Effective Communication between the Government and the Community - the Great East Japan Earthquake - Essay Example

Effective communication is an integral aspect of crisis and disaster management for any government. It is important in coordinating relief efforts between various government agencies as well as disseminating information to drive out fear for an anxious and frightened public. Crisis communication involves explaining to the public what the specific event is, pointing out the most likely consequences and outcomes from the event and providing information that could help the affected population reduce the harm they are faced with (Reynolds and Seeger, 2005). Communication is also needed after a disaster has occurred. The effectiveness of this communication is what determines how various stakeholders get involved in rebuilding efforts and it is important to have the support of the affected population as well as international relief agencies. It is the role of government agencies to provide timely, comprehensive and accurate information to the public when they need it. The messages should be clear for the audience to understand and exude confidence on the part of the government. Proper planning and communication by an agency in the face of complicated emergency situations can determine whether a simple hazard turns out as a catastrophe and also influences the efforts various stakeholders put in to the rebuilding efforts of an affected area (Fearn-Banks, 2011). This essay will assess the communication by the government to the public as well as communication between the various government agencies. It will also analyse the role of internet and communication technologies played in disseminating information and conclude by giving recommendations for better efficacy in disaster communication.

On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake hit Japan. The specific region that was hit is called the Tohoku district of Japan. The natural disaster was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that was also accompanied by tsunamis almost 40 meters high on Japan’s northeast coast. This disaster left a trail of damage in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima cities, which lie along the coast, where the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan reported either complete or partial damage to over 80, 000 buildings. The death toll was reported to be over 14, 000 and a further 10,000 individuals whose whereabouts remain unknown (Senauth, 2011). There was also severe damage to infrastructure on top of loss of human life. The damage to infrastructure resulted in massive power outages in most parts of northeast Japan, transport as well as communication disruptions and extensive fires that consumed a lot of property including a nuclear power plant in Fukushima (Penna and Rivers, 2013). Japan has experienced many natural disasters over the course of its history. As such, it has instituted many early warning systems to communicate effectively in case they are faced with a threat (Hayashi, 2012). The country emphasizes on building infrastructure that is earthquake resistant, has instituted measures for automatic shutdowns, a culture of disaster preparedness education and systems spread across various mediums to offer early warnings.

The Japan Meteorological Agency is the national authority mandated with the authority to issue earthquake and tsunami warnings. It has placed thousands of seismographs across the country to monitor seismographic activity and issue warnings of tremors in advance (Yamasaki, 2012). This system detected the tremors that led to the Tohoku earthquake and send warnings to television newsrooms as well as radios so they could issue warnings to the public before the main earthquake occurred (Peter, 2011). Warning text messages were also send to the subscribers of the three leading network provides in the country. Alerts were also sent to school and local authorities who were then supposed to use public address systems to warn even larger groups of residents who might not be near a television set or a radio. In addition, the alert system is designed to issue automatic alerts to critical sectors like the high-speed trains and companies that use heavy machinery so they could cease operations before the earthquake hit (Jma.go.jp, 2010). Official government warnings were issued through various governmental channels as well as the private radio and television media, advising people residing along the coastline of the affected areas to move to higher grounds. Cameras on helicopters were used to track the waves as they approached the mainland and broadcast on live television.

Wireless public address systems, radios and television sets, warnings through word of mouth were the most effective modes of communication during the 2011 earthquake. Due to the power outages that occurred radios on vehicles and others that were powered by batteries were also useful sources of information (Kawase, 2011). The effectiveness of radios and television sets as a means of communication is limited because a tsunami might occur at late hours of the night when most users asleep and therefore not tuned in. The Japan Meteorological Agency also used a cell broadcast system to send short messages to score of cell phone owners in the affected regions. There is also a mobile application called “Yerekuru”, (which can be loosely translated to earthquake coming) that if downloaded gives information on potential earthquakes, their magnitude and the estimated time before they hit the location a user is at (Figueroa, 2013). This was highly effective because just like in Haiticell phone signals were not affected by the destruction on infrastructure that cut off the region from power supply that rendering radios and television sets useless(Nelson, Sigal and Zambrano, 2010). Public address systems that depended on electricity for power were also left ineffective.

A government agency that is called The Japanese Volunteer Fire Fighters Corp was very vital in giving warnings to residents through word of mouth. In partnership with local civil servants, the volunteers made use of loud speakers, fire bells and police sirens to create awareness of the oncoming earthquake and tsunami.

Post disaster, the state broadcaster NHK began an extensive coverage of the disaster. As the official public broadcaster, it is bound by law to issue warnings as well as broadcast lifesaving information after disasters have occurred. Consequently, the Japanese government has funded it to be able build infrastructure that can withstand massive earthquakes and continue broadcasting. It is also equipped with robot cameras strategically placed around the country and helicopters to enable it easily record natural disasters (Wyss, 2014). The international arm of the broadcaster used 18 languages in providing information about the earthquake and traffic to its website was high. Its homepage was changed to allow easier access through mobile phones. In addition, all broadcasters agreed to provide their content for free through online streaming services like yahoo and Ustream. This may not have very helpful to those in the worst hit areas but it was a valuable source of information to potential donors outside the country. Once rescue centres were setup and generators could be used to power television sets, television broadcast once again became a useful source of information on the disaster. Individuals, non-governmental organizations and private companies donated most of the televisions and radios in these rescue centres.

Though the print media may not be a very effective source of breaking news, most newspapers in Japan combated this through use of the internet. Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, which are the most, read newspapers in the country allowed their content to be on the internet free of charge (Haddow and Haddow, 2013). There were live updates on newspaper websites when there were breaking news or any other developments on the story. Moreover, most national, regional and local newspapers used their twitter accounts to update the public on the situation. Their effectiveness is seen in the thousand s of new followers they gained in the weeks after the disaster.

Due to the damage on roads and other transport infrastructure, some of the affected areas were inaccessible to national broadcasters. Therefore, televisions could not be solely relied on to effectively provide information on the disaster. Furthermore, the blackouts meant that most people in the affected areas could not depend on televisions as a source of information nor could they charge their computers and mobile phones to access the internet. On the other hand, some radio broadcasting and print media does not need a connection to the national electricity grid to operate. Thus, some communities organized to have community radios and newspapers that provided vital information on the whereabouts of missing relatives and friends. Communities cut off from national news also used information through word of mouth. Not all of the reporters were professional journalist and some were volunteers who were also victims of the disaster (Shaw, 2013). An advantage of community radios is that contrary to national radio stations like NHK, they could help those in search of shelter, those looking for missing relatives and those with relief supplies for the victims as they already were well acquainted with the geography of the region. Examples of community run radios include H@! FM and Radio Ishinomaki. The Chinese government was helpful in providing temporary broadcast licenses to these community radios. Application could be done by use of a mobile phone and rewarding of licenses was fast as they could be issued on the same day an application was submitted (The Japan Times, 2011). In addition, newspaper delivery services to the affected areas resumed a week after the disaster. This was an extremely important initiative that had immense impact on information dissemination to towns that had no electricity and community radios could not broadcast due to shortages of gasoline.

Local authorities in affected areas like the city hall in Iwate devised another way of informing people on location of shelters, the state off their homes and evacuation centers where they could be assisted. They started using daily newsletters. These newsletters reunited friends and families who were separated because they had sought shelter in different rescue centers.

Social networks like twitter, Facebook, and Mixi played a crucial role in providing information about surviving kin and their location (Hickins, 2011). Social is effective in terms of crisis communication because it provides a platform where information can be shared in real time and participatory discussions can also take place. This is different from traditional forms of communication where participation is limited and there is only one-way communication (Dimmick, Chen and Li, 2004). Twitter is the most popular social media app in Japan where the country is third to the United States and Brazil in terms of user populations. Twitter use grew significantly during the time of the earthquake disaster. The most popular hashtag, #j-jhelpme was created on the same day of the earthquake was trending all over the world and was used extensively by victims to request for rescue services. In addition to being used to request for help, twitter was also used to get news updates on the disaster. Newspapers, television networks and radio stations used twitter to give live updates.

On the other hand, the government to provide English translations of government press briefings and updates used Facebook. Facebook was especially effective because of its feature of a filtered feed that ensures that only people who are your friends on the app can see your posts (Hughes et al. 2012). This makes it more effective in letting family members know that you are safe when compared to twitter because on twitter, the tweets are too many and not easily noticeable. Though Facebook is quickly replacing Mixi as the most preferred social network its popularity at the time was less compared to the latter. Mixi could be used in areas with weak signals where user could check the last time a friend had been active on the social app and determine if they were likely to have survived the earthquake.

The government also set up an official twitter account dedicated to providing information on the disaster. This helped provide some much needed clarifications as most citizens felt that the government was some information especially on radiation from a nuclear plant that was affected by the tsunami (Lochbaum, 2014). In helping fundraise for those affected by the disaster, twitter and other social media platforms became useful through creation of movements, which aimed at mobilizing donors to support rebuilding and relief efforts. Non-governmental organizations who were on the ground also used social media as a way of showing the rest of the world the need for donations. Other technologies like YouTube were also used for fundraising. Various users as fundraising appeals uploaded amateur videos. This method was highly effective due to the high penetration of mobile phones in the country. The mayor of Minami-soma city in Fukushima used YouTube to appeal for more volunteers and relief supplies to help the affected. His video had more than half a million views on YouTube and resulted in the delivery of tonnes of supplies (Fackler, 2011).

However, despite the many successes of internet and communication technologies, some technological changes could have been implemented during the great east Japan earthquake. For instance, the government of Japan should have developed a public address system that can be operated remotely to avoid incidences where volunteers and civil servants had to remain behind in a bid to continue broadcasting (Cheng et al. 2015). This put them at great risk of being swept away by the tsunami. Companies that offer telecommunication services need to find ways to enhance the tolerance of their networks in times of natural disasters. Quick restoration of connectivity can help save millions of lives. In the development of internet resource, consideration of people without access to personal computers but have internet enabled phones should be made (Jung, 2012). Internet content should not only target computer users but also mobile users too to ensure information reaches the maximum number of individuals. Creation of partnerships is important in the face of a natural disaster of large proportions like the Japan earthquake. Examples of partnerships and coordination can be in the form of media houses using one another’s facilities so that they can effectively provide information in times of disasters. In Japan, both the government and the private sector ran their own separate communication and relief systems. It is important a central and standardisedportal is developed to help better coordinate these efforts.

It is my opinion that the government of Japan was effective in its communication to the public before and after the great east Japan earthquake. They invested heavily in a warning system and they followed through with the plan. For instance, the government reduced bureaucracy needed in obtaining a broadcasting license for community radios, it properly equipped the state broadcaster to be able to continue operations without disruptions. Moreover, government agencies like the military and fire fighters were in the frontline in providing information and helping in relief efforts and local authorities were active on social media platforms appealing for international aid (Ranghieri and Ishiwatari, 2014). However, since there is no human system that can be perfect, some lapses occurred? I would however present a few recommendations on the government’s part that could be helpful in future situations. The first priority in the event of a natural disaster should be restoring connectivity and communication networks. Important items they should include in relief kits are battery powered radios and mobile phones. The government should be quick to restore cell signals as well as help the media in resuming broadcast by providing wind-powered energy (Goto et al., 2012). The government should seek partnerships with privately owned media outlets in issuing warnings and communication of resilience strategies so that they can reach as many people as possible. Courses on how to respond in times of disasters should be made mandatory in all schools and be constantly done through the media for the benefit of adults in the country.

In conclusion, the government of Japan and the various agencies were effective in their communication in the earthquake that hit their country in 2011. They were faced by a disaster of huge proportions but the communication helped in saving reducing the death toll that would have been catastrophic. There was also an effective use of various internet and communication technologies especially by the public that was very helpful in raising funds to rebuild the country. This essay has analysed the communication during the disaster and at the end given recommendations that can help in future disasters like the one that hit Japan.