Achievements and Challenges of Governmental Human Resource Support System in Japanese Disaster Response for Affected Local Governments in the Aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake

After a large-scale disaster, affected local governments face challenges such as a shortage of skilled staff in disaster response operations. Human resource support from external organizations is essential. This paper summarizes the major achievements of the human support system in Japan for affected local governments from the perspective of both local and national government support in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). However, several issues still need to be considered. In terms of mutual support among local governments, this paper proposes the following three points for future wide-area mega-disasters: First, each local government should enhance its own disaster response capacity. Second, the entire country should use skilled human resources effectively. Third, national and local governments should prepare to receive assistance from overseas. This paper also proposes the following three points for the support of the national government’s onsite organizations. First, the national government should define a detailed plan for dispatching personnel to affected areas. Second, the national government should dispatch support teams directly to each affected prefecture, instead of setting up onsite organizations that cover multiple prefectures. Third, local governments should prepare to receive these onsite organizations.