After the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the main highways and roads to the affected areas were back up and running within weeks, which greatly expedited relief and recovery operations. This was largely due to robust structural measures, in conjunction with efficient recovery work by public services. In contrast, it took over 1 and a half years for the highway to be reconstructed after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995.

Roads, expressways, and other public facilities helped reduce damage and loss of life in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake by providing protection against flooding, owing largely to successful risk assessments carried out pre-construction. For example, the East Sendai Expressway (elevation of 7 to 10 meters) acted as a secondary barrier against the incoming tsunami, preventing the waves from penetrating further inland. Over 200 people escaped by running up to the expressway, and its embankment served as an evacuation shelter for local residents.

Relevant institutions in Japan work together to create and enact appropriate laws and regulations, as well as national and local government plans and strategies (e.g., Japan Rail, local government, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism collaborating on road geohazard risk management). Japan’s framework also includes institutional and technical coordination, and appropriate funding mechanisms. For example, the cost of adding height to an expressway can be shared by both public works organizations and disaster risk management organizations. These types of cost-sharing mechanisms ensure that financial burdens are shared equitably.

The national government provides local governments with additional subsidies for seismic retrofitting and reconstruction of schools with insufficient seismic capacity. In principle, national subsidies for retrofitting and reconstruction cover one-third of associated costs for public elementary and junior high schools, but the national share has been raised to two-thirds and one-half respectively in 2008 under the Act on Special Measures for Earthquake Disaster Countermeasures. Furthermore, additional sources of funding were generated through local bonds and local tax allocation by local governments. In Shizuoka prefecture, located in the Tokai area where earthquake probability is high, the local government increased corporate income tax by 7-10 percent for 15 years to allocate budget for making public buildings more earthquake resistant. Kushiro municipality’s retrofitting completion rate remained at 50 percent for a decade due to lack of funds, however, this increased the rate to 85.8 percent within 3 years of introducing the PFI system.

An initial meeting between the traditional and religious authorities of Mogazang was held to gather all useful information and raise awareness among the population. As a next step, a socio-economic study was carried out in order to understand the potential social, economic and environmental impacts and challenges of the restoration initiative. The elaboration of a map by the community members under the guidance of the advisory team allowed the demarcation of a plot of degraded land (10.74 ha) for restoration. The reforestation initiative aimed at providing firewood, fodder, food products and medicinal plants, among others. The government owns the selected plot, under the supervision of the Executive Bureau for Development of the village. However, it is managed ‘by the people, for the people’.