JAGES Iwanuma Project Symposium was held (Updated: March 27, 2024)
On Saturday, January 20, 2024, we held the symposium “Final Report of the JAGES Iwanuma Project: Disaster and Resilience: The Future of Disaster Science” in a hybrid format (online and on-site) at the Special Auditorium, School of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Approximately 150 participants attended.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined us.
Final Report of the JAGES Iwanuma Project: Disaster and Resilience—The Future of Disaster Science
Date & Time: Saturday, January 20, 2024, 14:00–17:30 (Doors open at 13:30)
Format: Hybrid (online and on-site)
Fee: Free of charge
Venue: Special Auditorium, School of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (D Building, 4F, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo)
The Iwanuma Project has been conducting surveys on older adults’ health and social capital in Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture since 2010. Because it is rare to have data from before the Great East Japan Earthquake, the project has been carried out not only domestically but also with support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
As the project reached the final year of the NIH grant, a key focus became disaster and resilience—the capacity to flexibly overcome adversity and recover. In this symposium, leading researchers active at the WHO Centre for Health Development, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, and Harvard University, along with promising early-career researchers, gathered to discuss disaster and health, resilience, and the future of disaster science from multiple perspectives.
Part 1: Recent Developments in Disaster Science
Ryoma Kayano (WHO Centre for Health Development)“Global trends in research in the health and medical fields of disaster risk reduction and the WHO’s initiatives”
Shingo Nagamatsu (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience)“Research trends on disaster resilience”
Ichiro Kawachi (Harvard University)“Social capital and disaster resilience”
Part 2: Insights from the Iwanuma Study
Jun Aida (Tokyo Medical and Dental University / Tohoku University)“Social determinants of health and the Great East Japan Earthquake”
Hiroyuki Hikichi (Kitasato University)“Social capital and posttraumatic growth”
Shiho Kino (Tokyo Medical and Dental University)“Long-term impacts of the disaster on mental health and health inequalities”
Sakurako Okuzono (Harvard University)“Disaster resilience from a life-course perspective: the influence of early life”
Aki Yazawa (National Center for Global Health and Medicine)“Gender differences in disaster impacts: effects on PTSS and diet”
Koichiro Shiba (Boston University)“Disaster-related trauma and health inequalities” (video)
Part 3: Panel Discussion
Chair: Katsunori Kondo (Chiba University / National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology) “Disaster and health for the future”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAGES Iwanuma Project Research Meeting In conjunction with the symposium held on January 20, 2024, a research meeting for the Iwanuma Project was held on the same day in the morning.
Date & Time: January 20, 2024, 10:00–11:30
Venue: Special Auditorium, School of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (Outpatient Administration Building, 4F)
One concept that has drawn attention as time has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake is “kizuna” (social capital). Many examples and experiences reported by those who worked toward recovery and reconstruction in disaster-affected areas highlight the importance of social capital.
With research funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as grants such as Japanese MHLW/MEXT Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, the Iwanuma Project has conducted a joint study with Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which suffered severe damage in the disaster, to academically examine how kizuna (social capital) affects the health of older adults living in affected communities.
A distinctive feature of this project is that data were collected not only after the disaster but also before it. This made it possible to examine the occurrence of disaster-related health damage and factors that may mitigate it while accounting for pre-disaster conditions.
Based on findings accumulated to date, the project summarizes key insights, explores clues for disaster risk reduction, and identifies future challenges.
Iwanuma City (Miyagi Prefecture) and the Great East Japan Earthquake (As of July 31, 2013; from the Miyagi Prefecture website) Location / Topography
Located 17.6 km south of Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
The eastern area faces the Pacific coast, while the western area is mountainous
Home to Sendai Airport, with a developed airport industrial zone
Disaster Damage
187 dead or missing
5,428 buildings totally destroyed, half destroyed, or partially damaged
48% of the city area inundated; severe damage to farmland and 200 companies in the industrial zone (Public Relations Iwanuma, May 2011 issue)
Project Overview
Panel analysis based on JAGES2010 baseline, plus benchmarking with other regions using complete-survey data
Conducted the JAGES2010 survey targeting all older residents in Iwanuma City (August 2010).
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, and Iwanuma City on the Pacific coast also suffered major damage (March 2011).
Conducted the JAGES2013 survey targeting all older residents (October 2013).
○ Using panel analysis, examined associations between the scale of disaster damage and health impacts, and between pre-disaster social capital and post-disaster (2013) health status. ○ Using cross-sectional data, compared health status and related indicators with other JAGES2013 municipalities.
Interviews with professionals and others
Conducted interviews with public health nurses, NPO staff, social welfare council staff, newspaper reporters, etc., to understand local realities regarding social capital and post-disaster health and recovery.
The Iwanuma Project Featured on the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) Website (Oct 18, 2022)
Videos Related to the Iwanuma Project (May 14, 2021) [in Japanese]
This video compiles the Iwanuma Project-related segments from the symposium held on May 14:“3rd Anniversary Symposium for the Establishment of the JAGES Organization: Resilience to Health Crises and Transformation into a New Era—Using Infectious Diseases and Natural Disasters as Examples—”
Program:
Prof. Ichiro Kawachi: “Video Message”
Prof. Hiroyuki Hikichi: “Resilience and Social Capital in Disaster-Affected Areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake”
The content of the Iwanuma Project research findings report was featured in a newspaper. Tokyo Shimbun evening edition (Aug 18, 2021): “Survivors’ health protected by bonds” / “Report on survey in Iwanuma City, Miyagi.”
Joint initiative by a Japan–U.S. research team with Iwanuma City
A research agreement was signed among four parties: Iwanuma City, Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, Harvard School of Public Health (Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences), and the Center for Well-being and Society Research, Nihon Fukushi University.
Survey methods, etc., complied with the regulations of each university’s research ethics committee, and approval was obtained from Iwanuma City.
Support for individuals with physical/mental health problems
The Long-term Care and Welfare Division, Health Insurance Department of Iwanuma City is responsible for responding to individuals with physical/mental health problems.
Contact information is clearly stated on the questionnaire and consent form; additionally, if a respondent reports poor health during a visit, the research team will contact the responsible division.
Activity Records
March 22, 2013: Interview with Asahi Shimbun Sendai Bureau reporter Factors that determine the speed of recovery
1.Strong leadership; however, unilateral administrative decision-making can provoke residents’ backlash. ・In towns where compact city plans were promoted without sufficient listening to residents, residents resisted the administration, and the situation deteriorated to the point where even surveys to collect opinions could not be conducted.
2.Communities with good relationships with the administration before the disaster recover more quickly. ・Because tsunami-affected residents in Iwanuma had good relationships with the administration before the disaster, consensus-building for group relocation to the Tamaura Nishi district was reached quickly.
3.Communities sharing common topics/experiences/purposes show stronger cohesion and faster recovery. ・In areas like the Sudachi district on the Oshika Peninsula, where residents collectively engaged in oyster and wakame aquaculture, solidarity was strong and recovery tended to be faster. (This does not apply where the community was completely destroyed.)
・In the Babanakayama district of Minamisanriku, residents provided private land for temporary housing and used heavy machinery themselves to prepare land and roads (still active as the “Najonik narusa Project”).
May 25, 2013: International Symposium Speakers: Prof. Ichiro Kawachi (Harvard University), Prof. Yasuyuki Sawada (University of Tokyo, Economics), Prof. Jun Aida (Tohoku University, Dentistry)Moderator: Prof. Katsunori Kondo (Nihon Fukushi University)
Prof. Ichiro Kawachi: “Social Capital and post-disaster resilience” Social ties are “informal insurance,” allowing disaster survivors to draw economic, informational, and emotional support. For example, after the 1995 Chicago heat wave, casualties were more common among older adults with few social interactions.
Prof. Yasuyuki Sawada: “Disaster and social capital” In macroeconomics, social capital is shown to contribute to economic development by complementing market transactions and government provision of public goods; similarly, in post-disaster recovery, mutual aid (social capital) is said to complement the role of markets. Experimental economic methods could be used to test the effects of social capital in Iwanuma.
Prof. Jun Aida: “Temporary housing allocation methods, social capital, and health among Great East Japan Earthquake survivors” Research conducted after earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and riots worldwide indicates that social capital plays an important role in recovery and protection of health after disasters. He also showed in an Iwanuma survey about one year after the earthquake that those who exchanged social support more frequently experienced less psychological stress.
May 29, 2013: Interview with the Mayor of Iwanuma City Why group relocation progressed smoothly in Iwanuma
1.From shelters to temporary housing, residents lived together by community units.
When evacuation sites were consolidated (e.g., from Tamaura Elementary/JHS and Sendai Airport building to the Civic Hall and General Gymnasium), rooms were allocated by settlement units.
The Civic Hall director exercised leadership and coordinated opinions among settlement representatives; Iwanuma had no incidents escalating to police intervention at shelters.
Group move-in to temporary housing could be delayed by about one month compared with individual move-in, but many people chose group move-in—this also facilitated later group relocation.
2.When deciding relocation destinations, settlement representatives did not cling to their own preferences; opinions aligned, enabling consolidation into one relocation site.
Individual housing placement was decided through discussion among town residents (considering interpersonal issues, etc.).
Supplement (Health and Welfare Department Director): “Room allocation in temporary housing was also very difficult. We had to assign appropriate rooms while considering interpersonal issues and household size (temporary housing is not custom-built).”
July 21, 2013: Study Meeting Inviting Prof. Daniel P. Aldrich Five theories (prior research) on determinants of recovery
Money (insurance, savings, NGO aid, government budgets)
Governance (how well leaders coordinated recovery; degree of political corruption)
Level of disaster damage
Population density (higher density slows recovery processes)
Level of inequality (greater inequality makes recovery more difficult)
Key insights from Prof. Aldrich
1.Neighborhood cohesion
In Haiti, where community patrols were created, looting, riots, and crime were suppressed. Overcoming free-riding is crucial; weak ties and low trust prevent collective action.
2.Informal insurance
In New Orleans, gas stations, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and childcare facilities were all closed, making it necessary to rely on neighbors. People need to invest in relationships and build ties with neighbors.
October 4, 2013: Signing Ceremony of the Research Agreement with Iwanuma City To conduct a joint research initiative analyzing community-based long-term care prevention policies and post-disaster recovery status using questionnaire surveys, visits, and interview data, a research agreement was signed among the four parties (Iwanuma City; Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry; Harvard School of Public Health; Nihon Fukushi University Center for Well-being and Society Research). Former Mayor Akimasa Iguchi and Prof. Ken Osaka (Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry)
Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH, National Institute on AgingResearch Grant Number 1R01AG042463-01A1
Principal Investigator: Ichiro Kawachi
Sub-contract Principal Investigator: Katsunori Kondo
Project Title: Impact of social cohesion on functional recovery after earthquake and tsunami
