International Recovery Platform

This document attempts to fill knowledge gaps regarding the role of the private sector in disaster recovery and draws from the wider body of knowledge and from documented experiences of past and present disaster planning and recovery.

This report describes and assesses the experience of Ofunato, Japan, which was devastated by the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. With facilitation by the NGO Ibasho, elders and other community members planned and built the Ibasho Café, which now acts as a hub that is restoring the fabric of a community still badly damaged by the disaster. This report provides lessons learned that are applicable to other actors that want to support community-driven approaches that empower elders to contribute to their communities and strengthen resilience. 

This publication introduces NIES' research on recovery efforts following the GEJE of environments contaminated with radioactive substances, as well as plans for further research in this area.