Civil Defense in Japan

Issues and Challenges

Yasuhiro Takeda, Jun Ito, Yusuke Kawashima, Yasuhiro Takeda, Jun Ito, Yusuke Kawashima

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781032489544
• eBook ISBN: 9781003817239
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Terrorism
• Index: Social Sciences

In 2004, Japan instituted a system to protect citizens against military attacks and terrorism for the first time after World War II. Faced with the Tokyo subway attack (1995), the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001), and the changing security environment in East Asia, the Japanese government was forced to implement the most extensive reform of its domestic crisis management [" kiki-kanri "] system in the postwar era.

Japan's civil defense system is now called civil protection [" kokumin-hogo "]. Two world wars in the 20th century led to the development of national institutions based on civil defense in Western democratic countries (including the United States and Canada). As times have changed, most countries have adopted a comprehensive crisis (or emergency) management system, integrating civil defense and disaster management (against natural and technological hazards). However, Japan continues to take a different path. Why has a comprehensive crisis management system yet to be formed? How do complex and fragmented institutions work? This book examines the institutions and policies of civil protection (i.e., Japan's civil defense) and further analyzes their effectiveness and issues. Furthermore, it also examines the trade-offs resulting from the coexistence of two independent institutions: civil protection and natural disaster management.

A valuable read for scholars of Japan's public administration and security/ defense policy, as well as for those researching and comparing disaster-preparedness across countries.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Contributors
• Japanese Laws and Acts
• Introduction: Questioning Japan’s Outdated Safety Myths
• 1 A Guide to Japan’s Crisis Management System: History, Laws, and Policies
• 2 Decentralization and Integration in Civil Protection Governance
• 3 Local Governments’ Crisis Management Systems: Conflicts over Cooperation
• 4 An Overview of and Issues in Legislative Management Regarding Civil Protection in Armed Attack Situations
• 5 The Civil Protection Trap: Why Government-Led Evacuation Plans for War and Terrorism are Impractical
• 6 The Realities of Civil Protection Training in Local Governments
• 7 A Response to the Civil Protection Plans of Japan’s Municipalities for the Problems of the Remote Islands
• 8 The Private-Sector Response to Ballistic Missile Attacks
• 9 Two Approaches to Responding to Destructive Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure in Japan: Addressing Cyber Crises as “Service Failures” or “Armed Attacks”
• 10 Pitfalls in Japan’s Civil Protection Framework: A Reconsideration Based on a Red Team Attack Scenario Policy Simulation
• 11 Japan’s Changing Approach to Dealing with Rumors in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters and War
• Conclusion
• References