Policy‐Supported Social Capital in Postdisaster Recovery

Women play critical roles in communities when disaster strikes. However, there has been minimal research on their roles and accomplishments in postdisaster scenarios (Alway, Belgrave, and Smith 1998; Fordham 2003). One reason is the traditionally flexible and intermediary role that women play in society. For instance, many women work part time or are involved in home-based businesses to financially support their family while shouldering daily household duties. Because of such flexible working styles, the impacts of disasters on women, particularly on the number of jobs lost, is difficult to quantify and understand (for example, see Aikawa 2006). N. Emel Ganapati, in her article "In Good Company: Why Social Capital Matters for Women during Disaster Recovery," explores such veiled aspects of women's social capital by observing the case of the city of Gölcük, Turkey, and offers lessons on their opportunities. She also provides several recommendations for public administrators on ways to leverage social capital after disasters. In this commentary, I offer Japan's efforts and partial outcomes of public policies in support of Ganapati's findings and recommendations, as recurring natural disasters have taught Japanese administrators the significance of protecting social capital in postdisaster policies. The need for policies that are aligned with social capital became apparent in the aftermath of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. Administrators involved in this recovery experienced the lonely deaths of elderly in temporary displaced locations, as they had overlooked predisaster social capital in communities. Since then, community-based responses—mainly regarding evacuation and temporary displacement—have become mainstream in major recovery efforts in Japan, such as the Chuetsu earthquake (2004), the Noto peninsula earthquake (2007), and the recent great East Japan (-Tohoku) earthquake and tsunami (2011), to name a few. Although the relationship among women, social capital, and public policy has yet to be fully explored, the apparent positive influence of securing social capital on women has already been observed. Even limited to my knowledge of the post-Chuetsu earthquake experience in Niigata Prefecture, there were two types of women's activities that emerged from this effort. The first type developed as a direct response to local government efforts to collectively relocate communities during the temporary displacement processes. Women developed several activities among displaced individuals during and even after collective living. In the first community—a combination of two neighborhoods—all members shared temporary shelter. Because external support was limited for elderly needs, women collaborated to help by delivering food, cleaning the shelters, and disposing of garbage. Two women who normally volunteered to help the elderly took leadership roles and organized these activities, which lasted throughout their time in the shelters. In another community, women were only loosely related prior to the earthquake, as many were busy with their own lives with full-time jobs. After the earthquake, however, all were jointly displaced, had to live closely, and gradually came to share a variety of emotions, including anxiety, discontent, and happiness throughout the difficult time until all found permanent housing. The women became closer and have continued to take part in joint community activities. The second type of activity gradually emerged among mothers in Chuetsu and was later formalized with public support. Not all mothers in this group experienced temporary displacement, but all encountered inconveniences and feelings of fear and anxiety regarding their children, family members, and themselves during different stages after the earthquake. With this experience, the leader of the group Ninani-na had long believed in the need for a support network for disaster-affected mothers. Other mothers gradually brought their children to mingle with the group and participated in small informal events. Their activities expanded, and Ninani-na currently provides child care service and sponsors other activities with different generations and genders. It serves as a community hub for interaction and often functions as a therapeutic space for mothers who have concerns regarding raising children, including those affected by the earthquake. Reaching this level of operation was not easy, however. It took three years after the earthquake to secure physical space. Although non-place-based support networks existed long before this, their presence was not truly recognized. Furthermore, they were forced to close their first space after three years, as their building was only for temporary use. The group finally found a permanent space with funds from the prefectural government and donations. Since then, their activities have extended remarkably; in the aftermath of the recent East Japan earthquake, Ninani-na broadened its support to include mothers in Tohoku. As the Niigata prefectural government decided to accommodate disaster-affected populations, the members provided needed and nuanced support to mothers and children who were relocated temporarily. They also indirectly supported Tohoku mothers by sharing a guidebook that outlines methods and suggestions for the care of children and adults after traumatic situations. Ninani-na's activities not only helped recovering Chuetsu mothers, but also lent knowledge and skills to Tohoku mothers. Activities and groups that emerged in the Chuetsu earthquake recovery effort are perhaps only limited examples of policy results from supporting social capital. All of these examples, however, underscore Ganapati's points and explain the significance of "enhance[d] face-to-face interaction,""mobiliz[ing] potential through local leaders," and "having enabling institutions in place" in postdisaster policies. Local government efforts to collectively displace communities created an opportunity for face-to-face interaction, which, in the end, helped women organize actions that benefited them as well as their communities during and after the experience. The case of Ninani-na also suggests that having enabling institutions in place is both a matter of survival and a key premise for continuing meaningful operations. Their efforts further proved that the activities and networks that emerged after disasters could extend beyond geographic boundaries and time horizons. It is my hope that the Chuetsu cases effectively illustrate that women's flexible and intermediary roles in communities can provide extreme capacity as well as needed opportunities when public policies are supportively aligned, and that public administrators take full consideration of these perspectives to minimize the hardships of the affected people

Capital (architecture · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Leverage (statistics · Natural disaster · Political science · Public relations · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Disaster Management and Resilience · Earthquake and Disaster Impact Studies · History

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