2. CAPTION
In their lack of knowledge of appropriate entities
in Japan to reach out to, the additional cultural
and linguistic barriers and the underdeveloped
charitable culture within Japan, foreign NGOâs
encountered unforeseen difficulties in their
efforts to support the disaster relief. Although in
2010, there were more than 40,000 registered
non-profit organizations in Japan, 50% had less
than one full time staff member and an annual
operating budget smaller than US$100,000,
which limited their operational capacity and the
scopeoftheiractivities.Thesefactorssignificantly
slowed the flow of funds to Japan resulting in
thesefundsbeingputtouselaterintherebuilding
process which has proven to be more beneficial to
the devastated areas in the long run.
The complexity and ongoing nature of the
disaster coupled with the sheer vastness of
the affected area and the number of displaced
persons inhibited an immediate and effective
response by the government, civil society
of the disaster.Both funds are created in direct
response to disasters, in this case by The Japan
Red Cross, Central Community Chest of Japan,
NHK and NHK Public Welfare Organization.
Publicannouncementsofthestartofcollections
are made to inform the country of the funds
and donation methods. Although the gienkin
funds are meant to be distributed directly
to the survivors immediately following the
disaster there were lengthy delays before the
funds were actually made available to survivors
of the triple disasters. The usual practice
of establishing a committee to determine a
fair distribution ratio based on the amount
available versus the specific, stated needs
of the affected municipalities or prefectures
was severely hampered by the loss of official
records and government officials who normally
would have been in charge of the process on
both levels underscoring the differences in
scope and magnitude of the disasters and the
governmentâs limited capacity to cope with it.
After the 2011 multiple disasters, Japan saw
another rapid increase in the number of new
organizations. As of June 2015, more than
50,000 organizations have been incorporated
under the NPO Law.
Not only were there differences in culture and
dialects between the people of Tohoku and
outsiders from other regions of Japan, there
were differences in NGO culture between
foreign and Japanese NGOs which resulted in
added frustration on both sides as each tried
to acknowledge and adapt to the needs of the
other in terms of documentation, transparency
and accountability to stakeholders while trying
to provide as immediate as possible alleviation
of suffering to the victims of the disaster. In
the long run, the disaster has provided a rich
and international community and required
a rethinking of strategies in every aspect.
The triple catastrophes affected several
million people. Close to 500,000 people were
evacuated, 15,890 died, 2,589 went missing
and 6,152 were injured.
Different than the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji
earthquake in which NGO participation
was seen as a challenge to the governmentâs
authority, this time it was seen as a given.
However, the complexities of the disaster itself
and the pre-existing social problems of the area
necessitated great sensitivity and flexibility in
consideration of local viewpoints and culture
differences on the part of relief providers.
While short-term relief efforts were more
easily implemented, the long term effects of the
disaster require specialized and ongoing long-
term commitments that Japanese NPOs are
not capable of providing on their own. With
this in mind foreign NGOs have been providing
training and support to the local NGO/
NPOs as part of their disaster relief capacity
building projects. Additionally, as the 3/11
disasters revealed the immense complexities
developed nations face in disaster recovery and
recognizing the need for greater information
sharing internationally between NGO/ NPO
entities, forums and workshops have been
carried out with disaster relief to developed
countries as their focus.
Japanese citizens gave more for this disaster
than ever in history, but nearly 85% of domestic
contributions were made to government
agencies or the countryâs traditional Gienkin
and Shienkin funds. Shienkin funds are
allocated to support efforts while Gienkin are
distributions of cash given directly to survivors
However, the complexities
of the disaster itself and the
pre-existing social problems
of the area necessitated
great sensitivity and
flexibility in consideration
of local viewpoints and
culture differences on the
part of relief providers.
APRIL 2016 // 48JAPAN AND THE WORLD MAGAZINE