Both the central and local governments in Japan were paralysed by the size of
this tragedy and the subsequent care needs of the population. The machinery of
public services ground to a halt in the face of this event. As a result of this paralysis,
many civil and volunteer organizations emerged in the Kobe area to help care
for the earthquake survivors. The success of these civil organizations provided a
trigger for the development of a profound innovation in Japan – the development
of a locally based non-profit sector which has come to be seen as a major provider
of public services (Imada 2003).