Human Security After the Great East Japan Earthquake: Rethinking the Role of External Assistance

As the experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake showed, conventional aid such as sending relief goods and rescue teams may be less useful, and sometimes burdensome. Was the Japanese government’s decision to accommodate all types of offers of external assistance the best possible option from a human security viewpoint? Declining such conventional relief aid should not be denounced but understood. Non-conventional aid such as special skills to deal with the nuclear accident appeared more useful in this case, although these forms of aid require coordination and preparation in peacetime. Forging grass-roots solidarity is effective in the longer term.