9. Aid Policies in Disaster Risk Reduction: Japan and the Development Assistance to Disaster-Prone Developing Countries

This chapter discusses how the disaster risk reduction (DRR) framework has evolved in the context of aid, thereby identifying policy and practice changes in addressing natural calamities. It studies the DRR instrument from the Yokohama Strategy, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 (HFA), and the Sendai Framework, and explores implications for Japan’s DRR cooperation policies. The first part of this chapter covers the conceptual framework of DRR to assess the Yokohama Strategy and the HFA and Sendai Framework, underscoring that Japan played an influencing role in determining some of its policies. Subsequently, the chapter outlines the historical evolution of Japan’s development cooperation from the DRR perspective, examining some cases of DRR programs implemented in disaster-prone developing nations. It concludes that Japan’s development cooperation policies transformed along with changes in the international environment, and these shifts also affected, to some extent, the domestic DRR framework, adjusting to new global circumstances. Although joint efforts that integrate local stakeholders in devising strategies are crucial, incorporating traditional or indigenous methods to complement modern technology can also lessen risks in disaster-prone aid recipient states.