The Problems of Plan-Making: Reconstruction Plans After the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

Time is a scarce resource in disaster restoration. However, reconstruction plan-making itself, if not properly undertaken, can bring the risk of delaying the reconstruction processes. This paper provides an overview of some of the main problems and issues related to the planning process and policies towards the reconstruction efforts undertaken during the first months after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 and some related issues thereafter. The study concludes that the Statutory Planning System in Japan lacks the terms meaning the “planning” and the “planning process”, hence plans sometimes are being prepared without a clear idea of “planning” or “planning process”, even today.

After World War II, the national, prefectural and municipal governments began to prepare reconstruction plans respectively, while “machi-zukuri” or community planning efforts initiated by local residents were emphasized after the Great Hansin-Awaji Earthquake. This brought some important planning and decision-making problems about how and when administrative bodies at each layer and the community residents should interact and decide about important issues under conditions of precious time and scarce resources. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the national government issued a concrete reconstruction vision, takadai-iten, for disaster areas, albeit without explaining how it would be done; it also conducted a survey, without a clear idea of the planning process, to be developed and followed at the municipal level. Prefectural governments constructed tsunami-protection barriers, such as coastal dikes and levees, without previously consulting with the local community, so this sparked considerable controversies with local residents, while most municipal governments focused upon relocation of homes from low-lying areas to a newer, safer locations on higher grounds, rather than pursuing infill development in and around existing residential districts or villages.

From the lessons learned after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, there is a need for the national government to promptly develop and provide financial assistance and human administrative capabilities for the affected local governments, while keeping fiscal discipline at the national and local levels, and encouraging prefectural governments to coordinate infrastructure planning with adjacent local community plans, and mandating municipal governments to prepare community plans in accordance with local conditions. Last but not least, there is a need to develop programs and provide financial assistance to the affected communities whereby supporting their machi-zukuri, which will enhance their readiness and resilience against future catastrophic events such as the expected Nankai Trough earthquake and tsunami.