Prior to the disaster, the Japanese
government had established a “WideArea
Support System,” which can be
used to mobilize a range of response
resources available to the national
government: National Police Agency
Inter-Prefectural Emergency Rescue
Units; Fire and Disaster Management
Agency Disaster Medical Assistance
Teams (DMAT); and resources of the
Japan Coast Guard. This system can
dispatch Self-Defense Force (SDF)
personnel, as well as DMAT teams
and ambulances for victim transport
to hospitals outside the damaged
areas. The reconnaissance team
could not determine whether the
national resources were dispatched
based on prefectural requests or by
a national government initiative (an
“event trigger”).
By March 12, SDF personnel were en
route to the damaged prefectures, but
their access to the coastal communities
was slowed by blocked
highways. In the days following the
earthquake and tsunami, nearly
half the personnel of Japanese
SDF, 100,000 personnel, were
dispatched to undertake response
activities. Gaining access to remote
communities and clearing road
access became the priority, with the
SDF taking the lead and U.S. military
providing logistical support in
“Operation Tomodachi” (Operation
Friend). The US provided personnel
and “across the beach” access
using military landing craft and air
boats to transport heavy equipment
for debris removal. SDF forces with
both domestic and foreign search
and rescue teams took on rescue
and body recovery from areas
flooded by the tsunami.
The scale of the tsunami disaster,
added to the damage to communications
infrastructure, frustrated
initial efforts to assess damage and
determine relief needs. Helicopters
from the military and prefectures
were dispatched to do an aerial
survey of the affected areas, and
later to deliver food and water to
stranded survivors. Table 4 summarizes
resources committed to
response