Discussion
On November 29, 2022, the 271st Japanese Specialist Seminar was held as a webinar. With about 20 participants in attendance, Yoshiyuki Yama, the director of the Institute of Disaster Area Revitalization, Regrowth and Governance in Kwansei Gakuin University , made a presentation under the theme of "Contemplating the recovery from a disaster(災害からの復興を考える)" The contents of the presentation are as follows.
The presenter first explained the concept of 'resurrection' by introducing the Kanssei Gakuin University`s Institute of Disaster Area Revitalization, Regrowth and Governance , which has been striving to build disaster recovery studies. The word "revival" has been used to mean top-down urban redevelopment since the Great Kanto Earthquake, but disaster revival studies emphasize "human revival," which focuses on "revitalization" of victims of disasters.
Furthermore, the presenter proposed the concept of "symbolic revival" that emphasizes the regeneration and revival of the local community by paying attention to "revival rituals" such as cultural heritages and festivals, which are symbols of the local community. As an example, the case of a small fishing village called Kobuchihama in Ishimaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake, was introduced.
Subsequently, specific examples of Korea-Japan cooperation under the theme of disaster recovery were introduced, and based on that, Korea-Japan cooperation in the era of climate change and disaster proliferation was advocated.
Q&A followed after the presentation. There was an in-depth inquiry into the meaning of the concept of 'revival'. The presenter replied that discussions on the use of the concept of 'revival' are continuing in Japan, briefly introducing related discussions and once again explaining the reason for the emphasis on the concept of 'revival'.
In addition, the seminar was completed after discussions on the existence of external volunteers and local communities at local festivals.
