With a history of earthquakes and tsunamis, Japan has plenty of experience in coping with disasters. Today that experience is being used creatively to prepare people everywhere for disaster.



As Japan has shared its disaster preparedness expertise internationally, a number of resources for coping with and learning how to cope with emergencies have been created. Here are four of them.

Bosai Duck, Spanish language version The card game "Bosai Duck" is used in Japan for disaster preparedness education aimed at children. "Bosai" means "disaster preparedness" in Japanese. The game was created by the General Insurance Association of Japan to teach through play what actions a person should take during a disaster. Using this idea, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in El Salvador created a Spanish language version. For example, on the back of the "Earthquake" card, there is a duck in a pose of protecting its head. The card teaches the importance of getting under a desk or somewhere else safe to protect oneself from falling objects during an earthquake. When children are shown the disaster pictures and practice the corresponding poses, they gradually acquire knowledge of what to do in a disaster. El Salvador had almost no disaster preparedness education before this. The game has received praise such as, "It's easy to understand even if you can't read the language, and anyone could have fun with it," and it is spreading to other Latin American countries.

A collection of voice recordings on natural disasters in nine languages What if you encountered a natural disaster in a foreign country? If you didn't understand the language, you wouldn't be able to get any information and you would probably be left out in the cold. In order to provide information to everyone equally during disasters, it is important for radio stations and other information providers to prepare. So the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Japan, JICA Kansai and the Disaster Reduction Learning Center made a CD with disaster-related voice recordings. Announcements for various types of disasters and scenarios were recorded in nine languages. Examples include "a magnitude 6 earthquake just occurred" and "people driving a car should stop immediately and take shelter." Use of the CD has been growing, including during the Great East Japan Earthquake, when special radio stations set up in various places used it to broadcast emergency information for foreign residents.

BOKOMI handbook & DVD The Kobe independent disaster preparedness organization "Bosai Fukushi Community" is popularly known as BOKOMI. While carrying out disaster preparedness training and local welfare activities, it also conducts community training in firefighting and rescues and disaster drills so that during disasters residents can join forces and protect themselves. If people simply wait for government assistance during disasters, they cannot cope quickly enough. That is precisely why mutual assistance on the community level is important.

It would be great if this Bokomi initiative spread to developing countries and was widely adopted. So the city of Kobe, JICA Kansai and the Disaster Reduction Learning Center collaborated to create an English handbook and DVD to teach the fundamentals of Bokomi's approach. They are full of innovations for weathering emergencies using the abilities of residents and nearby objects, such as cooperating to make a bucket relay when there is no fire hose available and using blankets to transport the injured when there is no stretcher.