Recent Seismic Disaster Reduction Efforts in Japan

On this day, any single country cannot alone deal with vast problems caused by large natural disasters. Underneath this unprecedented internationalization of disaster problems is economic globalization that captures every country on earth. This capitalism at work, while intensifying and complicating disaster risk of nations, has produced at the same time mass quantities of potential resources for disaster reduction. This fundamental transition offers challenge as well as opportunity for disaster reduction efforts of nations. Our science and technology must accommodate this process through nimbly detecting emerging risks and resources and utilizing them wisely. For this purpose, some seemingly informative materials are reviewed below based on recent experiences in Japan.