 This is Think Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. Hello, have a Friday and welcome to Perspectives on Global Justice Think Tech Hawaii program. This is your host Beatrice Cantelmo. The month of September was very trying for many countries as far as large-scale emergencies caused by natural disasters were concerned. Hurricanes, earthquakes and floods have made landfalls in the United States and several islands of the Caribbean and in Mexico, claiming hundreds of lives, triggering massive evacuations, leaving devastated cities and regions to rebuild, and billions of dollars in damage. As climate change continues to be on the rise, large-scale natural disasters should be expected. Many people around the world do not know what to expect, how to respond, where to go, what to do and what to avoid, should that community be hit with a massive disaster. Today's Perspective on Global Justice episode will examine some aspects of the disaster management practices used in Japan, which is one of the most accessible countries in the world for natural disasters. Over the years, Japan has been hit very hard. In educating, preparing citizens to respond to and to survive large-scale emergencies came standard practice. This kind of readiness is crucial, giving the neighbors are the first ones to arrive and to respond to an emergency. Not to mention that the government may be unable to meet the needs of the community due to its limited capacity and resources. Today, we're very fortunate to have Robin Lewis as our guest. He is the International Coordinator for the Peace Boat, an NGO with consultative status in the United Nations. Robin's walk is focused on disaster response, training programs to build disaster resiliency, anywhere related to projects. On that note, welcome to our program, darling. Hello Beatrice, thank you for having me on the show. Absolutely. So, Robin, to our viewers who do not know about you, do you mind giving a little background about yourself professionally and where are you based at? Sure. I'm based here in Tokyo, Japan. I'm half Japanese and half British, and I grew up between Japan and the UK. In 2011, I started working in the field of disaster response after the 2011 tsunami in Japan. That was one of the big turning points in my life, and since the tsunami, I've been working both in Japan and in countries like Haiti, Nepal, Vanuatu, several different contexts in disaster risk reduction and response. Yes, and I had the owner in privilege of meeting you. Very brief. A period of time in Hawaii back in 2015, and I was quite impressed with the work that Peaceburg does, not only in the area of disaster preparedness, but also nuclear disaster efforts in a full-designment and also the peace message that it carries. So a lot is happening in the world, and unfortunately due to climate changes, we're seeing more and more natural disasters. But I wanted to start our program with a really lovely story that you shared in an article that you wrote not so long ago titled Japan Catfish and the Need for Disaster Preparedness. Do you mind sharing with our viewers the catfish story in Japan? Sure, so if you walk around Tokyo, you'll see symbols of catfish in some of the main roads. And the reason for this is that according to Japanese mythology, earthquakes are caused by a giant catfish called the namazu, the namazu catfish. And this creature lurks under the earth's surface, and basically when the catfish, the namazu, shakes its tail, it causes earthquakes. So you know, many, many moons ago, a long time ago, people believed that the catfish was the cause of earthquakes. I see. So it's a really sweet mythology to keep in mind, you know, as we are dealing with more and more natural disasters. But we also know that there's a little bit more to that than the catfish. But one of the reasons why I invited you to be our guest today is the wisdom that not only you have learned in your role with the peace boat, but also the historical wisdom that Japan and Japanese citizens had to learn, unfortunately, the hard way on how to prepare for disaster of many kinds, from nuclear disasters to earthquakes to tsunamis. And I know you've been on the trench of it for at least six years. So do you mind sharing with our viewers a little bit of the three components of disaster management used in Japan? Sure. So in the disaster management field in Japan, there are three elements that are kind of interlinked. They are called Jijyo, which means self-reliance. And there's Kyojo, which means community support. And then there's Kyojo, which means government assistance. But there are three elements and they all are heavily interrelated, heavily interconnected. So the idea is that with Jijyo, self-reliance, people themselves are prepared for the worst. They should have, in theory, people should have the basic things they need to survive. They should have a plan together and they should do things like securing furniture and so on. In the second element, there's Kyojo, which means community support. So that means helping your neighbor, essentially. If you have someone living with a disability next door, if you have someone who may be elderly next door, you know exactly where they are and how to assist them in times of emergency. And then thirdly, there's Kyojo, which of course is government assistance, things like the fire department, police, and other government-led services. So in an ideal world, if those three elements can be strong and kind of interact well, then we should have a resilient society. We should be able to deal with emergencies. Right. And so September is, I think, National Disaster Awareness Month for Japan. Do you mind telling our viewers what does that look like in terms of activities that both individuals, communities, and the government prepares to emphasize the need of being prepared for disasters and emergencies? Sure. So the first of September every year is National Disaster Prevention Day in Japan. And the reason it's held on this day is that in the first of September 1923, there was a very big earthquake around the Tokyo area called the Great Kanto Earthquake, which actually killed over 100,000 people, a very large earthquake. And so every year on the 1st of September and around that time, there are several activities to basically help citizens prepare for the next disaster. Just to provide some context, Japan is currently preparing for at least two major disasters. The first is called the Nankai Truff Earthquake. And that would generate a very big tsunami just south of Tokyo. And the government is also preparing for something called the Tokyo Inland Earthquake, which again will be a very, very big event right under the capital. So there is a very strong need for people to be prepared. So in the month of September, especially towards the beginning of the month, there are all kinds of activities, ranging from school drills to community emergency drills, lots of festivals to basically get people to have simple conversations about what do we do if there's an earthquake, where do we go, do we have enough food, do we have enough water. So there's really a wide range of programs happening across Japan during this time. So did things change in terms of rethinking disaster preparedness and management after the tsunami in 2011 and then the Fukushima nuclear disaster that happened in Japan? Yeah, I think, you know, as you mentioned earlier, Japan is seen as really one of the global leaders in disaster management. We have so much investment in infrastructure. We have some of the world's best emergency services and disaster management professionals. But with the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear crisis, we saw that no system is flawless. There are always areas of weakness. And in the case of the tsunami, unfortunately, we learned that the people who were affected the hard ways, as you mentioned. And so what we saw was, you know, the government buildings and several government services were actually affected themselves. So, you know, if you go to the coastal areas, which were hit hardest by the tsunami, several of the government agencies and local authorities were unable to respond or severely hampered in their response. And so, you know, in many ways, especially right in the beginning, the emphasis in many ways was on the community and the people themselves. And so, you know, I think one of the big lessons is, you know, yes, the government is there and yes, they are well, very well prepared. But that doesn't always mean that you can rely 100 percent on the government. You know, we as citizens have to be ready and have to have a plan for ourselves as well. That's one of the key lessons. And I think another lesson was that, you know, it's too late to have conversations after the fact, after earthquakes happen. We need to be having conversations and building strategic partnerships, you know, between government, between the private sector, between NGOs, and well before these things happen, so that when they happen, we're in a good position to respond. So we're looking also from a standpoint of prevention. And I want to see if we can link their thought with peaceboat mission on providing disaster management response training. How is that looking like across the globe and how are NGOs and the private sector responding to, you know, the call for such big need, you know, to be implemented in different areas? Sure. So I can give one example from peaceboats activities. We have a household level Disaster Preparedness Training Program, which essentially targets families. So we found that, you know, if you're at work, there's usually some kind of plan at the workplace. If you're at school, the school should have an emergency response plan. But if you're at home or if you're all, you know, if you're scattered, if your loved ones are scattered, then there's a real problem because there's no synchronized plan. So we thought, you know, why don't we target family and help them make their own disaster plan so that when something happens, they know exactly where to go. And they can also take very, we help them to take simple steps to prepare them for emergencies. You know, one example in terms of statistics is that roughly 30 to 50 percent of injuries and fatalities in earthquakes here occur from falling furniture, you know, 30 to 50 percent. So if you can just secure some of your basic, you know, furniture around the house, then you can greatly increase your chance of surviving and responding effectively to disaster. So we help families to basically come up with their own plan, you know, discuss, you know, where to go, what we need to buy before these things happen and how we can take simple measures around the house to reduce the risks. So we're going to take a minute break and we'll be right back. Aloha. My name is Mark Shklav. I'm the host of Think Tech Hawaii's Law Across the Sea. Law Across the Sea comes on every other Monday at 11 a.m. Please join us. I like to bring in guests that talk about all types of things that come across the sea to Hawaii, not just law, love, people, ideas, history. Please join us for Law Across the Sea. Aloha. Back to prospectors and global justice. Think Tech Hawaii program. This is your host Beatrice Contelmore. And we are having a conversation with Robin Lewis. So Robin, we're talking about how peaceful prepares families and individuals to come up with their own individual emergency and disaster preparedness plan. So provision for food and water is very important. Being able to find safe areas within their home or communities also an area that's identified. But you might be sharing with our viewers what you have learned as you have been deployed to so many areas after natural disasters occurred and none of that was in place. What were the things that you saw that you you think it could be prevented or that you wish people would know ahead of time? Sure. So recently, actually, over the past month or so, I did a project called Explore Tohoku. Now Tohoku is the name of the area in the northeast of Japan that was hit by the tsunami. And the idea was for me to basically walk around the area and interview survivors of the tsunami. And one of the overarching themes, the recurring themes and concepts that came up from these interviews was this idea of tsunami Tendenko. It's a Japanese concept, which basically means people have to look after themselves in emergency situations. Specifically, when the tsunami hit in 2011, there are many people who went home. You know, they were off between the earthquake and the tsunami. There was a period of roughly 45 minutes and several people went back to their homes, which were in the danger zone. And as a result of that, you know, whether it's because they were they wanted to check on their kids or they wanted to pick up their loved ones. Several people were killed because of that. So with this idea of Tendenko, which is a Japanese concept, the idea is that people should scatter and basically just everyone should head up to a safe area by themselves and not worry about the other family. So if you know that your family members will also, you know, make their own way to high ground and there's no need for people to go back into these sort of dangerous areas. So that's one one key message that I kept hearing. Another one is with complacency. And I think interestingly, you know, before the tsunami in 2011, I think just the week before there was another tsunami warning that didn't result in tsunami. There was an earthquake somewhere and people were getting prepared. They ran to high ground and then nothing happened. And so when the 2011 the March 11th, the big one happened. The tsunami then people again, some people thought, oh, it's just another, you know, it can't be that bad because last time there was no tsunami. So I think, you know, regardless of the situation, if there is some kind of warning from the local authority, should always follow that instruction and always take all the measures you can to get to safety. Right. Well, that's, you know, really amazing to hear as a pearls of wisdom, you know, the people who had survived both the earthquake and the tsunami. I remember you actually wrote another article with six things not to do during an earthquake. So to be quite honest with you, there were certain things here I was surprised. And I have been certified to not only respond to emergencies through our national system in the United States through FEMA. On that, I was like, wow, there's always something to learn here. So really quickly on that because I, you know, I think Hawaii is one of those places like last week alone. We had two earthquakes and not so large a magnitude. There's like 4.0 for one and 4.2 for another. But like Japan, we are also in an area that's quite prone to natural disasters. And I always say to people, it's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when we get to hit with something and we need to get prepared. But I thought that those six points that you brought up were quite ingenious. So the first one was to not use a car to evacuate an area after an earthquake. Why is that, Ruben? So again, this is, I think, quite specific to Japan. So, you know, some of these tips may work in Japan and some of them may work in other contexts as well. The reason that this is actually a tip from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is because Tokyo and other urban areas are so densely populated, if everyone tries to evacuate in their cars, then there would be serious traffic jams. And actually, this happened in 2011 as well. People tried to evacuate in their cars but stuck in traffic and as a result, they were killed by the tsunami. So as a rule of thumb, people say it's best to evacuate on foot to high ground, specifically after earthquakes and tsunamis. But this may vary, you know, depending on the context. Right, well, I can't imagine that this is actually wisdom for many places in the world because we do not know the conditions of the roads and the jams, you know, that will be appearing too. So maybe stay put or try to go by foot to the mountain, mark a sign, it's not a bad idea. So then the second one was, do not walk around your home at Beffwood or on socks. Yeah, this is probably, again, just common sense, but in the case of major earthquakes, there's a lot of glass that can obviously shatter and go on the floor. So one of the most common post-earthquake injuries is cuts to feet. So one of the things that we do suggest, if possible, is to have a pair of shoes by your bed so that if an earthquake happens during the night, you can, you know, slip on your shoes and kind of move around without hurting your feet. And also, you know, keeping a torch, a flashlight by the bed is also quite useful. It's a very good useful, you know, tip two, not flicking the light switches after an earthquake. Again, yeah, this is advice from the Tokyo government, but the reason for this is, you know, if in the worst case scenario, this could spark a fire and explosion in some cases. So the government here suggests not flicking light switches unnecessarily after earthquakes. Well, this one is a given, but do not use the elevators. Yeah, again, this is quite tough because, you know, especially in Tokyo, we have so many high-rise buildings. So, you know, if you live on the 30th floor, tough luck, you know, you should definitely walk it and don't use elevators for obvious reasons. Right, and I guess connected with not flicking the light switches would be the fifth thing not to do light. I do not use matches or lighters. Yeah, in the case of especially gas leagues, you know, there's always a fire risk. So, yeah, we recommend not to use matches or lighters. In Japan, actually, the gas systems are built, designed so that in the event of a big earthquake, all gas should shut off automatically in the house. So in that sense, it's a very good system. There's always that chance that there's a gas leak somewhere. Right, that makes sense. And then related, interconnected would be do not reset your socket break up. Yes, yeah, the key here is, you know, if you try to restore electricity to your house prematurely, this could again start a fire explosion. And if you do head out to, let's say, an emergency shelter, we do recommend to turn off the electricity breaker before evacuating so that, you know, when the electricity is restored, you can avoid fires breaking out. Right, well, you know, these are such common sense tips and yet it's so hard and not to try any of them in the time of panic and emergencies. So it's always good to remind people. And Robin, do you mind sharing with our viewers the importance of having an emergency bag ready at home and perhaps at work? And why 72 hours provision is so crucial in time of emergencies? Sure, so the 72 hours after a major catastrophe or incident is often seen as a very crucial period. And the reason for this is that at least 72 hours, there will be no or there is likely to be very little help from the outside, especially in a major earthquake called tsunami scenario. You know, you essentially have to be sufficient, self-sufficient for at least 72 hours. And that includes, you know, things like, you know, medicine. Imagine if all, you know, the daily, you know, the daily conveniences are unavailable, things like water, food, medicine, you know, glasses, you know, asthma, medication, whatever it is. All of those things we have to prepare for at least 72 hours so that we can kind of get over that crucial time period. In terms of, you know, the lifelines, you know, electricity, water and gas, you know, again, I'm just giving the example of Tokyo in the event of a major earthquake happening here, there could be, you know, no electricity for seven days, no water, no running water for a month and no gas for two months, you know, potentially if it's a major event. So, you know, if you think about, you know, how, where do I go to the toilet? How do I feed my, you know, how do I cook? Feed my family? All these things, it does require a lot of thought. But I think the key point here is it's all a bit overwhelming if you think about, you know, how can I survive for two months without gas? But I think the key point is if you just have a simple conversation with the people in your household, you know, your loved ones and you say, you know, if there's a hurricane, if there's an earthquake, where do we meet? Where do we call? And it's just having the basics in place makes such a big difference. Right, I agree. And I can't believe that 30 minutes went by so quickly. And I hope that this may be the first of many programs we can do together. I want to thank you so much for being here today and talking to our viewers, but also for the amazing work that you do, not only in Japan, but across the globe, to advance disaster management, you know, for so many countries and also in the area of climate change. And I hope you can make it to Hawaii soon so we can do this in person. Believe me, I'm trying to get there as soon as possible. Thank you so much for having me on the show, Beatrice. I much appreciate it. Absolutely, well, thank you so much, Dali. And well, this concludes our episode of our Perspectives on Global Justice for today. So be prepared and don't panic. I know it's a very hard concept to grasp, you know, in times of emergencies, but perhaps this program can be used as an inspiration for each one of our viewers to think individually and collectively as a community on how we can be better prepared and also for our government to support these efforts because as we have learned from Japan, community resiliency is a big part of recovery and response and we need to do this together. It's all interconnected, it's all interdependent. And that note, thank you so very much and I'll see you next Friday. I hope we hope.