Shigenori Matsui - Law and Disaster: Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown in Japan

Law and Disaster

On the 11th of March 2011, an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale (the most powerful to ever strike Japan) hit the Tohoku Region in northern Japan. The earthquake produced a devastating tsunami that wiped out coastal cities and towns, leaving 18,561 people dead or classified as missing. Due to the disaster, the capability of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), was compromised, causing nuclear meltdown. The hydrogen blast destroyed the facilities, resulting in a spread of radioactive materials, and, subsequently, serious nuclear contamination. This combined event earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown became known as the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster.

This book examines the response of the Japanese government to the disaster, and its attempts to answer the legal questions posed by the combination of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. Japanese law, policy, and infrastructure were insufficiently prepared for these disasters, and the countrys weaknesses were brutally exposed. This book analyses these failings, and discusses what Japan, and other countries, can learn from these events.

Professor Shigenori Matsui is Director of Japanese Legal Studies, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, Canada. He is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of Constitutional Law, Mass Media Law, and Internet Law. Before joining the UBC Law School, he was a professor of Osaka University Law School. He has served for the Japanese government as a member of the National Freedom of Information Review Board, and as an examiner for the National Bar Examination Commission.

Law and Disaster

Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear
Meltdown in Japan

Shigenori Matsui

First published 2019
by Routledge
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2019 Shigenori Matsui

The right of Shigenori Matsui to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Matsui, Shigenori, author.

Title: Law and disaster : earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan / By Shigenori Matsui.

Description: New York : Routledge, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018015567| ISBN 9781138481947 (hbk) | ISBN 9781351059343 (web pdf) | ISBN 9781351059336 (epub) | ISBN 9781351059329 (mobipocket)

Subjects: LCSH: Disaster reliefLaw and legislationJapanTohoku Region | Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan, 2011. | EarthquakesGovernment policyJapanTohoku Region. | Nuclear power plantsLaw and legislationJapan. | Liability for nuclear damagesJapan.

Classification: LCC KNX3037 .M38 2018 | DDC 344.5205/34dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018015567

ISBN: 978-1-138-48194-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-05935-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Galliard
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

The Tohoku Earthquake and powerful tsunami on 11 March 2011 brought tremendous loss and damages to Japan. Moreover, it triggered a serious nuclear disaster in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. This is a study of law for the preparation of disaster, the response to the disaster, and the reconstruction after the disaster. Right after I learned about the devastation inflicted by the Tohoku Earthquake, I began to research the role that law played in order to prepare for the disaster, to respond to the disaster, and to reconstruct the disaster areas. This book is a result of my seven years research on disaster law in Japan.

Many people helped me in the writing of this book. Foremost is my family, who supported me throughout my research. I am indebted to the support from my colleague, Professor Yves Tiberghien and the encouragement of my colleague Professor David Edgington for the publication of this book. I would like to thank my students, Jason Hughes, Hisayo Saito, Natasha Fox, and Jonathan Wearing, for their help with citation checking and editing. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who gave me useful insights and helpful comments through all of the seminars and conferences hosted by the Centre for Japanese Research, Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia.

This book cites many Japanese statutes, regulations and associated terms for which there is no official English translation. I consulted various sources to find the most common English translation but, in the end, I chose the one that I believe most appropriately fits the original Japanese terms and phrases. Some of these are very peculiar to Japan and may be difficult for foreign observers to understand. I hope the glossary which appears in the appendices will be helpful to readers in this respect. Traditional English style has been used for names with the first name followed by the family name although the reverse is customary in Japan.

This book is dedicated to all the victims of natural disaster everywhere in the world.

Shigenori Matsui
Professor of Law, University of British Columbia,
Peter A. Allard School of Law
11 March 2018

On Friday, 11 March 2011, at 2:46 pm, a massive earthquake hit the eastern part of Japan, referred to as the Tohoku Region (which translates literally as the Northeastern region). It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Japan since the modern earthquake measurement system was first introduced. It was also one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history all around the world. The earthquake has generally come to be known as the Tohoku Earthquake.

The earthquake caused extensive and serious damage to thousands of buildings and homes. It was, however, the tsunami triggered by the earthquake, not the earthquake itself, that caused further extraordinary loss and damage. The massive tsunami created by this earthquake inundated Tohokus coastline cities immediately. Many coastal cities in the Tohoku Region, including several in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures, were literally swept away by the tsunami. In the end, 18,561 people people were either killed or remain missing. The Japanese government named the disaster caused by this earthquake the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster ( Higashinihon daishinsai ).

The Japanese government engaged in rescue response, ordering the Self Defense Forces (SDF) to locate and assist survivors and to transport necessary aid. SDF officers rescued survivors trapped in the rubble and transported them along with other survivors to shelters and hospitals. Numerous shelters were set up as hundreds of thousands were in dire need of water, food, and blankets. At one stage, more than 450,000 people had been evacuated and were forced to spend days, weeks, or even months in emergency shelters. All electricity, water, and LP gas had been cut off. Many survivors waited days before receiving any help at all because transportation systems, including public roads, railroads, and airports had been so severely damaged. Moreover, in some cases, entire communities were wiped out, including the municipal government itself, further inhibiting coordinated efforts at providing aid. After several days, the focus of government efforts shifted from rescue to recovery and restoration. Local governments began to collect dead bodies, clear debris, establish temporary housing for those who had lost their homes, and provide assistance to affected residents. Then, the central government started to assist municipal governments in reconstructing their communities.