Disaster Resilience of Education Systems ― Experiences from Japan

Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the education sector is one of the most important measures to enhance resilience in a community. DRR in the education sector not only focuses on provision of disaster education, but also includes securing a safe school environment, developing school disaster management plans, and improving the capacity of schoolteachers and local educational officers. Japan, with its wealth of experience in disaster risk reduction has developed a good, resilient system in its education sector, which has been tested and revised over time. This book reviews the evolution of DRR in the education sector in Japan, including some of the recent developments after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, focusing on DRR governance and practices in national policies, curriculum development and teacher training, community linkage and international cooperation, to enhance resilience in the education sector.

Koichi Shiwaku
Koichi Shiwaku is a researcher in the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies of Kyoto University, Japan. He has been working with central and local governments, NGOs, school teachers and students, and local communities in Japan and overseas countries. His recent works are enhancing school disaster resilience and capacity development of officers of board of education in the area affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. His research interests are disaster education, community based disaster risk management, governance for disaster education, school safety, and capacity development of local government.

Aiko Sakurai
Aiko Sakurai is an Associate Professor in the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University in Japan. She worked one of international NGOs’ Disaster Recovery Program of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake as Education Sector Manager. Since then, she has been working for developing a post-disaster recovery education program in tsunami-affected schools. She is a member of Committee on school disaster preparedness promotion in Ishinomaki-city, Miyagi Prefecture. She worked for various organizations, including business, the government, the World Bank, to NGOs in international cooperation, communication and development consultancy fields. Her research interests include: mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in the education sector, risk communication, promoting school-community partnerships, school-based management, and capacity development of local educational officers.

Rajib Shaw
Rajib Shaw is a Professor in the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies of Kyoto University, Japan. He worked closely with the local communities, NGOs, governments and international organization, including United Nations, especially in the Asian countries. He is currently the Chair of the United Nations Asia Regional Task Force for Urban Risk Reduction, and the President of Asian University Network of Environment and Disaster Management (AUEDM). His research interests are: community based disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, urban risk management, and disaster and environmental education. He has published several books in the field of disaster and environmental management. He is also the Chief Editor of Asian Journal of Environment and Disaster Management.