Persons with Disabilities in the Great East Japan Earthquake

1. JDF Japan Disability Forum Persons with Disabilities in the Great East Japan Earthquake Kiyoshi Harada, Japan Disability Forum (JDF) jdf_info@dinf.ne.jp

2. JDF Japan Disability Forum EXPERIENCESof persons with disabilities in the Earthquake How they suffered?

3. JDF Japan Disability Forum EXPERIENCES of persons with disabilities in the Earthquake Very limited time for tsunami evacuation (extremely difficult for them to evacuate) Information problems (tsunami warnings / evacuation orders against radiation didn’t reach hearing impaired people, etc.) Insufficient accessibility/reasonable accommodation at shelters, temporary housing, etc.

5. JDF Japan Disability Forum

6. JDF Japan Disability Forum The mortality rateof persons with disabilities isDOUBLEcompared to general population (according to the reports of local governments and news companies)

7. JDF Japan Disability Forum From KahokuShimpo News on Sept. 24, 2012

8. JDF Japan Disability Forum ACTIVITIESof Japanese disabled persons organizations after the Earthquake Challenges met and tackled

9. JDF Japan Disability Forum ACTIVITIES of Japanese DPOs after the Earthquake Even local governments seriously damaged DPOs quickly established support HQs Persons with disabilities not found at evacuation shelters/communities Collaboration with local governments/public health care professionals to identify/ respond to the needs of persons with disabilities

10. JDF Japan Disability Forum Even local governments seriously damaged Government staff/professionals lost their lives, health, family members, houses, properties Unexpected disaster (once in a thousand years) No preparation -- Strategies were not disability-inclusive The Fact: Practically no help for persons with disabilities!

11. JDF Japan Disability Forum Rikuzentakata City Government Building, Iwate (Tsunami came up to the roof. The mayor was saved on the roof top)

12. JDF Japan Disability Forum Rikuzentakata City Government Building, Iwate (A car pushed inside by the tsunami)

13. JDF Japan Disability Forum Disabled Persons Organizations quickly established support HQs Support Headquarters by various disability organizations incl. visual, hearing, intellectual, etc., as well as professional organizations Japan Disability Forum (13 organizations) established its HQs on March 18th, one week after the Earthquake NGOs’ activities quickly started

14. JDF Japan Disability Forum Japan Disability Forum (JDF) Established in 2004 13 national-level nongovernmental organizations of/for person with disabilities (Almost all range of disability issues) Activities for the implementation of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD) , etc. Disaster Support HQs established on March 18, 2011. Support Centers in three most affected prefectures, namely, Iwate, Fukushima, Miyagi

15. JDF Japan Disability Forum Persons with disabilities not found at evacuation shelters/communities Tough environment at evacuation shelters, other public facilities for them to stay (They chose to stay at damaged houses, cars, etc.) Many of them do not belong to disabled persons’ organizations/community welfare activities Personal Information Protection legislation was often an obstacle in locating persons with needs(Local govt. hesitated to disclose their whereabouts)

16. JDF Japan Disability Forum Collaboration with local governmentsto identify/respond to the needs of person with disabilities(examples of JDF activities) Outreach to individuals with disabilities in collaboration with local public health staff (who had personal information) Minamisoma City, Fukushima, and Rikuzentakata City, Iwate disclosed personal information of persons with disabilities, and requested JDF to make surveys (for urgent help and/or future DRR strategies) JDFsent its members to governmental committees on DRR and made proposals for the revision of Basic Act on Disaster Control Measures, and the national guideline on DRR for the vulnerable

17. JDF Japan Disability Forum ACTIVITIES of Japanese DPOs after the Earthquake GO-NGO partnership was necessary Disabled persons’ organizations served as helpers Disabled persons’ organizations actually participated in strategy making

18. JDF Japan Disability Forum INCLUDEpersons with disabilities when you make/implement DRR strategies

19. JDF Japan Disability Forum INCLUDE persons with disabilities in DRR Persons with disabilities, with their experiences in emergency situations/everyday lives, can contribute in making/changing strategies Persons with disabilities as contributing stakeholders Mainstreaming disability is necessary at local, national, regional, global levels

20. JDF Japan Disability Forum DOUBLE mortality rateof persons with disabilities Japanese society should be reconstructed and revived according to new standards, such as UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to make a safer SOCIETY FOR ALL

21. JDF Japan Disability Forum No strategiesNo activitiesNO HELP for individual lives Mainstream disability in global DRR

22. JDF Japan Disability Forum In order toINCLUDE “Messages of Life” a documentary film produced by Japan Disability Forum, and The Nippon Foundation For more info, come to Marketplace on May 22. http://www.normanet.ne.jp/~jdf/movie_en/