Sendai Airport after the tsunami .
Credits : U . S . Air Force Photo / Staff Sgt . Samuel Morse
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 NGO ’ s 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 100,000 USD , which limited their operational capacity and the scope of their activities . These factors significantly slowed the flow of funds to Japan resulting in these funds being put to use later in the rebuilding process which has proven to be more beneficial to the devastated areas in the long run .
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 .
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 , 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 government ’ s 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 longterm 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 country ’ s traditional Gienkin and Shienkin funds . Shienkin funds are allocated to support efforts while Gienkin are distributions of cash given directly to survivors 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 . Public announcements of the start of collections 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 government ’ s 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
25 // APRIL 2016 JAPAN AND THE WORLD MAGAZINE