18 September IndyCar race at Motegi, Japan, the Indy Japan Final, was moved from the Superspeedway to the Road Course because of damage to the Superspeedway (2.5 kilometres oval) to the 4.7 km road course, and reduced from 482 miles to 300 km. The 2011 Asia League Ice Hockey finals between the Tōhoku Free Blades and Anyang Halla were to begin on 11 March but the five games were canceled. , no rescheduled dates were announced. The Japan national football team canceled their friendly match with Montenegro national football team, Montenegro scheduled for 25 March in Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Shizuoka. They were also scheduled to play New Zealand national football team, New Zealand in Tokyo on 29 March, although the Japan Football Association tried to relocate the match to
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
, much further away from the affected area. "We hope to play New Zealand, which like Japan has also suffered damage from February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, a big earthquake," Japan FA president Junji Ogura said in a statement. In the end, the "All Whites" canceled their plans to play the Japanese due to safety concerns. The International Tennis Federation, ITF tennis tournament, Japan Future 1, was to take place on Nishitama District, Tokyo from 14–20 March and was cancelled after the qualifying round was completed. The series of four Futures tournament, ITF Men's Circuit Futures tournaments in and around Tokyo, commencing the week of 14 March 2011 has been cancelled. Due to uncertainty over the nuclear situation, the International Federation of Gymnastics was considering moving the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, however they went ahead as planned. The Japan women's national football team originally sought to pull out from the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup due to the devastating earthquake which caused the cancellation of the Nadeshiko League, but ultimately didn't. Eventually, the Japanese Nadeshiko went on to win the tournament, losing only one game in the process. Their run was hailed as a one of the greatest upsets in a major football competition. After winning, the team raised a banner to thank their fans for supporting them following its victory in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.


Debris overseas

On 21 September 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that a large blue plastic storage bin from Fukushima, Fukushima, Fukushima was the first confirmed piece of marine debris that had arrived in waters off Hawaii. This was the 12th confirmed piece of Japanese tsunami debris to arrive in United States or Canadian waters. On 30 November 2012, Prime Minister Noda announced the Government of Japan had decided to extend an ex gratia gift to the government of the United States in the wake of the Great East Japan earthquake to demonstrate goodwill with respect to tsunami debris. During March 2013, a boat lost during the tsunami washed up on the shores of Washington, U.S. carrying five trapped live fish. The surviving Tsunami fish was put on display at the Seaside Aquarium. Between September 2015 and March 2016, 64 items that have washed up on the coastline of North America have been identified as being debris from the tsunami.


Asteroid naming

Multiple asteroid have been named in relations to the earthquake. In the Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2012 conference which was held at Toki Messe in Niigata, Niigata, Niigata, International Astronomical Union approved naming 12 asteroids after areas affected by the earthquake, in hopes for their recovery. The 12 asteroids, including 14701 Aizu, 19534 Miyagi, 19691 Iwate, 19701 Aomori, 19713 Ibaraki, 19731 Tochigi, 20613 Chibaken, 21966 Hamadori, 22719 Nakadori, 22745 Rikuzentakata, 22885 Sakaemura, and 22914 Tsunanmachi were all discovered by Lowell Observatory in the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search project, which have the right to propose the naming of these asteroids and is officially the proposer of these names, although the naming proposal itself was initially drafts by local organizing committee for the conference.Astronomers Pray to the Stars for Recovery: Asteroids Named after Disaster-Stricken Prefectures and Other Areas
/ref> The asteroid 23649 Tohoku is also named after the area affected by the earthquake to commemorate all the people died during the disaster, asteroid 29157 Higashinihon is named as such in hope for recovery from the earthquake, and asteroid 31152 Daishinsai is also named after the earthquake to commemorate the event and wish for people died from its.小惑星に「Daishinsai」 復興を願い命名
Kyodo News 2012-05-08


See also

* Hideaki Akaiwa * ''Ryou-Un Maru''


References


External links


Great East Japan Earthquake Official Portal


* [http://www.oecd.org/document/25/0,3746,en_33873108_33873539_47675097_1_1_1_1,00.html Japan's economic outlook following the 11 March 2011 Earthquake]
Health Implications in the Aftermath of Japan's Crisis: Mental Health, Radiation Risks, and the Importance of Continued Surveillance
2015 News on Nuclear power plant re-opening schedules. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami 2011 in Japan 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami 2011 in international relations Legacies, Tohoku