Special Interview with Prof. Rajib Shaw - 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake of Japan

On January 23, 2024, the Editorial Office of One Health & Implementation Research (OHIR) had the distinct honor of conducting a special interview with Prof. Rajib Shaw, a professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, Japan, the Guest Professor at Beijing Normal University, China, and a Distinguished Professor at Sichuan University, China. He is spearheading a Special Issue titled "Climate Change & One Health" for OHIR. To provide an international perspective, Prof. Katsuichiro Goda from the Department of Earth Sciences at The University of Western Ontario, Canada, was invited to serve as the interviewer.

The primary focus of the interview was the intricate analysis of the situation and aftermath of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake in Japan, along with the exploration of more effective methods for natural disaster prevention and control. This critical discussion aimed to contribute valuable insights to the broader discourse on enhancing resilience in the face of such calamities.

Interview Questions

1. Can you briefly explain/summarize the disaster caused by the earthquake? What was the first thing that came to your mind and what was your reaction to the event? What were the main concerns that occurred to you by reflecting on your past experiences with disasters?

2. After the earthquake, did you gather information and coordinate your response with your colleagues? What were the most critical situations immediately after the disaster? Were there any physical and socioeconomic factors that were crucial in understanding the impact of this disaster (e.g., isolated communities, aging population, infrastructure, environmental factors like snow and temperature, below-standard wooden houses with heavy roofs)?

3. After observing responses from the local and central governments, as well as other professionals (e.g., emergency responders and aid agencies), how did you feel about the effectiveness of the operations? Do you see improvements in these response operations, compared to the past earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the 2007 Noto earthquake? For instance, people’s responses to evacuation warnings. Were the lessons from past events learned and implemented? What were the things that need to be improved for future disasters?

4. You have witnessed various disasters, in particular earthquakes in Japan, since the 1995 Kobe earthquake. What major changes have occurred since then? Have technologies helped reduce the disaster impacts (warnings, resistant buildings and codes, retrofitting, strengthening, and isolation, communication devices, and post-disaster response coordination)? What would be the best way to integrate these technologies into society?

5. Were the emergency responses sufficient to help the elderly and vulnerable populations? Was the support equitable?

6. In the recovery phase, what support is necessary to bring residents in the affected communities back to their lives? By governments and aid agencies? What are the critical issues to make sustainable? Various tangible and intangible heritages (culture, people, and artifacts) are in danger. How should victims revitalize their (aging) communities? What would be the strategy to recover from this disaster? Are there any prototype models/approaches that can be brought in to expedite the recovery?

7. Are there any useful lessons from other parts of the world? Are there any similarities and differences with respect to other geological disasters (e.g., the 2023 Turky-Syria earthquake), as well as climate and other disasters? In contrast, are there any important lessons that the world can learn from this disaster?

8. Natural hazards repeat (but not necessarily disasters). What would be the advice not to turn a hazard into a disaster? In Japan, it is expected that other disasters are anticipated (Nankai and Tonankai). What would be the key lessons that people should learn to be more prepared for future disasters?

Interviewee Introduction

Prof. Rajib Shaw

A professor at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University, Japan; the Guest Professor at Beijing Normal University, China, and a Distinguished Professor at Sichuan University, China; the co-founder of a Delhi (India) based social entrepreneur startup, Resilience Innovation Knowledge Academy (RIKA), and RIKA Institute (A non-profit wing of RIKA); the Senior Fellow of Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Japan, and the Chairperson of SEEDS Asia and CWS Japan, two Japanese NGOs; co-chair of the Asia Science Technology Academic Advisory Group (ASTAAG); and CLA (Coordinating Lead Author) for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report (Asia Chapter). He is the editor of a book series on disaster risk reduction, published by Springer. Prof. Shaw has published 65 books and over 450 academic papers and book chapters. Professor Shaw is the recipient of the prestigious “Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA)” in 2021 for his contribution to the education sector. PBSA is the highest honor conferred on overseas Indians and persons of Indian origin by the President of India. Professor Shaw is also the recipient of the United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2022 for his lifetime contributions to the field of disaster risk reduction. Sasakawa Award is the highest UN award for disaster risk reduction and was established in 1986 by the founding Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, Mr. Ryoichi Sasakawa. Professor Shaw is the recipient of the “Norio Okada Implementation Science Award 2022” from the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM).

Interviewer Introduction

Prof. Katsuichiro Goda

A tenured Associate Professor and a Canada Research Chair in Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is also an honorary academic staff at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. He received BSc and MSc degrees in Environmental Sciences from Kyoto University (Japan) in 2001 and 2003, respectively. In 2007, he earned a PhD degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Western Ontario (Canada). His research is focused on catastrophic earthquake-related multi-hazard risk management from economic and societal viewpoints. His research interests are broad and multidisciplinary, covering a wide range of academic fields, including engineering seismology, earthquake engineering, tsunami engineering, and decision-making under uncertainty. He has received international recognition for his high-quality research through various awards and grants, including a NSERC PDF Award and a 2011 Philip Leverhulme Prize. In 2012, his professional expertise was recognized through a prestigious 2012 Charles F. Richter Early Career Award from the Seismological Society of America and a Humboldt Research Fellowship Award for experienced researchers by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He received the 2017 IASSAR Early Achievement Research Award from the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability. He is the PI of the EPSRC-funded CRUST (Cascading Risk and Uncertainty Assessment of Earthquake Shaking and Tsunami) project, the PREPARE (Enhancing PREParedness for East African Countries through Seismic Resilience Engineering) project, and the GENESIS (Global Earthquake Resilience for Natural-Engineering-Social Interacting Systems) project. At Western University, he is a Canada Research Chair in Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment (2018-2028).

Editor: Zoe Xue
Language Editor: Catherine Yang
Production Editor: Yan Zhang
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of One Health & Implementation Research