Introduction – The Problem of Law in Response to Disasters

Abstract

The papers included in this special issue originated from a series of conferences and presentations on law and disasters in Berkeley in 201l1 and in Tokyo and Honolulu3 in 2012. When the East Japan Disaster occurred, we were overwhelmed by the huge, extensive and complex damage caused by the earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear accidents. One of us was in Tokyo when the earthquakes struck East Japan. Two days later, we both watched the explosions of the nuclear plant of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on TV in Berkeley where, coincidentally, we were gathered for the Sho Sato Conference, "The Japanese Legal System: An Era of Transition." There, the idea of organizing international meetings was born. A huge disaster is not common. But it is not rare either, on this planet. The earthquakes near Sumatra in December 2004 and in Chile in February 2010 caused tremendous devastation in communities along the coastlines. The profound damage caused by Hurricane Katrina is still remembered. We see threats from violent storms increasing year by year. However, the East Japan Disaster was unique in that a natural disaster triggered failures of safety measures expected to support complex high-tech facilities. Although which one the earthquake or the tsunami was fatal to the nuclear