7. Conclusion

Looking back at the emergency response management to the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami disasters, the Japanese people generally reflect now if the organizations in charge of rescue and relief operations such as the Self-Defense Force (SDF), fire fighters, police, coast guard, and DMAT did their jobs in a manner commended by the disaster-stricken communities and people, despite the fact that damages caused by the earthquake and tsunamis were overwhelmingly vast and grave. Especially, the activities of the Self-Defense Force were spectacular to the citizens and highly regarded by them. Majority of the respondents in both media and government opinion polls rated their activities well organized and effectively done. One factor was that the SDF was an organization with self-sufficiency and excels in emergency response that requires multiple activities to be simultaneously attended, such as lifesaving and evacuation; delivery of water, food, goods, and equipments; as well as immediate recovery of roads and other infrastructures needed for the relief activities. The SDF was capable of acting from many angles required at emergency, and in the 3.11 disasters, at the peak time, over 100,000 SDF staff were deployed for the rescue and relief, responding to many requests from the stricken areas. Without outside resources, the SDF continued their activities for a certain time period. People commended highly of the devoted performance of the SDF. Contrary to this situation, the police was not equipped with enough facilities and resources to independently carry out rescue operations. After the immediate actions subsided, the police strengthened its inter-prefecture emergency rescue unit system and introduced the idea of self-sufficiency. Such a case is the example of the reform and renewal of government institution and administration needed for disaster mitigation. Fire fighters especially volunteer fire corps who worked with devotion and appreciated by affected communities, as well as DMAT and coast guard, are under the review stage to change the existing systems for more effective disaster management. The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 had provided a chance to strengthen the disaster preparedness and reformed the disaster emergency management system. This time, such reforms enabled emergency rescue and relief organizations to conduct swiftly and more effectively. 3.11 rescue and relief operations had also been benefited by the lessons from the subsequent big disasters occurred in Japan.