Peace & Stability Operations Journal Online
Disaster Response—a Military Perspective of the March
2011 Mega-Disaster
by LTC Misa Nakagawa, Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF)
Since the second half of the 20th century, five mega earthquakes
have rocked the world: Kamchatka 1952, the Aleutians 1957,
Chili 1960, Alaska 1964, and Sumatra 2004. Interestingly, all of
them occurred in the Asia-Pacific area.
On 11 March 2011, at 2:46 pm, another powerful earthquake
struck off northeastern Japan. Though it was a magnitude 9.0,
the largest earthquake ever to strike there, the Japanese people
stood ready for such a natural disaster. As it was an earthquakeprone region, they were prepared with provisions, manuals
and civil emergency drills. However, the subsequent tsunami
overwhelmed all estimates and forecasts, just as the major flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans
in 2005. The sudden and rapid surge of waves, stretching 380
miles wide , engulfed coastal settlements, crested river banks and
hills, and surged over inland cities. Waters choked with mud
and debris not only killed 16,000 people with another 3,000
missing, it also destroyed 400,000 buildings.1 The catastrophe
deepened when damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear
Power Plant reached Chernobyl-like proportions. Consequently, the tsunami and radiation leakage forced the internal
displacement of 390,000 people.2
In response, the Japan Self-Defense Forces ( JSDF) took up disaster relief operations with U.S. military forces providing assistance to the JSDF. Because this was the largest relief operation
ever conducted by both Japan and the United States, this article
examines key features and lessons learned as a contribution to
the literature on security in Asia-Pacific area.
Features of Disaster Relief Operations
JSDF response
The Disaster Relief Act in Japan vests primary responsibility
for disaster aid on local government leaders, but they have the
authority to request JSDF support whenever damage is beyond
their capabilities. The Japanese Ministry of Defense ( JMOD)
produces the Disaster Prevention Plan, which addresses JSDF
activities for disaster response. Accordingly, JSDF readiness
is maintained by a certain percentage of personnel, fleets, and
rescue aircraft for an immediate disaster response. For example,
when an earthquake above magnitude 6.0 occurs, all service
personnel must report immediately to their designated areas.
Japanese Local Nationals, members of the Japanese Ground
Self Defense Force, Marines and Sailors, with Humanitarian
Assistance Survey Team Marine Logistics Group 1, III Marine
Expeditionary Force Forward, and U.S. Army Soldiers, with I
Corps, United States Army Japan, unload water from a truck at
an aid distrubition center in support of Operation Tomodochi
to provide aid and relief to the Japanese public, in Sun Village,
Takata, Japan, March 16, 2011. Because of our long standing
and close working relationship with our Japanese counterparts
on a daily basis we are able to coordinate government of Japan
requests and rapidly respond with critically needed capabilities and supplies in times of crises. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by
Lance Cpl. Steve Acuff/Released)
The plan provides the authority for JMOD and JSDF designated commanders to increase unit readiness in preparation for
imminent disasters. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster,
designated commanders have the authority to mobilize aircraft
and units without prior notification by local authority if the
exigencies preclude waiting.3 This new authority is a result of
an amendment to the plan in 1995 after the great earthquake in
western Japan revealed flaws in civil-military procedures which
impeded immediate response. The amendment facilitated
JSDF’s effective response to the March 2011 natural disasters.
JMOD established a disaster headquarters at 2:50 pm, and
JSDF aircraft were launched to collect information within
twenty minutes of the earthquake.4 By the end of 11 March
2011, 8,400 personnel were committed to the relief operation.5
Incidentally, the JSDF conducts an average of 700 Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response (HA/DR) operations per
year. However, the immensity and complexity of the March
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